Cheated in Yahoo Auctions !!

[alloy]

Originally posted by anthony.phua
A bit sidetrack here. 2 years back, I wanted a Nokia Phone not available in Singapore so I sent a brank draft to this UK Guy. After he receivde my funds, his website disappeared and he stopped corresponding to me.

I immediately called the bank to stop the bankdraft. Had to pay S$35 for charges and it was 1 month after I've sent the bankdraft. The person has received the bankdraft too and cashed it. Thank goodness the bankdraft wasn't cleared *yet*. So I managed to get my money back!

Lesson here is : Don't buy from unreliable sources..no matter how tempting it is

Hmmm, maybe i should try. But the worse thing is that this seller jus merely stop corresponding but there is still no confirmation that the package wont arrive. Perhaps i should jus wait for a couple more days.

Btw, the money is sent directly to the sellers account and not via any other modes like Western Union etc. Thats why i have the sellers details including account no,. name and home address. Hope that could serve as evidence and a source of clues in getting him/her.

 

[Kho King]

everyone SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS INTERNET FRAUD! There are still many people get CONNED, that's why u can see the increasing amount of fraud ads in Yahoo!

Never ever buy anything and send money using western union!!! Don't get cheated again!!! Ask first (here in CS) before u pay!!!

 

[hongsien]

Hello Kho King,

Before calling this particular yahoo ad a fraud, let's wait first as the original poster did not say how many days he has waited before posting here. The auction ended last week, and the money was wired only last week. these things don't happen instantly. It could well be just a few days ago, and therefrore he should give the seller some time. Everyone here shouldn't forget that it takes time for the bank to wire the funds, and the seller to send the item which may take up to two weeks. Some sellers also don't read their emails everyday as you probably would.

Don't be too easy to call every delay in deals a fraud........

Hong Sien

 

[sriram]

Hey Hong Sien, how are you? Still in Singapore? Don't see you around much.

The western union wire transfer fraud has been so well documented today (the scams have been going on for years), that it's practically assured that any payment request via WU is a huge red flag and a fraud indicator. It has reached such a state that no legit seller ever asks for payment via western union. Also, if you look at the auctions which have resulted in fraud, almost 100% of these ask for payment by western union. Paypal is easy to access and is a lot more secure... which is what most people prefer today.

 

[ninelives]

sorry, i never scan through all posts but again credit card is safe. Let me tell u my experienced :

I order 3 ties from america. one arrived, two never. I called them, i emailed them but they not going to give a damn, coz they said "sent out already".

I waited for 4 months, fed up , reported to my credit card bank. they checked here and there, asked for my email(confirmation email between me and the shop), card number and etc..

less than 2 months, the money was threw back into my bank. appearnely, the credit card bank of the shop do the refunding.



ps: those ties are damn cool, can't buy in Singapore. Only can buy in that online shop. but well.........

 

[alloy]

But the thing is that the stuff that my sis bought is not from a shop but through a private seller. How to get any refund watsoever?

 

[hongsien]

Hi Alloy,

Can you tell us how long ago it was that you wired the money?

Hong Sien

 

[alloy]

The money was sent into the bank on weds late noon, so we gather that it should only have been processed on thursday. After notifying the seller, he said thanks, and then no more replies watsoever anymore. Never tell her when gonna send the stuff or when she would expect to recieve. Nothing at all, zilch.

And till now, weds, still no sign of package. Think can kiss money good bye liao lah. Haiz.

 

[hongsien]

I think you didn't read my previous posting:

If the money was sent by your bank likely on Thursday, TT takes about 3 WORKING days: friday-sat-sunday-MONDAY it should arrive at his account. The earliest he could have sent the item is on Monday/Tuesday, which is only 1 or 2 days ago!!!
Don't you think overseas mail will take longer than that to arrive??
I do agree that the seller should have acknowledge receipt of payment and send you a message that the item has been sent. But again: some people don't log not onto their emails everyday like you would here.

If it was sent from the states it takes about 7-14 days to arrive if sent by USPS. From Europe it takes about 7-10 days.

