I have recently been the victim of an ebay/autotrader scam. No wise after the event comments please, this is just a post to remind anyone using these sites to apply all the wisdom they may wish to impart here to any prospective purchases they might make in the future. In short the scam works by advertising a bike on autotrader and then being offered an ebay payment protection plan as means of payment. The ebay site offering the payment protection is a fake so be aware.
Hi I can forward the fake ebay page to anyones email address if it helps, it is now inactive. It looks exactly like ebay and offers payment protection when buying vehicles by bank transfer, genuine ebay payment protection does not cover vehicles or transfers. Emails received on the fake ebay do not appear in the genuine ebay in-box and this is how to tell the difference.
The auto trader adds have a format of listing a low price in the bike search and then stating this price is a mistake and listing the full price in the item description. Several adds like this were on auto trader this weekend. The scammers know the owners name and address of the bike for sale and this is confirmed by an IIP check giving false confidence. There are no similar adds in auto trader today.
Bloody difficult nowadays, i'm still a 'turn up with cash' man, kick the tyres, check the motor and check the paperwork carefully and talk to the seller and see ' the colour of his eyes' and how long he's had it, is he an enthusiast etc
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So many roads........................So little time
fair play rich for letting members know of this, and again thanks for the heads up, robbing bar stewards, sure they will get there just deserves, heres hopeing!
if u send money via paypal for a vehicle or motorbike.. the money cant be retrived if its a scam..i nearly got done buying a 2010 ktm 450 ! be careful everyone !
Hmmpft.. I replied to an advert on AutoTrader and it turned out to be a total scam..contacted AutoTrader and they were less than interested.. contacted the police and they didnt even want to know about it..
I ended up getting the "seller" to run around, got his contact details, passed them to the police and Autotrader and they still didnt want to know..
As a result..the last time I sold a vehicle I met the buyer at my bank and he paid the cash over the counter into my account before I handed over the keys and log book.... bank counts it, checks for duff notes and pays directly into my account..
When buying I offer the seller the same or pay by cheque and in doing so a cheque can still be cancelled/recalled for up to 3 months according to my bank (First Direct)...
There really does need to be legislation to protect buyers and sellers and the banks need to get involved and not leave it up to private companies to offer paid for services that often turn out to be useless...
I've also been offered obviously stolen bikes before, told the police and they cant even be arsed to go to the sellers house and check it out
The last one was a KTM with no frame or engine numbers, obviously an EXC but being sold as an MX bike..no paperwork and he said he bought it from the back of a van at an MX track.. Gave the police all the details and they wouldnt even take the report as I was not a victim....
I tried the police locally, the police where the seller lived, the police where the bike was bought from the back of a van but none of them would take the info or investigate...
I still dont think there is a reliable guide on how to make certain you're not being scammed..
Maybe we should lobby to get one as I know loads of people who have fallen victim or seen stolen stuff advertised for sale...
