Ebay: Beware of the 'second-chance' sellers
Online auction site eBay is warning users about a new scam in which fraudsters are targeting customers whose bids for goods fail. Scottish police published a warning about the "second-chance fraud" earlier this year, but the scam has since become increasingly popular with fraudsters.
The starting point for the scam is that eBay users can see which fellow bidders are participating in auctions. It is then possible to contact unsuccessful bidders through eBay's "contact a user" service.
In many cases, unsuccessful bidders have received e-mails from sellers claiming that their sale to the auction winner has fallen through. The e-mails seem authentic, because they are delivered through eBay's own systems, which were set up to enable users to do legitimate business with each other.
Bidders are then asked whether they would like to buy the item outside the eBay system. After they part with cash, the goods are never delivered and the seller disappears.
