New Scam Alert

Type: Online Auction/Classified Scam
Method of Delivery: Online
Primary Region Effected: All Regions (National)
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation- www.FBI.gov

Scam Characteristics:

At any given time, millions of dollars worth of merchandise is bought and sold through online auctions and classified ads. While the vast majority of sellers are legitimate, cybercriminals have begun using these popular methods of commerce to steal the personal and financial information of people looking to find a great deal.

Here's how it works: The thief sets up a fraudulent auction for a product they do not actually have in stock. Once the auction has ended and the buyer has paid, the thief will use a stolen credit card to purchase an identical item from a retailer or manufacturer and have it shipped directly to the purchaser. The thief is out nothing (remember, they used a stolen credit card) and now they have your credit card information.

The following are steps you can take to help avoid becoming a victim of this scam:

• Never provide financial information directly to the seller. Use a reputable third party payment service such as PayPal that acts as an intermediary and offers some kind of buyer's protection.

• When using online auction sites, check each seller's rating and feedback, looking closely at sales and feedback posting dates. Try to avoid sellers with 100% positive feedback and a low total number of posts around the same date and time. This may be an indication that the seller is using fake usernames and posting fraudulent feedback to boost their approval ratings.

• If, after purchasing from an independent seller, you receive a shipment from someone other than the seller you purchased from, contact the sender directly to verify the account used for the purchase belongs to you. If the card number does not match, contact the auction site administrator to notify them of the potentially fraudulent transaction.

• If you are paying cash, take possession of the item immediately. Do not send cash to have an item shipped to you.

For more information on this scam or variations of it visit the Federal Bureau of Investigation's website at www.fbi.gov.