Cheated in Yahoo Auctions !!


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alloy

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Nov 30, 2002
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My sis had participated in a Yahoo overseas auction to buy a piece of jewellery last week. She contacted the seller thru email and they came to deal at an ageed price and ended the auction prematurely. The seller had a condition tho, and that's to send the money via money order or wire transfer directly to his/her account or to a stated address. The seller reasoned that he/she wanted the money urgently so did want a delay thru a third party creditbility company like escrow etc.

So all the neccessary information on the address and account number blah blah was taken and the money was transfered over.

When the transfer was done, my sis notified the seller, she got a thank you reply. And that was it. No more replies and news from the seller anymore. She tried sending the seller tons of mails to ask for a simple reply as to whether she has gotten the money or if the package had been sent out, but no replies watsoever.

I think my sis had been cheated in an internet scam. Damn !!!
And the worse thing is that the money she used is borrowed from me. Kaos. Now all we could do is to wait and see if the package will arrive within this few days. If not, then i think she/we have been cheated already. Haiz

Bro/sis, is there anyway to nab the fellow who is situated in the US jus by having name(might be fake), address and bank account information.? Really hate the idea of being cheated man !!

Thanks
 

Lessons in internet dealings through auctions.

1. Check the seller's ratings and comments and use your own judgements before deciding on the deal first.

2. Never ever send money via money transfer (western union etc).

3. Common Sense.

Now just treat this as a lesson, and pray that your sis wasnt scammed.
 

Haiz, i think all she can do now is to wait.

Anyway wats done cannot be undone, jus treat it as a usd$1k+ lesson learnt man. :cry: Should have asked her wat she wanted the money for then. Haiz.

Think if she's scammed, i wont be asking her to return the money also. Guess she would be upset enuff. Will jus treat the money as a "birthday gift" for her lah.

Haiz,, wat a gift .:(
 

Haiz, now still waiting and see if that package will arrive. If not, then confirm money gonz liao.

Btw, anyway to get that person through all those info i provided on the bank accout and residence address?
 

Those are considered customer information and will be treated with privacy with no exceptions other then for court cases, hope your sister kept all the emails corresponding with the seller, maybe you can try the NPP first, see if the officer there can advise you to file a charge against the person.

That way the bank will release the customer's information to the police and they'll take care of the rest for you.

I don't know if emails are considered evidence (just like digital photos are NOT considered evidence) so best is to try.

I hope you get the $$ back soon, actually it's not the money any more, it's the principles and ethics behind the deal now.

Hope you get it back.
 

Exactly !!

Its not very much about the money now that im angry about. Its the ethics and the integrity thats been absent all these while. That seller had no idea how upset he/she had caused my sis all becos he had wanted that amount of money. She jus didnt know wat to do and had to turn to me and let me know in the end. I had no idea on wat to do too and had to seek solace and help from u guys here. Decided not to let our parents noe yet.

I mean i would not have been so angry if my camera were to fall into a pond and had irrepairable damages, or if anything at all around that value had been lost due to my own mishandling. But if it was cheated, all becos my sis sincerely trusted someone who explained that the money was needed urgently, then i think its all very saddening and bloodboiling at the same time.

Its the first time she/we had dealings in the internet and i guess if the seller was a bogus, its an experience that would put us off any international auctions for a long time.

And yes all the emails had been saved.
 

Originally posted by alloy
Its the ethics and the integrity thats been absent all these while.

Has it ever been present all these while?
Nay, dun swear off international auctions. Just find out what people do in order to protect their purchases.
 

Yah lah. Haiz, jus take it as a lesson learnt. But i will also not let the matter rest yet if really kena cheated.
 

For those of you who sell stuff over ebay, or any other auction sites, do be careful too.

Couple of months back, my brother sold an item over ebay for 600 pounds. The buyer paid thru paypal, and the item was shipped out to the buyer upon confirmation of payment. Immediately after that, paypal informed my brother that the transaction was fraudulent. Apparently the buyer had hacked into this person' email, ebay and paypal account. To cut a long story short, my brother lost 600 pounds just like that, because the fine print never stated any protection for seller.
 

If the auction is ended prematurely, then it is a transaction between the buyer and the seller solely. This transaction then has nothing to do with the auction site, nothing to do with the FBI, and has no juridisction in court. The transaction is solely your own fault.
 

Originally posted by alloy
Exactly !!

Its not very much about the money now that im angry about. Its the ethics and the integrity thats been absent all these while. That seller had no idea how upset he/she had caused my sis all becos he had wanted that amount of money. She jus didnt know wat to do and had to turn to me and let me know in the end. I had no idea on wat to do too and had to seek solace and help from u guys here. Decided not to let our parents noe yet.

I mean i would not have been so angry if my camera were to fall into a pond and had irrepairable damages, or if anything at all around that value had been lost due to my own mishandling. But if it was cheated, all becos my sis sincerely trusted someone who explained that the money was needed urgently, then i think its all very saddening and bloodboiling at the same time.

