Man conned out of £4.5k on eBay after fraudsters trick him into handing over cash for a new motor
Cops say 16 people were conned by the same fraudster on eBay between October and December 2016
A MAN has been conned out of £4,500 by a fraudster on eBay after he was tricked into handing over cash for a new motor.
Cops have warned that he's just one of a string of victims who've fallen foul to the same scam through the online auction site in just a few months.
Ill health caused Chris Matt to retire early and receive a small private pension at age 63. He decided to use some of the money to replace his ageing motor.
He went straight onto eBay to find a new one, and after coming across an ad featuring his dream car, a BMW X5, the father-of-two from Lincoln contacted the seller through the site's messaging system to request more information and pictures.
He was subsequently contacted by a man by phone who said he was selling the car on behalf of his deceased brother via a company called Symbonet Trading Group.
Having never heard of the firm, Chris went online to look through forums to see what other people had said about it, and only found positive recommendations.
He said: "I was of course suspicious about the company as I hadn't heard about them before, but after looking thoroughly online I found customers who had bought from the firm saying it was genuine and reputable.
MOST READ IN LIVING
"So when the salesman contacted me on the phone I felt more reassured. He pointed me towards the website which looked professional, and sent forms with lots of information, detail and pictures of the car. He also said that I could return the vehicle within 10 days if I wasn't happy with it."
Fooled by the convincing con artist, Chris agreed to purchase the vehicle and sent £4,500 via bank transfer to Symbonet Trading Group.
When the vehicle failed to arrive a few days later, Chris cottoned on to what had happened.
He quickly contacted the company, which at first assured him that the car would be delivered, but they soon went quiet.
Chris then contacted Action Fraud, eBay and his bank Lloyds to explain what had happened and to try and get his funds back.
Lloyds attempted to reclaim the money, but the fraudster had already withdrawn the funds from Chris's account.
And because payment was made off the eBay platform, Chris is not protected by the site's buyer protection programme which means that buyers who purchase items on the site with PayPal that don't arrive, are damaged or are not as described, will get their money back.
When The Sun Online tried to contact Symbonet Trading Group we were unable to find any trace of the company online or via official company records.
Cops told The Sun Online that 16 victims had been conned by the same fraudulent motor trader on eBay between October and December 2016.
The combined total paid by the victims amounts to almost £80,000.
The Sun Online reported last year how a retired businessman suffering a terminal illness lost all his savings after falling victim to the same fraudster advertising a car for sale on eBay.
Evidence from these cases is currently being assessed by investigators from Operation Falcon, the Met’s response to fraud and linked crime online, and enquiries continue.
They said: "Anyone who shops using online marketplaces should be aware that police are not able to recover funds and purchases online should never be paid for by bank transfer.
"Ideally, purchases should be made from reputable retailers where the buyer has access to consumer protection."
eBay told The Sun Online that customers should always complete purchases or sales on eBay, and should never rely on a third party email.
"eBay does not offer an escrow service, and transactions should only take place on eBay, with all messages exchanged via ‘My eBay’. If you are buying and selling on email, you’re not on eBay and are not protected," a spokesman said.
How to protect yourself against online fraud
- CHECK the item's description carefully – ask the seller questions if you’re not sure of something
- Beware of people offering you a deal below the current bid or reserve price, especially if they contact you directly
- Remember, if an offer sounds too good to be true, then it probably is
- Be extremely careful when buying things from people with little or no selling history
- Be aware of phishing emails that look like they come from the online auction or payment site you’re registered with, asking you to update your account details or re-enter them because your account has been suspended
- Check the URL in the web browser. A tactic often used by fraudsters is to change the address very slightly (if they’re spoofing an eBay site, for instance, they may have an address such as ‘. . . @ebayz.com’ whereas the real site is ‘. . . @ebay.com’)
- If you bid for an item unsuccessfully, don’t be tempted to trade off-site if another seller approaches you with a similar item
- Try to avoid paying by money transfers - they aren’t secure
- Don’t send confidential personal or financial information by email
- Use an online payment option such as PayPal, which helps to protect you
- If fraud has been committed, report it to Action Fraud.
A spokesperson for Lloyds Bank said: “[We] take fraud prevention extremely seriously. We have rigorous security procedures in place to protect our customers and transactions are monitored using industry leading systems.
"Unfortunately, it appears our customer fell victim to a scam. While we sympathise with Mr Matt’s situation, the security of his Lloyds Bank account was not compromised and we processed the transaction in line with his authorised instructions.
"As no funds remained within the beneficiary account, we are therefore unable to provide a refund.”
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4094