CRIME On eBay - Paperback

by Michael Ford (Author)

If you have been using eBay for a while, chances are you've been scammed at least once. Maybe you encountered a problem seller or buyer. Maybe you sent a payment and received nothing. Maybe you sent the auction item and the buyer reversed the payment. What do you do? Complaining on a message board may be a release emotionally but it does not recover your money or the item. It also does not protect you from other dishonest members. There are many books that cover the basics of buying and selling on eBay, but once you are on eBay, you need to know how to spot bad buyers or sellers before you have a problem. You may have thought it was just a matter of dumb luck. It is not. It turns out that bad buyers and sellers are easy to spot and there are many warning signs that can alert you to a scam before you become a victim. If you have ever used eBay then you have surely looked at an auction and wondered if it was too good to be true or if the seller could be trusted. Maybe the price seemed lower than you would expect. Maybe there was something you could not put your finger on that just bothered you about the auction. Maybe you bought the item anyway and regretted it later. You need to know what specific things to check and what elements in an auction can scream SCAM! eBay is a great place to buy and sell, but it can be a minefield if you do not know what to watch out for. This book may save you thousands of dollars and it will surely make you a more educated eBay member. If it only saves you from being scammed once, it is well worth avoiding the headache and frustration. I have used eBay since 1998 and I check my favorite categories every day. I will continue to use it because I know what to look for and how to tread safely through the sometimes dangerous waters of Internet commerce. Many of the same scams used on eBay are used on other websites, through the mail, and even in newspaper classifieds. Once you see how these scams work on eBay, you can apply the same knowledge to any website, any buyer, any seller. Learn how to gain the most from eBay and PayPal without becoming a victim Understand why eBay and PayPal do things like they do. Learn what to do if your account is hijacked. Learn how to recover your money or goods if you are the victim of fraud. Learn how to use the local police, FBI, Attorney General, and other agencies. Learn to spot Phishing emails easily and find out about a special free tool that will protect you from bad websites. Understand how criminal organizations use auctions and victimize others. Review nearly 200 of the most common scams, from the laughable to the dangerous. Learn to spot hijacked accounts, dishonest sellers, and auctions that you simply want to avoid. Learn the most important steps everyone should take to protect themselves when using eBay and PayPal as well as the Internet.