I'll just bookmark all of those and do some last minute $99 million dollar bids. (bit $99,999,899 with one username, then bid $99,999,999 with my second username just after that...)
I'm sure this guy picks Canadian cities off of a map... take a look around for yourself.
This is really funny.... glad to see that you're helping people out Murbot. People really need to do their homework when looking at these auctions for high priced stuff.
Check out this <a href="http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2038269194"; target="_blank">auction</a>! I can't believe I won - I had to go and put the tile up on my fireplace after lunch, so I bid with a couple hours left in the auction. Guess our crooked friend was busy mugging an old lady or something, didn't have time to cancel my bid.
I wonder what the eBay seller fees are on a $99,999,999 US PowerBook... ouch.
I'll be sure and post any death threats I might get. I'm sure they're coming.
murbot, how can you do this... desnt ebay ask you for CC info to sign up? I dont get it... (in case you dont realise, im a little unsure as to how eBay works...) how do you have more then one login? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">
You don't need a CC number to register, you only need that if you want to run your own auction and sell something.
That's why I really don't know exactly how this guy is doing this - he's got multiple auctions running right now, with different usernames. I've had at least a dozen of his usernames suspened by eBay in the past month. He just keeps getting new ones, it's amazing.
All you need to register and bid is a valid email address, that's it.
How did you know that that was fake? I would have believed it myself. It seemed different from all the others in that the pb was out of the box and the layout was much better. And only $3250??? I expect more from you.
I knew it was a fraud, because it's the exact same ad as I've seen him run in the past. A 667 MHz PowerBook with all those extras - Base Station, Card, extra battery and power adapter, iPod (10GB - I asked him under a diff username), etc.
They've got a few different "templates" they run auctions under. In fact, I just clicked the link a few posts up, and see that eBay suspended that seller - finally. He had purchased a few inexpensive items to get some feedback built up.
About those pictures - a few times now I've recognized photos that they've "borrowed" from other legitimate auctions at eBay. Makes it look like there's actually a PowerBook in their possession.
It happened to me last year actually, I had sold a PowerBook of mine, and just after that, I got an email from a Yahoo Auctions bidder asking me if I was trying to run a scam or something. I went to the auction he mentioned, and there was MY PowerBook sitting there on my silver desk, with my SoundSticks in the background... bastard downloaded my picture and tried to pass it off as his own. That lead to a good month long fraud watch over at Yahoo - I haven't bothered going back though. That place is completely beyond help - over half of the friggin' auctions are complete scams - at least it was the last time I was there.
And yeah, unfortunately I wasn't around to jack the price up beyond $3250... oh well.
Seems my work is paying off though, there's just one of the ads up right now, a couple hours to go... heh heh. I've got a shiny new username to use at the last minute.
This is an auction that looks too good to be true. A 667/DVI, with a 5GB firefly drive, for under $2,000 on buy it now? I'm not confident enough to go out and sabotage this auction, but I just wanted to let murbot or anyone else know that it's out there.
I don't want to give the impression of pointing fingers, but I'm just looking out for ones that may not be legit. I'm not sure exactly how you make sure that it really is a scam, that's why I'm posting them here instead of going after them. I don't want to wreck someone's reputation if they're being legit.
murbot: Keep up the last weeks work and you will have my nomination as member of the year
The worst thing about these auctions is that there is a reason why people are doing them. If they gained nothing from them they wouldn´t have them Even though its against my principes maybe eBay should could be held responsible for any loss due to scams going on if its as obvious as this.
Anyone remember the great eBay/AI hunt for an almost square piece of cardboard? I almost won it.
Thanks Anders, but I think I'll buckle under the pressure... no ideas yet for another hard drive type thread just yet. Sequels are so tough.
Luca, about those auctions you mention. The first one is extremely low priced, but the seller does seem to have a very good feedback rating. (4 negatives, but 71 positives) I don't know, looks a little odd that it's so cheap, but I wouldn't have messed with his auction.
I'd probably just contact that second seller, he's been registered with eBay since September of 2001, and it's not like it's illegal to take Western Union... dunno.
I've been keeping it to eBay Canada for the most part, just because of the sheer volume of this crap. There would be 15 auctions up in the G4 PowerBook areas, and 13 would be this scammer. Pretty tough for a good seller to be taken seriously with all that fraud around them. I would always click on the "see sellers other auctions", and they'd have Toshiba laptops, HDTVs, etc. That's pretty much the only time I was venturing out of the Canadian listings... might have to expand my jurisdiction.
And DAMN!!! That auction I was going to bid on in an hour was just yanked by eBay. I was looking forward to using my new username:
Thanks for the tips murbot. I'll check out eBay Canada. I was just looking around, but I didn't sent any emails to any of the sellers.
I also noticed a pretty low priced laptop on sale, with 30 minutes left. It was pulled just before I clicked the link, because when I clicked it, it told me the item had been pulled.
Congratulations on catching all those crooks. I noticed some of the auctions you busted with the really high bids a few days ago. Only now do I really know what was going on, and that it was you Keep it up!
Comments
[ 07-11-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
I'm in there as "here_take_my_car_keys_while_you_are_at_it".
How's that for an eBay ID? Longest one I've seen...
BTW, check out the eBay Canada section for <a href="http://listings.ebay.ca/aw/plistings/list/category14909/index.html"; target="_blank">G4 PowerBooks</a> now. This prick is going crazy with auctions!
I'll just bookmark all of those and do some last minute $99 million dollar bids. (bit $99,999,899 with one username, then bid $99,999,999 with my second username just after that...)
I'm sure this guy picks Canadian cities off of a map... take a look around for yourself.