Its the first time she/we had dealings in the internet and i guess if the seller was a bogus, its an experience that would put us off any international auctions for a long time.

And yes all the emails had been saved.

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.
 

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
 

Always use credit card (Visa/Master/Amex) when you wish to pay someone overseas or if you suspect something is funny.

In an event of fraud, you can ask your bank to do a charge-back for you, which means they will return you your money and charge the fraudster a chargeback fees + investigation(if it happens too many time).

Currently, major credit card company's policy is to assume that Online Retailer(seller) bears ALL responsibility in situation where a chargeback occurs.
 

Haiz, should have asked u guys first. Anyway its too late also lah, my sis bought the thing w/o even letting me noe. As she is quite young thats why no credit cards, thats why gotta pay this way. Haiz.
 

Originally posted by Klause
Always use credit card (Visa/Master/Amex) when you wish to pay someone overseas or if you suspect something is funny.

In an event of fraud, you can ask your bank to do a charge-back for you, which means they will return you your money and charge the fraudster a chargeback fees + investigation(if it happens too many time).

Currently, major credit card company's policy is to assume that Online Retailer(seller) bears ALL responsibility in situation where a chargeback occurs.

Please check the terms and Conditions of the card you applied for more details about ONLINE fraud protection.
When in doubt, call up the bank's hotline and ask the bank officer to explain to you in layman terms.

Almost all cards offer fraud protection but not all offer online fraud protection for online purchases.
 

Originally posted by alloy
Haiz, should have asked u guys first. Anyway its too late also lah, my sis bought the thing w/o even letting me noe. As she is quite young thats why no credit cards, thats why gotta pay this way. Haiz.

Wuah i also sim tia for you, put take this in a good point of view, better to learn fro mit now then later, maybe when she is older, without this lesson she might be cheated off a bigger sum of money!!!
My gf brother also almost the same case, he got cheated by his good frined, say can buy handphone cheap, he put in $3000+ then the money dissapear and the phone also never to be seen. The good "friends" also say they lose money, but strange, they started goin on looong holiday with their girlfriends....:rbounce:
 

Originally posted by alloy
Haiz, should have asked u guys first. Anyway its too late also lah, my sis bought the thing w/o even letting me noe. As she is quite young thats why no credit cards, thats why gotta pay this way. Haiz.

Apply for a debit card, then either a debit mastercard from POSB, DBS or debit visa from UOB.

I think paypal works with debit cards too, I tried before.

Though I think fraud protection not offered by the bank for debit cards.

I hate debit cards, I kenna double charged twice before, both times the 2nd payment was refunded back to me, so no loss, however it takes 10 days for the 2nd payment to be debited back.

Informatics took my card to swipe, and they had some problem, so they went "manual" and later I signed ONE copy of the transcation receipt.

However later when I tried to draw some cash from the ATM, it said I have no money!!!!!

I checked and it debited twice the course fees from my account by "freezing" up my funds first!!!

My balance is -$1800!!!, I ended up oweing the bank $1800!!!

I tried calling the bank to request them reversed the 2nd charge but they insisted on the 10 working day wait, if the merchant never request for the 2nd payment, they will debit it back.

Ended up I had to borrow cash from my friends and pay them back 10 days later..

Grrghh... (had a similar experience with an online merchant)
I cancelled the card later.
 

Aiyah all these "good friends" always the same pattern one lah. They will always spread news of super good lobang and wanna pool in money. Say got how good then how good. Say everyone will earn and the more u invest the more u earn. In the end they will say they "sueh sueh" kena cheated and all the money is gone. But funny thing is that they always dont appear poor after that. Get wat i mean ??:rolleyes:
 

Originally posted by newuser
Apply for a debit card, then either a debit mastercard from POSB, DBS or debit visa from UOB.

I think paypal works with debit cards too, I tried before.

Though I think fraud protection not offered by the bank for debit cards.

I hate debit cards, I kenna double charged twice before, both times the 2nd payment was refunded back to me, so no loss, however it takes 10 days for the 2nd payment to be debited back.

Informatics took my card to swipe, and they had some problem, so they went "manual" and later I signed ONE copy of the transcation receipt.

However later when I tried to draw some cash from the ATM, it said I have no money!!!!!

I checked and it debited twice the course fees from my account by "freezing" up my funds first!!!

My balance is -$1800!!!, I ended up oweing the bank $1800!!!

I tried calling the bank to request them reversed the 2nd charge but they insisted on the 10 working day wait, if the merchant never request for the 2nd payment, they will debit it back.

Ended up I had to borrow cash from my friends and pay them back 10 days later..

Grrghh... (had a similar experience with an online merchant)
I cancelled the card later.

Thats y i dont really like all these card card things lah. Will spend w/o thinking and feeling the pinch, plus the danger of those computer experts/hackers in getting the card info and then cheat ur money etc. But i must agree that they do make alot of things more convenient at least.
 

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