Ebay scam. Maybe you've seen this?

dpoole · October 20, 2018 5:07PM

This may be a common one, and may have been discussed before. I don't know.

But in case it hasn't:

I just sold a 1993 Philadelphia Proof Set on Ebay (by coincidence, to a CU member. While deeply appreciated and a source of delight for me, that's not relevant to the story...)

Promptly after I I sold it, I got an email:

Hello!
I just bought 1993-P US Gold and Silver PROOF SET from you I hope all is great with that item.. p.s I wanna change shipping address coz my dad got sick and I have to move out of town to hospital to take care, sorry for bothering and here is the shipping u have to send it:
First Name: PON-51555 Temur
Last Name: Atskarunashvili
Address: 2213 ogletown rd unit B
Address 2: P-PON 51555
City: Newark
State/Province: DE
Zip/Postal Code: 19711

The sender was dami565224 (0), from Potomac MD.

Although 99.999% sure it was a scam, I emailed the buyer to confirm. Buyer confirmed. I forwarded the email to spoof@ebay.com, just to make me feel like I'd done something about it.

You guys seen this?

RichieURich · October 20, 2018 5:10PM

Good catch.
Also, PayPal seller protection only protects when a shipment is made to the PayPal confirmed address.

Coinstartled · October 20, 2018 5:31PM

Haven't had that one yet. Thanks for the heads up.

stevek · October 20, 2018 5:46PM

Google: 2213 ogletown rd unit b 19711

There are some other comments about this.

jmlanzaf · October 20, 2018 5:49PM

Believe it or not, I had a similar case that was LEGITIMATE! I insisted the buyer actually change his PayPal address before I would ship and, sure enough, it worked.

thisistheshow · October 20, 2018 6:09PM

Thanks for the warning.

CoinCrazyPA · October 20, 2018 6:48PM

I had a buyer the other day wanting me to ship to FL his winter address but his adress was on ebay as Michigan. I told him he would have to update it on ebay. A day later he updated it in ebay and all went well. So its not always a scam

drei3ree · October 20, 2018 6:52PM

@RichieURich said:
Good catch.
Also, PayPal seller protection only protects when a shipment is made to the PayPal confirmed address.

Ship to the address Paypal gives you, no exceptions, or you're gonna get scammed!

Namvet69 · October 20, 2018 6:56PM

An afterthefact redirected delivery address is part of a fraud scheme that goes way back. The medical emergency excuse is nice window dressing. It kinda makes it hard to say no. Peace Roy

messydesk · October 20, 2018 6:57PM

@stevek said:
Google: 2213 ogletown rd unit b 19711

There are some other comments about this.

Dating back over a year. Nice to see the scammer has found a sustainable business model.

AUandAG · October 20, 2018 7:24PM

That address is a commercial building in a commercial area. Looks like an auto repair shop maybe.

bob

airplanenut · October 20, 2018 7:59PM

@AUandAG said:
That address is a commercial building in a commercial area. Looks like an auto repair shop maybe.

bob

The way it's addressed makes me think that it's a forwarding location. I have a lot of international buyers that have me ship to a location where part of the name is their ID number. That place then sends it on. In this case, that second part of the name, plus the name being Russian/eastern European, makes me think his goal is to just have it forwarded to him out of the country.

The easy solution to avoid this scam is to just follow the rules. Once you pay, I won't change the address for any reason, period.

stevek · October 20, 2018 9:02PM

@airplanenut said:

@AUandAG said:
That address is a commercial building in a commercial area. Looks like an auto repair shop maybe.

bob

The way it's addressed makes me think that it's a forwarding location. I have a lot of international buyers that have me ship to a location where part of the name is their ID number. That place then sends it on. In this case, that second part of the name, plus the name being Russian/eastern European, makes me think his goal is to just have it forwarded to him out of the country.

The easy solution to avoid this scam is to just follow the rules. Once you pay, I won't change the address for any reason, period.

https://www.bbb.org/us/de/newark/profile/mailing-services/express-line-services-0251-92007243

Comment pasted from the BBB website:

FRAUD/SCAM THIS PERSON(S) IS SCAMMING PEOPLE ON THIS
SITE AND ON EBAY AND PERHAPS MANY, OTHER SITES AS
WELL THEY HACKED MY EBAY SITE AND STOLE OVER $700 OF
GOLD JEWELRY I HAVE THE POLICE INVESTIGATING IT. BUT
WANT TO WARN OTHERS THRU YOUR SITE THAT THIS
BUSINESS IS NOT LEGIT, THEY ARE THIEVES, INTERNET CYBER
CRIME.

dcarr · October 20, 2018 9:07PM

I would be tempted to send the scammer my canned response to these sort of things:

"I would be happy to send the [proof set] to Hell. You can go pick it up there."

