eScam - "Second Chance Scam!"
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If you bid on items at eBay, watch out for the "Second Chance Scam!"
This scan can happen after you have unsuccessfully bid on an item on eBay and the auction is over. The scam starts when someone contacts you by email, offering you the same item for a certain price and usually the amount you had bid.
Beware this person may or may not pose as the original seller. When I was approached, the person claimed to be another company that had the exact same item that I had bid on, which was quite unlikely since I had bid on an assortment of items that were used.
I corresponded with this person, telling him that it was impossible. But he kept insisting that he did, promising to send the items as soon as I had made payment to him. Then later I received a similar email from someone else, this time with a different price for the item. Can you believe it?
I ended up sending the two emails to spoof@ebay.com and they said that they would look into it. That was almost two years ago.
A few months ago a relative was bidding on a motorcycle on eBay, but it went higher than he was willing to pay. A week or so later I received a call from the relative, who was excited to tell me that the motorcycle had not sold and the seller was now offering it at the price originally bid.
I thought this sounded like another "Second Chance Scam" and said so. After checking the offer again, the relative realized the email had NOT come from the same address as the original seller, and probably was a scam.
Recently someone posted a message on our discussion board, who had been taken by the "Second Chance Scam." The fake seller had asked to be paid by a Western Union Money transfer. The person paid him $1,000 and received nothing in return.
These scams take a life of their own as fake sellers watch auctions on eBay, noting the people who place bids. After the auction is over, they can send out "second chance emails" to the unsuccessful bidders with the description of the item.
Do not respond to these! You will lose money! It is a scam!
When bidding on eBay and you receive an email you don't think is a scam, at least make sure that you don't communicate using links from the email. Instead find the item or original seller on eBay and contact him directly through eBay.
To protect yourself you can pay using a payment method that will refund your money when the sale doesn't work out, such as with a reparable credit card company or PayPal. If the seller will not accept these, consider not buying the item listed to avoid getting burned.
The main thing that saved me from being ripped off by the "Second Chance Scam" was that: a.) I took the above precautions, b.) I didn't believe everything the fake seller told me, and 3.) I had the common sense to realize it didn't make sense.
If you don't want to get taken in by scams like these, please be smart and always stay cautious.
This eScam alert is compliments of Ray's Computer Tips, an email service to the customers of . . . Ray's Super Win Software, Inc.