eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

eBay Silver Dollar Scam

Jessica Morris

September 21, 2006 - 6:00PM

A warning for shoppers who like to buy Online: Do your homework.

A North Georgia man is facing federal charges for using the Internet auction service, eBay, to steal thousands of dollars from customers across the United States.

Kary Dean Head, 48, of Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia is facing charges of mail fraud and wire fraud. He made a first appearance in federal court Thursday for ripping off as many as fifty people.

Here's how you can protect YOUR money.

More and more people are shopping Online to save both time and money, but how can you make sure you'll get the product you're paying for?

Renee Griffin says she buys organic fruits and vegetables through the Internet, but she makes sure the companies she buys from are backed by Quality Assurance International. �They're an internally recognized organization that sees that the protocol is being met for product that's sold by that particular corporation,� she said. A smart idea when paying BEFORE you get the product in hand.

�I don't like surprises. I like to know exactly what I'm going to get every time,� she added.

But customers who sent Kary Head money never saw their product. At one time, Head ran a Collectibles business from a house on South Main Street in Walker County. He said he was selling American Eagle Silver Dollars on eBay, but according to a federal indictment, he kept the money, all $180,000 of it, and never delivered the coins.

According to Brandi Grubb who works at an Cyber Auctions, there are things to look for when buying Online. �Next to the person's user I.D. it's going to have a number, and that number is going to be how many positive feedback transactions that they've had on eBay. Once you click on that number it will show how much percentage of those is positive, negative, or neutral.�

Head's eBay account has glowing recommendations from 160 customers, but Grubb said you should buy from an account that has at least 1,000.

And remember the �too good to be true� rule. �If you have something that's $3,000 and you're going to buy it for $300, there might be something fishy there. If you're paying about 50 % of retail, that's average eBay price for an item,� said Grubb.

Grubb said there's also a service called Pay Pal. The customer sends Pay Pal their money and they, in turn, pay the seller. For a few extra dollars, Pay Pal promises to return your money if the seller doesn't deliver.

And don't forget there are trading assistants, like Cyber Auction, who will do the work for you.

U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said criminals who are tempted to hide behind the faceless Internet should know that federal law enforcement will aggressively seek them out

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

:D He is not the brightest bulb in the room.

Only 180K ? There was one dude who scammed over 3 1/2 million over a period of two years using fifty different seller IDs.

He is nicknamed DB Cooper.............

Still at large...........they haven't even identified who he is yet........last I heard.

The whole ebay system is geared for profit..........no matter who loses.......ebay makes money.There is no incentive to protect buyers or sellers from fraud..............no matter what they claim to the public.

Feel sorry for the buyers who got ripped..............most will never recover a dime of their money back............ebay will see to that.

:Sorry: :Sorry:

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said criminals who are tempted to hide behind the faceless Internet should know that federal law enforcement will aggressively seek them out

ahahahahaaaaaa......yeah....right.....when the amount hits 6 figures, maybe....

Under that, and they can rip away.

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

:beer:
Andy: They can't even police their own federal employees who steal laptops...

:dito:

In an average week,the number of fraud cases on ebay numbers in the thousands.............yep.........they need to just turn all that fraud over to the attorney general so he can personally track down and prosecute all the internet bandits we have to contend with..........they aggressively throw every case in the trash can as soon as it is reported.Anything less than six figures is ranked right up their with overdue parking tickets.

:banana: :banana: :banana:

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

Only buying things from ppl that have a feedback of over 1000 is a little unrealistic. IMHO that would stiffle the smalltime sellers like myself. Ive only got a feedback of 82 and Ive never screwed anyone over when they bought stuff from me.

When I buy stuff, I always read the persons feedback

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

:beer: Big_Rob:

I know the feeling.........mine is only 200.......all positive.

1000 ? In your dreams dude...............if you sold or bought four items a week it would take you almost five years to get FB score over a thousand.

Where do they get these morons who write this drivel...........must be a former federal employee,probably wrote the article on a stolen laptop.

:D :D :D :D

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

Mine is about 150 and I too have never screwed anyone. The fraud crowd makes it hard on those who really care about their reputation.