U1chicago · October 20, 2018 9:09PM

Happened to me a few months ago. It was even the same name.

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1003175/another-ebay-scammer

stevek · October 20, 2018 9:14PM

<<< Hello!
I just bought 1993-P US Gold and Silver PROOF SET from you I hope all is great with that item.. p.s I wanna change shipping address coz my dad got sick and I have to move out of town to hospital to take care, sorry for bothering and here is the shipping u have to send it: >>>

Perhaps it's my imagination, but to me it sounds like someone from a foreign country trying to pretend to be an American. The syntax of the wording with the slang just doesn't look right.

In my opinion, based on all the posts, I'd say it's definitely a scam. If I were you, I'd refund the PayPal payment, just email back that you cannot change the shipping address, and block the buyer. Don't try to induce him to keep the same shipping address or do anything else, as he may scam you in some other way. It's your call.

I had a similar incident like this on Ebay a few years ago for a high dollar item. I did what I stated and the guy left me a neg. Initially Ebay wouldn't remove the neg, however I pushed them with some more phone calls and they did finally remove it.

Paradisefound · October 20, 2018 9:16PM

Glad you guys are on top of it ....... preventing me from being scammed in the future (near immediate future)
THANK YOU ALL for your post

AUandAG · October 20, 2018 10:23PM

Just respond with something silly like: I'm sorry but your coin has already been shipped to the address listed in Tipperary.
Of course you'll not hear from them again.

Oh, Tipperary is in Ireland for those that Google.

Timbuk3 · October 20, 2018 10:41PM

Glad you caught it, thanks for the warning !!!

BillDugan1959 · October 20, 2018 10:59PM

I mostly understand this thread, but what the heck is a "1993 Philadelphia Proof Set"?

Bochiman · October 20, 2018 11:06PM

Yeah, nice catch. One of the easier catches but it seems to get some folks.

I would have just replied back "Happy to send it to you there, but still need payment, in cash, as discussed. Once I receive it, happy to ship"

BlindedByEgo · October 20, 2018 11:40PM

I've had that trick tried on me one or twice - not really new, IMO.

Postalon in Suite B is a postal mailbox store. If someone is in the area who wants to lean on the counter person a bit, I'm sure that good fun may be had by all

One could always try the "red envelope" trick - send a large brightly colored envelope or package to the address, locally, and stake out the place a day later 'til you see who walks out with it - (If no one does, the fraudster might be the business owner). Follow the envelope to a house or office, take the address and run it through a reverse directory. Use that info to doxx the living crap out of the perpetrator

Alternatively, you could just let it go.

BigA · October 21, 2018 5:00AM

Run Forest Run.....

dpoole · October 21, 2018 6:06AM

@BillDugan1959 said:
I mostly understand this thread, but what the heck is a "1993 Philadelphia Proof Set"?

https://ebay.com/itm/253922276645

ricko · October 21, 2018 7:05AM

Thanks for the warning... Though I do not sell on ebay, it is good to see how scammers work. By the way, the Philadelphia set is really nice, I have one... Cheers, RickO

Cougar1978 · October 21, 2018 7:10AM

Haven’t seen that - but we gotta be wary of screwball requests.

Since I print out shipx label it hopefully should be a legit request. If they have some screwball request ship elsewhere not from eBay then yes red flag.

derryb · October 21, 2018 7:25AM

buyer has the option to temporarily change ship to address in ebay during checkout. To permanently change the shipping address of an ebay account a scammer has to access the ebay account, normally with a phishing email that gives them the password. Some scammers have been successful at changing another's ebay shipping address to receive all purchases the victim ebayer made. Periodically review your ebay profile and never log into an account you accessed through an email link.

This is why you always ship only to address that paypal shows. It doesn't hurt to include this in your listing: "We ship only to your registered paypal address. Do not ask us to use a different address. If you require a different shipping address, change it in your paypal account before making payment."

Cameonut · October 21, 2018 8:01AM

I have been on both sides of this one. Having a winter residence is easy enough to set up in Paypal - I've done it. As a seller, I don't ship to non verified addresses.

Anyway, I'd be half tempted to send this bozo (no offence to clowns) an empty can of this. (I'll feed the animals the contents). I only wish I could be there when he opened the mailer.