Hope this helps to get your bloodpressure going down......
Hong Sien

 

[alloy]

Hehehh, well that really did help me alot on the blood pressure bit.

But how long would u suggest i wait then. Till next week at least isit? Haiz, if by then that guys still dont send the stuff and can confirm is cheated i also dunno wat to do liao lah.

Would u suggest that i jus give up the whole idea of trying to recover my money?

 

[cyrilng]

Originally posted by newuser
One thing to note. Conman don't have ethics, that's why they con

It's all about educating the public the dangers of internet buying.
Like not revealing credit card info, using a good firewall software as a precautionary measure, never pay upfront in full (maybe as a small deposit, say $50)

It's like teaching your kids not to talk to strangers. You don't part with your money in Sim Lim Square unless you see the goods first do you?

Alls said, there is no legal action you can do, but wait for a miracle and hope the seller is sincere in completing the transacation and his lack of reply is due to some other problems. (PC down?)

All auctions sites have disclaimers against something like that, it's something most of use, click the "Agree" and move on and never read.


At least you did not lose thousands.

Well he nearly did - US$1000+ = S$1800+.

 

[cyrilng]

Originally posted by newuser
One more thing you can do in future for overseas auctions where you cannot meet the buyer and do a Cash on Delivery.

Is you can use 3rd party payment options like paypal.com or what ever.

You can register your credit card with them, so each time you pay you only key in your paypal account and not your credit card.
I think paypal also safe guards against fraud.

However the seller and buyer have to be a paypal member.

Paypal supports major US auctions site such as ebay, I am not so sure about yahoo US.

http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/fraud-tips-buyers-outside

http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/protections-buyer-outside

Frauds can be carried out even if Paypal is used.\ if the person's act. has been hacked into as someone described earlier.

 

[hongsien]

Well, do your calculations: sent on, lets say tuesday, then the item will likely arrive in Singapore at the earliest: next week Tuesday (7 days) and at the latest in two weeks Tuesday (13 days from today wednesday).

If he sent it REGISTERED and didn't put an invoice outside of the box, it may be held at the Singapore Customs and they will sent you a letter that it is there and you have to come there personally (Paya Lebar Post Office, Customs is on the left of main entrance of PO) and pay the 4% tax. They are very nice people, so don't worry

If the invoice is on the box, you can pay the tax (4%) to the postman.

BTW: how is he going to send it? By USPS (if it was in the US) or Courier?

Hong Sien

 

[hongsien]

In case you really don't receive anything: where did your sister find the advertisement? You may be able to post there something, some read the sites where they posted their ads more often than their emails. And as I said somewhere before: you have the persons ADDRESS and NAME, you can report that person to the FBI at:

http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

But only at the last resort!!!! Cause this is very serious business if you report to the FBI. Don't be too overhasty, give them some time.

Hong Sien

 

[cyrilng]

Originally posted by hongsien
Well, do your calculations: sent on, lets say tuesday, then the item will likely arrive in Singapore at the earliest: next week Tuesday (7 days) and at the latest in two weeks Tuesday (13 days from today wednesday).

If he sent it REGISTERED and didn't put an invoice outside of the box, it may be held at the Singapore Customs and they will sent you a letter that it is there and you have to come there personally (Paya Lebar Post Office, Customs is on the left of main entrance of PO) and pay the 4% tax. They are very nice people, so don't worry

If the invoice is on the box, you can pay the tax (4%) to the postman.

BTW: how is he going to send it? By USPS (if it was in the US) or Courier?

Hong Sien

I agree that he shd wait a week longer at least. Problem is the seller just said Thanks & did not say how he's going to send the stuff right?

Since the money was transferrred directly to the seller's bank acct., getting a refund might be long & difficult if it really turns out to be a fraud.

 

[hongsien]

One more thing: when Paypal wires funds to my bank account it takes 7 days!!! (this is because it goes through several banks and clearing houses). However, when I TT money to my own account in Europe (will not disclose the country....and it is NOT Switzerland!) it takes about 3-4 days to arrive.

