Internet auction fraud is increasing worldwide, as online shopping has grown significantly every year. 51,000 cases of internet fraud cases were reported in 2002. In 2006, that number increased to 97,000. 
Don't give up on the biggest auction marketplace because of fears of fraud.
- Become familiar with the auction website.
Understand as much as possible about how Internet auctions work. Look into the websites protection policies. Find out what your obligations are as a buyer, and what the seller's obligations are before you bid. Never assume you are protected from auction fraud.
- Learn as much as possible about the seller.
If you can’t find out anything about the seller, then you should avoid doing business with them. Never fall for promises of better deals by moving away from the original auction website. Besides, you can examine the feedback rating for the seller. If the seller has a history of negative feedbacks, don't bid with or buy from that particular seller.
- If the seller wants you to use an escrow service you’ve never heard of, look into it.
Check out the website. Call up customer support to get more data on the business in question. Please don’t use it if you cannot confirm the legitimacy.
- Clarify any shipping and handling fees.
To avoid unexpected costs, read the information in the listing about shipping and handling fees carefully. If not specified, you may want to clarify before bidding or buying.
- Avoid giving out your social security number, drivers license number, credit card number, or bank account information to the seller, as they have no need for this information.
- Always save 100% of the transaction information.
You’ll be glad you did in the event your case makes it to court.
Sometimes auction fraud cases involve untrustworthy descriptions that are presented and worded in a way that that most people would miss important details.
That’s what happened in the video below of a case being handled by Judge Judy.
The case is about a woman collected payments of $467 for 2 cell phones and sent 2 pictures of the cell phones instead of the real products.
The scammer defended herself by happily claiming that ‘what you see is what you get’, referring to the quote “you will receive pictures of these 2 cell phones” that was posted in the description alongside the cell phone specs and other information aimed towards selling a real cell phone.
Thankfully Judge Judy tends not to fall for simple legalities and the case was over before it even started.
Kindly visit these web pages for additional advice on how to prevent e-auction fraud.
~By SieW YinG~
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2 comments:
Omg!How can the women cheated people by sending photos rather than real cell phones to her customers?!
I have more understanding to on e-auction fraud after reading your posting.The prevention methods are simple yet clear and usefel.
Lastly,this is a very classic case for e-auction!
Thanks for sharing the video clip.
Good effort!
Thanks a lot!We are grateful that our post can provide info and create awareness for online users especially for those who might interested to involve in e-auction.
Well, you are right, we tried to provide the simple n clear prevetion methods rather than very technician methods. This is because we believe that not everyone who read our blog will understand the e-commerce jargon that provided in many other websites.
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