Aspie_Rocco · October 21, 2018 1:06PM

@Cameonut said:
I have been on both sides of this one. Having a winter residence is easy enough to set up in Paypal - I've done it. As a seller, I don't ship to non verified addresses.

Anyway, I'd be half tempted to send this bozo (no offence to clowns) an empty can of this. (I'll feed the animals the contents). I only wish I could be there when he opened the mailer.

I like the can idea. One could also send a bag of loose glitter or dog poop to the scammers requested address

Bochiman · October 21, 2018 6:01PM

Find a cheap GPS tracking device, that will show you the route it takes as well (I use a program on my son's cellphone, since he is a new driver and under 18). Send that and track. Should find the ultimate location pretty quickly.....

@BlindedByEgo said:
I've had that trick tried on me one or twice - not really new, IMO.

Postalon in Suite B is a postal mailbox store. If someone is in the area who wants to lean on the counter person a bit, I'm sure that good fun may be had by all

One could always try the "red envelope" trick - send a large brightly colored envelope or package to the address, locally, and stake out the place a day later 'til you see who walks out with it - (If no one does, the fraudster might be the business owner). Follow the envelope to a house or office, take the address and run it through a reverse directory. Use that info to doxx the living crap out of the perpetrator

Alternatively, you could just let it go.

mustangmanbob · October 21, 2018 7:23PM

I get these requests about 5% of the time. Normally, someone has moved. The stuff I sell (hopefully) is not a high theft item. I just have them go into ebay and paypal and correct or add an address.

Here is an example of message I got from ebay (yes, it is real)

incorrect shipping address SR# 1-180643738739

Hello [1-180643738739.XXXXX]

Good day, we are contacting you in behalf of your customer XXXXXX with user id XXXXX for the purchase that he made with an item no. 32341693xxxx. because he did not realized that it's an old shipping address. Buyer would like you to ship the item to his new shipping address. We really appreciate your cooperation.

XXXX

xxx XXXXX Ct

City, MI 48082 US

Sometimes, they clicked the wrong address. Some people have multiple addresses on file. For example, some of my overseas people have one address (Germany for example), when buying within the EU. Another address if the item is being sent via the ebay global shipping center, and another if the item is being drop shipped (freight forwarded) normally in a US port city.

I cannot remember ever having an address change request, when taken patiently, helping the buyer understand what they need to do, turn out bad. the addresses were corrected, and the item shipped, and no charge backs.

derryb · October 21, 2018 7:34PM

And, to prevent high value items you ship from being forwarded to a scammer always mark the package "Return Service Requested, Do Not Forward."

YQQ · January 18, 2019 10:51AM

last 2 weeks I had a similar ting happen to me..
purchase out of England, asking me to ship to him C/O Stephen Album in California.
something rang a bell.... and I called (I am a client there) and asked if it is ok. NOT... nothing known besides him being a client. so I said NO, will not do that. then he comes back with a Canadian address to ship. I said if PP confirms I ship after payment is received without using a CC to pay PP.
then he sent me another request to send him a invoice with his Canadian Address to ship to his Canadian Address.
I again said the same thing... PP must confirm.
So, I sent him as he requested, an invoice with his Canadian address and waited for payment....... it did not come in 7 days and I canceled the deal. Also reported him to Ebay.
next time, with any Buyer, will not go to such a lenght trying to be nice.

No Headlights · January 18, 2019 11:33AM

That guy has more fathers than the Pope!

rundropglide · November 24, 2021 8:56PM

The sad part is I was just had this address used in an attempted scam where they return the wrong item (and they suck at scamming haha).

VanHalen · November 24, 2021 10:06PM

I've shipped items to a buyer's second home a couple times. As long as all the communication is recorded in eBay's message system they (eBay) said I'm fine shipping it to other than the buyer's verified address. Never had a problem.

Yours appears to be a different issue though. The message apparently was not received from the actual buyer?

davewesen · November 24, 2021 10:09PM

it was an email and not message through eBay? how did they get email address? 3 yr old thread so maybe not pertinent

WillieBoyd2 · November 24, 2021 10:13PM

Several years ago I was doing some Internet research on horses and came across a horse owner's website.

Some people reported that someone was using this scam to redirect shipment of a horse.

lkenefic · November 25, 2021 8:29AM

Thanks for the heads up! I'm about to post a bunch of Lincoln Cents...

derryb · November 25, 2021 12:56PM

I get that message occasionally. I always respond "sure," and then send him a letter with a copy of the packing slip with a note from the FBI telling him to call the nearest office for an interview.

Always compare the ebay ID of a message about a sold item with the ID of the actual buyer.

Ebay scam. Maybe you've seen this?

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