Alloy: if you haven't received anything AFTER lets say wednesday in two weeks, you can contact the FBI, AND post some warnings on the site where your sister saw the ad, keep bombarding the persons email with large email files.....just to annoy him...... and ....say goodbey to your money.......ooooops! But hey! At least you have made someone extremely happy!

HS

 

[alloy]

Originally posted by hongsien
Well, do your calculations: sent on, lets say tuesday, then the item will likely arrive in Singapore at the earliest: next week Tuesday (7 days) and at the latest in two weeks Tuesday (13 days from today wednesday).

If he sent it REGISTERED and didn't put an invoice outside of the box, it may be held at the Singapore Customs and they will sent you a letter that it is there and you have to come there personally (Paya Lebar Post Office, Customs is on the left of main entrance of PO) and pay the 4% tax. They are very nice people, so don't worry

If the invoice is on the box, you can pay the tax (4%) to the postman.

BTW: how is he going to send it? By USPS (if it was in the US) or Courier?

Hong Sien

Well thats exactly the problem, he didnt tell my sis how his gonna ship the package out. Didnt say by which shipping service or give tracking number etc. My sis tried to contact the seller to ask for those details and the seller didnt reply and thats when she panicked.

The seller only mentioned that he/she will ship the package asap once the money is received thats all.

 

[alloy]

Originally posted by hongsien
One more thing: when Paypal wires funds to my bank account it takes 7 days!!! (this is because it goes through several banks and clearing houses). However, when I TT money to my own account in Europe (will not disclose the country....and it is NOT Zwitserland!) it takes about 3-4 days to arrive.

Alloy: if you haven't received anything AFTER lets say wednesday in two weeks, you can contatc the FBI, AND post some warnings on the site where your sister saw the ad, keep bombarding the perosns email with large email files.....just to annoy him...... and ....say goodbey to your money.......ooooops! But hey! At least you have someone extremely happy!

HS

wah lao heheh, u ah !! heheh,

Aiyoh jus treat it as i owe him/her that money in my previous live lah if the money really kena cheated. But most prob will contact some channels u mentioned and pray for a miracle. If the money really recovered, this time i wont hesitate anymore, will jus go ahead and buy a 10D to appease myself for all these crap over a piece of jewellery. Sianzzzz

 

[hongsien]

Has your sister asked the seller how he is going to send it? Since it is a high value item it is likely to go by Insured Airmail OR Courier......

Another thing: KEEP ALL emails that you have sent AND received regarding this transaction!! Just in case. If the seller is not in the US, try to find some police contact in that country. Internet fraud is so high these days that many countries have setup their own police dept. investigating these kinds of criminality.

Cyril: I am not sure if one can retract money that was wired directly to a persons account. It is not like using a CC where you can do a 'chargeback' within 60 days or so.

PAYPAL is not so safe as many would think: buyer pays by CC through Paypal, seller sends item, buyer then does a chargeback (OR CC is fake or stolen), seller says goodbey to his item AND money! To prevent Paypal doing a chargeback due to stolen CC's, you may wait three days before sending the item. usually, Paypal wil contact you within three days in case the CC is stolen and not valid.

HS

 

[cyrilng]

Originally posted by hongsien
Has your sister asked the seller how he is going to send it? Since it is a high value item it is likely to go by Insured Airmail OR Courier......

Another thing: KEEP ALL emails that you have sent AND received regarding this transaction!! Just in case. If the seller is not in the US, try to find some police contact in that country. Internet fraud is so high these days that many countries have setup their own police dept. investigating these kinds of criminality.

Cyril: I am not sure if one can retract money that was wired directly to a persons account. It is not like using a CC where you can do a 'chargeback' within 60 days or so.

PAYPAL is not so safe as many would think: buyer pays by CC through Paypal, seller sends item, buyer then does a chargeback (OR CC is fake or stolen), seller says goodbey to his item AND money! To prevent Paypal doing a chargeback due to stolen CC's, you may wait three days before sending the item. usually, Paypal wil contact you within three days in case the CC is stolen and not valid.

HS

Precisely HS. Btw, your European bank acct. is in Romania is it? :bsmilie: - another country infamous for frauds like Nigeria & some say Singapore too!