phototec
New Member
Ebay scams getting more frequent
Ebay is great, I make several purchases weekly getting good deals, however the scams are getting more frequent. Have a friend in Arizona who purchased a high end digital camera, several thousands $ on ebay, paid with PayPal and was given a UPS tracking number, he tracked the package daily, could see that the package was picked up, it was in route, then three days later delivered to him. When he opened the package, he found two bricks taped together with duct tape, that's right, NO digital camera, just bricks worth just a few $.
He was shocked, called UPS, they said the package was delivered, and asked him if the item was damaged, and the bricks were not broken, so the insurance wouldn't come into play, so there was nothing they could do about it.
He called Ebay, and got the same type of run around, they checked and the tracking indicated the package was delivered, even though he told ebay he received two BRICKS, not the $2k digital camera he bid on. They said they would have to investigate.
He called PayPal, his credit card company, and his local police department, all of them said, you received your package, almost like they didn't believe him that he did not receive the camera. The investigation went on for two months before he convinced his CC company to refund his $2K.
The moral of the story is, that if your receive the package and the tracking proves that you did, it almost doesn't matter what is in the package. So now, when any high value package is delivered, I open it right in front of the UPS/FedEx driver, so he can witness the contents inside the package, I also have my digital camera at the ready and take photos of the package un-opened and as I open the package to document the contents.
I don't know how prevalent this scam is, I only know of this incident and another were the person purchased a laptop computer on Ebay, and he received a UPS package that was tracked to him and it had bricks inside, no computer, both were high value items, and months later they received refunds from there credit card companies.
I do use PayPal, however ONLY with a CC, never my checking account, the CC company offers 100% fraud protection.
Ebay is great, I make several purchases weekly getting good deals, however the scams are getting more frequent. Have a friend in Arizona who purchased a high end digital camera, several thousands $ on ebay, paid with PayPal and was given a UPS tracking number, he tracked the package daily, could see that the package was picked up, it was in route, then three days later delivered to him. When he opened the package, he found two bricks taped together with duct tape, that's right, NO digital camera, just bricks worth just a few $.
He was shocked, called UPS, they said the package was delivered, and asked him if the item was damaged, and the bricks were not broken, so the insurance wouldn't come into play, so there was nothing they could do about it.
He called Ebay, and got the same type of run around, they checked and the tracking indicated the package was delivered, even though he told ebay he received two BRICKS, not the $2k digital camera he bid on. They said they would have to investigate.
He called PayPal, his credit card company, and his local police department, all of them said, you received your package, almost like they didn't believe him that he did not receive the camera. The investigation went on for two months before he convinced his CC company to refund his $2K.
The moral of the story is, that if your receive the package and the tracking proves that you did, it almost doesn't matter what is in the package. So now, when any high value package is delivered, I open it right in front of the UPS/FedEx driver, so he can witness the contents inside the package, I also have my digital camera at the ready and take photos of the package un-opened and as I open the package to document the contents.
I don't know how prevalent this scam is, I only know of this incident and another were the person purchased a laptop computer on Ebay, and he received a UPS package that was tracked to him and it had bricks inside, no computer, both were high value items, and months later they received refunds from there credit card companies.
I do use PayPal, however ONLY with a CC, never my checking account, the CC company offers 100% fraud protection.
