iYogi provides alerts for various ongoing frauds in the Internet world like online auction fraud. Now-a-days, online auctions have been gained a rising popularity. The main reason for this growth and popularity is that it makes it easy for people to find great deals on hard to find items from around the world. This even makes them prime hunting grounds for scam artists, who are ready to play with the desires of many auction bidders have for that ‘unbelievable deal’. It is better to be forewarned than forearmed. Read more…
Home » iYogi Fraud Protection Alerts » iYogi Fraud Protection: iYogi Raises Red Flag for Wild Threats of Online Auction Fraud
Be Sure to Read the Listing Carefully
I suffered internet auction fraud once when I had been searching for a laptop locally but I couldn’t find a used one in my area that was a good deal. Went to a popular online auction site and took a look around. A lot of the laptops were overpriced for what they were, but finally I found one that was in the price range I’d been looking for. I read over the description which gave me the specs of the computer. The listing also explained the condition used computers are in when they sell them. They said they never sold computers unless they knew they worked first. Their feedback was pretty good so I bought the laptop.
A couple days later, the package arrives. I knew as soon as I picked it up that I was a victim of internet auction fraud. Opened up the package and inside were a laptop box and the free laptop case mentioned in the listing, but no laptop. I immediately contacted the seller, thinking that they had forgotten to put the actual laptop in the box. They told me to look over the listing again since customer satisfaction is important to them. I reread the description and yes, the auction had been for only the laptop computer’s box, it had just been worded so it looked like the auction was for the laptop. Since I had technically bought it, the auction site didn’t do anything. Lucky for me, my credit card company covers internet auction fraud.
Internet Auction Fraud: Buying Fake Diamond Earrings
One time, I thought it would be a cute idea to buy a pair of diamond earrings for my girlfriend. Her birthday was coming up, and she had had a rough year. Her grandma had passed away, and I wanted to do something for her that she would always remember.
I went on a search to buy a pair of diamond earrings for her. I ended up bidding on a pair at an online auction site, and I was so surprised to find out that I had won the listing. I could not wait to give her the diamond earrings, because I knew they would cheer her up. But, when I did give her the earrings one day, she grew very upset and sad. She said that they were fake, and she thought it was ridiculous I would buy her a pair of fake earrings. I thought this was one of the worst situations I had ever been in. I could not believe that some guy was a criminal and duped me with internet auction fraud. Never before had I been duped by internet auction fraud. I could not even return the earrings, because the seller was nowhere to be found.
Now, I stay away from auction sites since they are filled with internet auction fraud. I never want to be part of that sort of experience again. It was disheartening and it made my girlfriend so upset. I cannot believe it happened to this day, and I think it is horrible.
A friend of mine was also tricked into online auction fraud. He bought a high definition HD cam at a reasonable price. He even paid using credit card and then only told me about this.. I immediately understood he had been duped by online auction fraud. We have complained with the police but they tell tracking online scammers would take a lot of time as they are usually based in other countries..
Hey Steve, tell your friend his money is as good as gone. I don’t think there would be any possible way to trace these people as they register their domains with other countries and use fake IDs while they are at it. Even the bank accounts they use would be temporary and even these cannot be used as a source to trace them. Online auctions or even online retail stores are something to stay away from!