This advice relates to a particular scam carried out by some people living in Nigeria but elements of it may be useful for other scam buyers.


HOW THE SCAM WORKS

The scammer lives in Nigeria but because they're pretending to live somewhere else they ask for the item to be sent to a relative or friend in Nigeria (really themselves).

They persuade the seller to send the goods on receipt of a fake payment confirmation email, usually from Paypal but also from various banks, Western Union or other payment services. Or just by promising payment. The seller sends the item to Nigeria but the promised payment never materialises. They target new sellers of relatively expensive items, especially cell phones and other electronic goods.

Some of them will have newly registered IDs with fake addresses in various countries. A growing number are now also using hi-jacked accounts. These can be identified by the ID having been dormant for some time and/or a sudden change in items being bought.

Check the rest of their purchases using Advanced Search (top of any page) > Items by Bidder (include completed items). If they have bought a large number of similar expensive items over one or two days then the odds are they're scammers.


HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM

1. The idea is to get the scammer suspended first to make it quicker for you to do the Unpaid Item process in order to get your final value fee back. So first report to eBay using this link:

Link

Select: Selling and managing your item > Continue > Fraud and transaction problems > Buyer paid or attempted to pay with fake/stolen funds > Continue > Email Us.

And then report their fake contact details here (the report link is at the bottom):

Link

2. After that they should be suspended within a couple of days. Do not bother to reply to their emails. Keep an eye on their ID and when it says "No longer registered with eBay" beside it you will be able to do the Unpaid Item process immediately to get your final value fees back, here's that link:

Link

3. After that you can relist and if it sells the second time your relisting fee will be refunded too. If you relist before completing the Unpaid Item process you will not be eligible for a relisting fee refund. If for some reason the scammer is not suspended quickly you will have to wait seven days to start the Unpaid Item process in the usual way.

4. You can make a Second Chance Offer before they're suspended and before doing the Unpaid Item process, if that's what you prefer to do but make sure the underbidder isn't a scammer too. To check a bidder have a look at what else they're bidding on. Click on Advanced Search (top of any page), then on Items by Bidder, put in the ID, tick "include completed listings" and then click on "search". If they are newly registered and buying large quantities of the same sort of expensive items, then the odds are they're also scammers.

5. If the scammer has used a hi-jacked account eBay will temporarily suspend the account and the transaction will usually be removed from their database. If so your final value fee should automatically be refunded to your seller account and there will be no need to do the Unpaid Item process. Check for your fee refund at My eBay > Seller Account > View Account Status. If it has not been refunded contact eBay's live help and ask them to do it manually. Here's their link:

Link

If the transaction has not been removed you will need to do the Unpaid Item process to get your final value fee back. If you have received notification from eBay that the account was hi-jacked it should mean that by then the account has been returned to its rightful owner. In that case if possible use the "mutual consent" option which the real account holder has to agree to. Email them first to warn them.

If you get no reply or you believe the account has not been returned to the rightful owner do NOT use the "mutual consent" option, do it in the usual way, starting seven days after end of auction.


TO PREVENT IT HAPPENING AGAIN

1. The only effective way against hi-jacked accounts is to use Immediate (Paypal) Payment on your listing, then the listing cannot end without payment being made. To do that during the listing process select to sell Fixed Price Only (or Buy It Now and auction but then you must use a reserve - minimum £50 - to keep the BIN and Immediate Payment if a bid is placed.) and you'll see the link to use Immediate Payment just below the Paypal logo. To use Fixed Price/Buy It Now you must have a feedback rating of 10 or if you have a Paypal account and accept it as an option on your listing a feedback rating of 5 or more.

2. Other options will work if the scammer has registered a new ID for themselves, eg. block zero or low feedback bidders with no credit card on file, buyers in countries where you don't ship and those without Paypal accounts, all on here:

Link

3. If you are not using Immediate Payment do not use Buy It Now. Then at least you might have the chance to cancel unwanted bids.

Please also be aware of credit card scams, usually (but not only) from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, where they pay using Paypal but use stolen or fake credit cards so the money is withdrawn by Paypal later. Do not accept Paypal payment for expensive items from these and other scam areas. If necessary issue a refund and report fake funds to eBay as above.

If in doubt about a buyer please ask for advice on the Trust & Safety board.