Dont Be A Victim Of Online Auction Fraud

The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) reported that last year 7.7 million dollars was lost through online auction scams. The actual losses are much greater. Most auction scams are not reported because they involve only small amounts of money.

Most auction Web sites are aggressive at fighting fraud. eBay has a fraud investigation unit that has helped them hold down fraud to only .01% of its transactions. If you paid for an item and never received it, or if you received the item but it was less than what was described, eBay's Fraud Protection Program will reimburse you up to $200, minus a $25 processing charge. In order to qualify for Fraud Protection coverage, you must submit an Online Fraud Complaint with eBay after 30 days and before 60 days from the time the auction ended.

After making a purchase, buyers can leave feedback about their experience with the seller. Before you bid on an item, check the seller's feedback profile by clicking on the number next to the their User ID. There is also a feedback forum and discussion board.

Below are a few actions that you should take to protect yourself from Internet auction fraud.

  • For a high cost item use an escrow service.

  • Avoid sellers who request payment by electronic transfer.

  • Never provide your Social Security Number or Drivers License Number.

  • Verify the delivery data and the sellers return policy.

  • Review the online feedback on a seller.

  • If the seller is a business, check with the Better Business Bureau www.bbb.org.

  • Prefer sellers who accept credit card payments. When you use a credit card to pay for a purchase, federal law limits your liability for an unauthorized charge to $50. You can also request your credit card issuer to make a charge-back.

  • Be cautious about buying from a seller in another country. If you buy from a seller in another country, understand the difference in laws governing auctions between that country and the US.
If you become a victim of Internet auction fraud, you can submit a complaint report with an online form at the IFCC Web site www.ifccfbi.gov. The IFCC will review your complaint and refer it to the proper law enforcement agency.

Internet Auction fraud is a large and growing problem. Take the measures outlined above to prevent yourself from becoming a victim.

Copyright(C)2004 Bucaro TecHelp.

Permission is granted for the below article to forward, reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website, offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and the resource box below is included.

About The Author

Stephen Bucaro

To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on the Web visit bucarotechelp.com. To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter visit http://bucarotechelp.com/search/000800.asp

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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://pr-canada.net/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D51590%26Itemid%3D61cid=0ei=rjXqSJ2IF6GO6APLjqWMCQusg=AFQjCNHHubLv3Rtz0e2vkh8lDQym3GF_ogConcierge bAuctions/b Pleased With Results of Luxury Real Estate bAuction/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fPR-CANADA.net (press release),nbsp;Montenegronbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Today Concierge bAuctions/b hosted a luxury real estate sale of two bay front estates on Siesta Key, Florida. The bauction/b was located at the Sarasota b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.offplanpropertyexchange.com/news/2008/10/americans-turn-to-real-estate-auctions/330cid=0ei=rjXqSJ2IF6GO6APLjqWMCQusg=AFQjCNEe4J2oyLKjvNkFc8FHzRjQ-kM1OgAmericans turn to real estate bauctions/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fOff Plan Property Exchange,nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobr55 minutes ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1More and more American families are turning to bauctions/b as a means of marketing houses for sale, according to one specialist. Abal bAuction/b Real Estate said b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx%3FStoryId%3Dc03936eb-57fb-4178-b839-07a4c8dd5b57cid=1254819658ei=rjXqSJ2IF6GO6APLjqWMCQusg=AFQjCNF6J2Pp_3PqEWoxXryt_ErJsH9gGwBoE to hold two $30 bln 1-wk bauctions/b this week/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fFXstreet.com The Foreign Exchange Market,nbsp;Spainnbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said on Monday it would conduct two one-week dollar bauctions/b, both for $30 billion, this week. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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