Hello Everyone,
Evelyn Here,
Beliow is a Comsumer Alerts from Attorney General, Bill MCollum.
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Date: February 07, 2007
An Attorney General Consumer Alert!
McCollum Cautions Consumers About Online Auction Scams
TALLAHASSEE - Attorney General Bill McCollum issued a consumer alert
today, cautioning Floridians to be wary of new trends in internet
auction scams. Recently, "second chance" offers have been targeting
online shoppers, offering them another chance at purchasing an item they
may have viewed or bid upon. The victims are contacted by a con artist,
then lured to illegitimate auction sites to purchase the item, which
usually does not exist.
"While the Internet is a valuable tool, it has unfortunately also
become a haven for con artists and those who would take advantage of our
consumers," McCollum said. "I encourage Floridians to increase their
awareness of these online scams that could otherwise appear to be
legitimate offers."
The scams have surfaced on eBay, a well-known internet auction
company. Investigators believe that scammers are contacting losing
bidders of an auction. The scammer redirects the victim to a site
unregulated by eBay, then entices the victim to pay through anonymous
payment methods. Scammers may also obtain the email address of victims
by researching profiles and bids, matching victims with emails and
initiating contact off-eBay.
Another method of pulling the victim into the scam is through
phishing. Phishing occurs when a scammer sends emails to spam lists.
The targeted victims are told to log-in to eBay by a provided link which
redirects victims to a fake website. The scammer then has access to vital
information enabling him or her to take over the eBay account. Phishing
can be compounded by unscrupulous eBay sellers that offer to sell lists
of prior buyers with their email addresses.
To combat second chance scams, the Attorney General and eBay are
encouraging consumers to be aware and educate themselves about the
scams to avoid becoming victims. The company has established a Security
and Resource Center that consumers may use to educate themselves about
potential scams, to avoid to avoid falling prey. Additionally, consumers
are able to install an eBay toolbar on their web browsers. The toolbar
will then alert customers if the eBay website is legitimate or is a
phishing attempt. Many updated browsers also have built-in protection
against phishing. For this reason, eBay and the Attorney General
encourage internet users to upgrade their browsers to a newer version.
In light of National Consumer Protection Week, Attorney General
McCollum said his office will continue to issue alerts and advisories
to raise consumer awareness about common scams and new trends that may
victimize Floridians. More information is available online at http://www.consumer.gov/ncpw.
Thank you.
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Evelyn Out.