I had one instance where I shipped a roll of Prospectors and a 10 Oz Wall Street bar in a (unfortunately) not well secured package. A postal employee (I guess) helped himself to the roll, so my buyer was out the roll.

And what did I do? I refunded her money on the roll (that hurt!) but it was my reputation at stake.

Some of us on E-Bay really care!

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

I too have a low fb rating, 84 and have never screwed anyone. I can definitely see how easy it would be. Thanks to you guys on this forum I can see the scam a little clearer. Thank you! :wavey: I gotta believe that people have to be very greedy to allow themselves to pay 10% of value and expect to recieve that value. :haha: I speak from experience because I too am wooed by the great bargain. :smile:

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

I have bought hundreds of movie DVD's and really by in large most people are very honest and will go the extra mile for lost merchandise but have used exclusively pay pal and never bought too many at one time from any one individual and was screwed once anfter repeated e-mails and he lost his status with e-bay as a consquence

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

Ditto. How the hell you supposed to GET to 1000??!!

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

Most scammers buy or sell such auctions like this
http://cgi.ebay.com/Ebook-Titled-100...QQcmdZViewItem
you pay 99 cents, you exchange feedbacks, both parties "win".

Whenever you buy items from someone whos feedback is below 100, do not only check their feedback, actually click on the items they bought/sold. If the items are a bunch of 1cent or 99cent auctions and all of a sudden they're selling a couple $400 PDA's, well, you see whats going on there, DONT BUY IT.

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

it takes a little time and determination. for example:

i've been on ebay since 2002. i have feedback of 9. if i stick with it, at the current rate, i will have my 1000 feedback in aprox. 444 years. then i will be able to be a "trusted" ebayer. the trick is to never give up.

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

Like I've said before, there are some great deals on eBay if you do a lot of searching (example: mispelled words, like sivler instead of silver). But there are enough idiots on eBay that if you took dogs**t and spraypainted it gold, you'd probably find a buyer!

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

heynoww, I did not know that such crap went on at the bay.

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

Sad but true

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

As much as ePuke and PayPud irritate me with thier fees, and they do, I have to say this: Since being sued, PayPud (owned by ePuke) has made it much easier to actually talk to a real person (used to be they would only accept FAXES!)(no email, no voice!) and with thier PayPud garuantee, you can actually get your money back. When I pay with PayPud, I used my balance of funds, or, I use my credit card to fund my PayPud purchase(which they hate!). That way, I get the guarantee from PayPud AND my credit card company. I have only had three minor glitches in 6 years. All resolved without ePuke or Paypud getting involved.
ALso, I lookk at the seller's list of feedbacks. I actually look at the item he bought or sold. Many times, a scammer will have 300 buys or sales, with a 100% rating. Then you dig and you find that 293 of them are for 2 cent items. It is a cheap way to build your numbers fast... buy a bunch of 2 or 3 cent items from your buddy, or anyone actually, pay quickly, and within two days you have 300 positive feedbacks.
AND ALWAYS CHECK THE SHIPPING AMOUNT! One guy, Falcnrdr, on ePuke, sells A LOT of Ag bullion, BUT... he shipping fees are much higher than anyone else's. In fairness, he does not hide the shipping/handling fee, he states it clearly in his auction, and you get the shipping/insurance/tracking that you pay for. He also combines shipping. But, many sellers sell you a 1/2 ounce coin, then slap ya with $11.75 shipping/insurance, and when it arrives, you find it stamped "Self insured"... that means the seller charged you a bunch of money for insurance and he did not insure it when he sent it to ya! The possible cure for those rip-n-ship artists, when they do that, if the item arrives without tracking of any sort... well... maybe it never arrived, and you should collect on the "self insurance". If they do not refund your money, then HAMMER thier feedback.

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

Hey I heard that! I just ponied up 883$ to a buyer because he was not satisfied with an item. He told me why, I thought his reason was a little weak, but hey, I did the right thing, he shipped the item back, and I refinded him 100% including his initial postage PLUS 1/2 of his return postage. Why? I care about my reputation... all 104 feedbacks.. *laugh*

Re: eBay Silver Dollar Scam
 

The one place I stay away from regarding buying - I have heard too many horror stories from people who got burned on ebay. My son is a heavy ebay'er - more power to him.