Check out this <a href="http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2038269194"; target="_blank">auction</a>! I can't believe I won - I had to go and put the tile up on my fireplace after lunch, so I bid with a couple hours left in the auction. Guess our crooked friend was busy mugging an old lady or something, didn't have time to cancel my bid.
I wonder what the eBay seller fees are on a $99,999,999 US PowerBook... ouch.
I'll be sure and post any death threats I might get. I'm sure they're coming.
BTW, check out the <a href="http://listings.ebay.ca/aw/plistings/list/all/category14909/index.html"; target="_blank">listings</a> at eBay Canada for these - almost all of the listings are a sham. Just brutal.
[ 07-13-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
[ 07-13-2002: Message edited by: Paul ]</p>
That's why I really don't know exactly how this guy is doing this - he's got multiple auctions running right now, with different usernames. I've had at least a dozen of his usernames suspened by eBay in the past month. He just keeps getting new ones, it's amazing.
All you need to register and bid is a valid email address, that's it.
How do you like the username?
I was hoping the price would be higher though... I'll try and act legitimate and dig some info from him.
I think he just might be dense enough to think with that username I'm still serious... this could be fun.
<strong>Not bad, I got <a href="http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2038349263"; target="_blank">2 in 1 day</a>.
How do you like the username?
I was hoping the price would be higher though... I'll try and act legitimate and dig some info from him.
I think he just might be dense enough to think with that username I'm still serious... this could be fun.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Hey, this is fun. I'll try and help if I can. Let me know what I can do.
I just had my 2 favorite usernames suspended for using false information while signing up. Damn, I really loved those names:
from_romania_with_love
time_for_a_little_vigilante_justice
Whaddya think?
eBay should really be PAYING me to keep the place clean. Maybe I'll fire them a resume.
[ 07-15-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
Good show!! Keep us updated!!
How did you know that that was fake? I would have believed it myself. It seemed different from all the others in that the pb was out of the box and the layout was much better. And only $3250??? I expect more from you.
ps - what the hell does murbot mean, anyway?
They've got a few different "templates" they run auctions under. In fact, I just clicked the link a few posts up, and see that eBay suspended that seller - finally. He had purchased a few inexpensive items to get some feedback built up.
About those pictures - a few times now I've recognized photos that they've "borrowed" from other legitimate auctions at eBay. Makes it look like there's actually a PowerBook in their possession.
It happened to me last year actually, I had sold a PowerBook of mine, and just after that, I got an email from a Yahoo Auctions bidder asking me if I was trying to run a scam or something. I went to the auction he mentioned, and there was MY PowerBook sitting there on my silver desk, with my SoundSticks in the background... bastard downloaded my picture and tried to pass it off as his own. That lead to a good month long fraud watch over at Yahoo - I haven't bothered going back though. That place is completely beyond help - over half of the friggin' auctions are complete scams - at least it was the last time I was there.
And yeah, unfortunately I wasn't around to jack the price up beyond $3250... oh well.
Seems my work is paying off though, there's just one of the ads up right now, a couple hours to go... heh heh. I've got a shiny new username to use at the last minute.
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2038716425"; target="_blank">Have a look</a> in 1 hour and 33 minutes.
This is an auction that looks too good to be true. A 667/DVI, with a 5GB firefly drive, for under $2,000 on buy it now? I'm not confident enough to go out and sabotage this auction, but I just wanted to let murbot or anyone else know that it's out there.
Edit: Found another possible one. No reserve, low starting price, and wants a Western Union money transfer. Right here: <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2039276351"; target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2039276351</a>;
Edit: Another one. This one's from Canada and he wants a wire transfer. <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2039113276"; target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2039113276</a>;
I don't want to give the impression of pointing fingers, but I'm just looking out for ones that may not be legit. I'm not sure exactly how you make sure that it really is a scam, that's why I'm posting them here instead of going after them. I don't want to wreck someone's reputation if they're being legit.
[ 07-15-2002: Message edited by: Luca Rescigno ]
[ 07-15-2002: Message edited by: Luca Rescigno ]</p>
The worst thing about these auctions is that there is a reason why people are doing them. If they gained nothing from them they wouldn´t have them
Anyone remember the great eBay/AI hunt for an almost square piece of cardboard?
Luca, about those auctions you mention. The first one is extremely low priced, but the seller does seem to have a very good feedback rating. (4 negatives, but 71 positives) I don't know, looks a little odd that it's so cheap, but I wouldn't have messed with his auction.
I'd probably just contact that second seller, he's been registered with eBay since September of 2001, and it's not like it's illegal to take Western Union... dunno.
I've been keeping it to eBay Canada for the most part, just because of the sheer volume of this crap. There would be 15 auctions up in the G4 PowerBook areas, and 13 would be this scammer. Pretty tough for a good seller to be taken seriously with all that fraud around them. I would always click on the "see sellers other auctions", and they'd have Toshiba laptops, HDTVs, etc. That's pretty much the only time I was venturing out of the Canadian listings... might have to expand my jurisdiction.
And DAMN!!! That auction I was going to bid on in an hour was just yanked by eBay. I was looking forward to using my new username:
so_many_crooks_so_little_time
Next time I guess.
I also noticed a pretty low priced laptop on sale, with 30 minutes left. It was pulled just before I clicked the link, because when I clicked it, it told me the item had been pulled.
Congratulations on catching all those crooks. I noticed some of the auctions you busted with the really high bids a few days ago. Only now do I really know what was going on, and that it was you
[ 07-15-2002: Message edited by: Carpet ]</p>
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2038355298"; target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2038355298</a>;
Likes wire xfer.
Looks like I don't have to touch that one. My work is inspiring others.
BUT, don't go and bid ridiculous amounts on a bunch of auctions just because someone wants a wire transfer and is a new user... check into it first.
I'd hate to have caused a flood of ruined eBay auctions run by decent sellers...
[ 07-15-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>