If it seems to good to be true....

[KenH]

I have just avoided falling victim to a scam over the purchase of a car on ebay

What follows below came on an email purportedly from ebay. Although the logos and layout etc have not copied across it looked like a genuine ebay document. It even had a link to their live chat centre.
No doubt if I was more technically competent I could have put the actual document up as it appeared. I had also received a purchase invoice from ebay which again looked pretty genuine.

i was concerned at the apparently low price of £3100 for a 2001 Lotus Elise and the fact that the advert disappeared off ebay after I had entered into an email exchange with the seller. Before proceeding with the purchase I checked with ebay who confirmed it was a scam.



eBay sent this message to Ken Harris.
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay.
eBay Transaction Case ID 218591237298





eBay member Joe Britten (har123uk@gmail.com), as the Seller, initiated a new transaction through eBay Purchase Protection program and registered you, Ken Harris (kenharris_home@hotmail.com), as the Buyer.
We have verified all the details of this transaction, we concluded that they are accurate and the transaction is approved. Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely. Your purchase is protected for up to £10,000.00 or the vehicle purchase price, whichever is lower.







Buy Confidently with our Purchase Protection Program




Purchase Protection
Ensures that you receive the vehicle you paid for, with coverage up to £10,000.00 against fraud or material misrepresentation.
Condition Guarantee by Seller
Provides added confidence that the vehicle's condition is accurately described and protects you if it is significantly different.
Extended Warranty
Protects you from unexpected repair bills after the vehicle purchase.







New eBay Transaction
Case ID: 218591237298


Item: 2001 Lotus Elise
Total Amount: £3,200.00



Seller's Verified Profile: Joe Britten
eBay Verified Member in good standing.
Email address: har123uk@gmail.com


Identity and Contact Information Verified.
Continues to meet strict Membership Criteria.
Committed to Dispute Resolution and Mediation.
Purchase Protection Coverage up to £10,000.00

Complete the transaction in 5 easy steps
The Buyer and the Seller agree on the transaction's terms and on a selling price. The Seller contacts eBay with the transaction's details;
eBay accepts the transaction and offers purchase protection to the Buyer (if the transaction is declined, no further action is required from neither the Buyer or the Seller);
The Buyer receives an invoice and sends the payment to eBay. After the payment is verified by eBay, the Seller will deliver the vehicle. The Seller has three (3) business days to provide the delivery information to the Buyer and eBay. If no delivery information is provided in 3 business days, a full refund is immediately sent to the Buyer;
The Buyer receives the vehicle and has three (3) business days to inspect it. If it is as described and as agreed, the Buyer should accept the vehicle. If he refuses it, the Buyer must deliver the vehicle back to the Seller within 5 business days at the Seller's expense;
After the inspection period is over (3 business days), the Buyer must contact eBay with the result of the inspection. If the Buyer refuses the vehicle, he will receive the refund after the Seller has received his vehicle back. If the Buyer accepts the vehicle, the payment will be sent to the Seller within three (3) business days.







Purchase Protection Overview
Buy with confidence on eBay! The Purchase Protection program protects your vehicle purchase against fraud and material misrepresentation. This program is provided by eBay for FREE. There's no sign-up, opt-in, or registration necessary.


The following types of fraud and material misrepresentation are covered:

Paying for a vehicle and never receiving it;

Sending a deposit for a vehicle and never receiving the vehicle;

Paying for and receiving a vehicle:

that was a stolen vehicle at the time of the transaction;

with an undisclosed or unknown lien against its title;

of a make and/or model that is different than what was described in the seller's listing;

without receiving the title for that vehicle from the seller, if it is impossible for you to obtain a title from the appropriate Department of Motor Vehicles;

whose title is subject to an undisclosed salvage, rebuilt/rebuildable, unrebuildable, reconstructed, scrapped/destroyed, junk, lemon, manufacturer buyback, or water damage title brand at the time of the sale;

with a model year that is different than the model year described in the seller's listing;

with an odometer reading that is different than the odometer reading described in the seller's listing.


Your vehicle purchase is protected for up to £10,000.00 or the vehicle purchase price, whichever is lower. The program covers Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, ATVs, Go-Karts, Scooters, Mopeds, Personal Watercraft, Snowmobiles, Boats, Buses, Commercial Trucks, Race Cars, RVs, Campers, Trailers, Tractors, Excavators and Forklifts.





Help

For any questions please contact us by using the Live Help link from your payment invoice.





Thank you,
eBay's Customer Support
Purchase Protection Program






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[Matt W]

Surely the price would instantly tell you it's a scam.

 

[Rhauri]

Not half! These scammers would probably be more successful if they put prices up to full whack!

 

[DanFreemanPhoto]

£3100 for a 2001 Lotus Elise!

If it had only three wheels then I guess that price is about right.

 

[Gally]

Mental.

 

[KenH]

Surely the price would instantly tell you it's a scam.

That's what initially concerned me but I have been lucky in the past and had some real bargains. So I thought I would look into it further.

The point I am trying to make in flagging this up on the forum is just how professional the scammers are in terms of producing authentic looking pages on line. This was not the work of some Nigerians who can't spell. Remember this scam started with an ad on the genuine eBay site found on an eBay search and the trick was then to get me to communicate by email rather than by eBay's message system. That in itself is not that unusual though as I often invite potential buyers to send me their email address and I can then send more photos as did this seller. I was also given a plausible explanation as to why it was being sold so cheap. When I said I would be interested the seller insisted that the sale be concluded on ebay with all the reassurances about buyer protection. Thereafter an "ebay" invoice followed. If I were able to put the documents I received from "ebay" on here you would see what I mean regarding it being convincing. There was even a link to " eBay Live Help".

Speaking to eBay about it, they admitted that some scammers are now very clever in terms of what they can achieve on line in terms of producing pages that appear to be from them.

We all think we are too clever to ever get scammed but personally having seen how slick this scam was I am no longer so confident.

 

[KenH]

Mental.

Expand please.

 

[vxt172]

I often see these kind of adverts where cars are up for literally thousands less than the cheapest variant. They are so much cheaper that they stick out like a sore thumb, i wouldn't even waste my time enquiring when it's that obvious. That Lotus must be £5-7k cheaper than what a genuine one is worth. I can appreciate that scammers are getting more deceiving by the day but like the o.p states....if it seems too good to be true..!