just been scammed, has anyone been contacted after an auction by a person pretending to be winner?

[robbyrob1273]

I sold an xbox and mins after the auction ended a guy messaged to say he had just won the item and could i send it to his nephews house as it was a birthday present. two weeks later the real auction winner chased up the missing xbox and i realised the scam. The message from the scammer was linked to the item number and when i clicked it, it showed the real winners name and address. Has this happened to others? Am I totally screwed with this, I even have a DPD photo of the item sitting on the scammers doorstep.

[pixiesen2012]

it's up to YOU to make sure the person you send the item to, is the person who actually bought the item,

ebay can't 'validate' against you sending to some random person who didn't even win the item!

when an item sells you only send to the address provided with the paypal payment,

if the 'buyer' asks for something different you have to tell them to change the address at payment,

if you do anything else you are no longer covered by ebay or paypal

[robbyrob1273]

Thanks but my question was, how are people making accounts on an auction platform without showing they are a real person. I had to when I opened my account. When my credit card expires I’m chased to update the details, do the scammers not have to be linked to a payment method. They created an eBay account and have bought 6 items to build up feedback from other sellers.

[pixiesen2012]

how do you know they aren't showing as a real person?

buyers don't have to be linked to a payment option

when people ask questions on an item it will link to the item they are asking the question about

you fell for a scam

[robbyrob1273]

I mean if all buyers and sellers were validated on the platform, the member that hijacked me would be traceable through eBay therefore not able to use the platform to scam people. If everyone on the platform either buyer or seller was id checked on account activation this couldn’t happen. I get the feeling you are one of them people that just use these forums to get a rise out of people. I admit I screwed up, I’ve been on eBay since it started pretty much and this is the first time I’ve been fxcked over, I’m fuming but I can only blame myself for trusting people, thinking like a nice guy and not thinking everybody is a crook. I’ve learned my lesson and will be a vigilant untrusting policeman from now on. I came here for some advice also to see if this scam was common not to get condescending comment about it’s my fault which I assure you I’m well aware

[pixiesen2012]

accounts get hacked, most of the time it isn't the account holder who commits the scam, no amount of validating members can stop this from happening,

people just have to follow the site rules and only send to the address provided with the paypal payment, then these 'scams' wouldn't work.

[*knight-rider*]

That`s alot of money to lose because of not knowing the rules or bothering to learn them and for a member of 15 years, is very complacent indeed. Number one rule when having sold anything, is only post to the address given on the paypal payment, otherwise you have no protection at all and that `can you send to my neice/nephew` is as old as Ebay itself.
Not sure what course of action you can do now other than possible legal action, which will just cost even more money.