FBI Targets Online Auction Sites' Criminal Element

coondoggie writes "The FBI has made a number of big busts using the eBay and other online auction sites this year. Today comes news that it played a big role in the indictment of an Alabama man for wire fraud. Joseph Davidson, has been charged in U.S. District Court with wire fraud in connection with an eBay scheme in which he allegedly received approximately $77,000 for stolen goods sold on the auction site. "Online auction houses present an opportunity for a thief to turn a stolen item into cash. Thieves should know that law enforcement can surf sites too in investigating crime," the FBI said."

Re:... the FBI thinks we don't already know this?

[tomhudson]

I don't have to RTFA - we had a case that made the local papers where a guy was bilked out of a $40,000 painting through eBay. They got the painting, never sent the money, so he's out both. feeBay did squat. The FBI did nothing, either. Why the f*ck do they have to have people "surfing the net looking for crime" when they've got people saying "hey, why the fuck don't you DO something about this - here's the proof, here's the people involved ..." and their response is "Its a civil, not criminal, matter. Take them to civil court." Fuck that.

The $77k is worth noting

[doggod]

And the best of the fraudsters do note it. They know what I had to find out the hard way, that the US Attorney's office will not prosecute anything less than about $25,000 (the exact amount varies from district to district).

Several years ago, I got stuck with some bogus cashier's checks. I think the amount was around $10k. I went to the FBI, I went to the Secret Service, I went to the Postal Inspector. They all work for the same Federal Prosecutor, and they all broke the same news, that they couldn't afford to waste their time investigating because even if they brought the culprit in he would never be charged. "The AG's office has to allocate its time" was how it was explained to me.

Apparently the Feds are too busy prosecuting sick and dying invalids for smoking state-legal marijuana after they're brought in by DEA thugs http://www.huffingtonpost.com/reena-szczenpanski/m ultiagency-drug-task-fo_b_62401.html [huffingtonpost.com] to be bothered with protecting the property stolen from nobodies like me.

So, as I say, I'm pretty sure the best of the on-line scammers are onto this, and they carefully craft their hits to be less than, say, $20,000. It is, literally, a "get-out-of-jail-free" card!

where's Ebay's liability

[Pugzilla]

But the total dollar losses reported were up in 2006, totaling $198 million for the year.

if as is the case with most property crime, they are barely scratching the surface when it comes to actual $ amount in "fenced" merchandise online and all for those stolen goods Ebay is still getting there money.

Re:... the FBI thinks we don't already know this?

[Socguy]

True, True, but they should start, a lot of little people suffer much more relative damage to small time scams, and these people seem to operate with impunity. A lot of scammers try to take legitimate sellers as well. My Girlfriend likes to buy and sell online a lot and I can't tell you the number of scams and insincere people out there. Don't forget these scams are not limited to the big sites like Ebay, in fact they thrive on the small locals. The current most popular scam I'm seeing out there seems to be:

1. A potential buyer contacts a seller.
2. Potential buyer expresses interest in the item to be purchased but can only do an email money transfer.
3. Seller agrees but buyer then inexplicably decided to transfer a much larger sum than the item being purchased is worth and requests that the overage be given to a local 'associate'.

The way it works: The email transfer is actually from a dummy or illegitimate bank, or flawed in some way. Your bank receives the 'transfer' and dutifully displays the money in your account, however, in the banking world everything takes time and that money has not actually been verified as transfered from one bank to the other yet. If you carry out your end of the arrangement, you pass on the difference between the selling price and the overage you got to the 'associate', and that's the money you lose. In a week or so when your bank realizes that no money has actually arrived, they simply erase the transaction, wiping the entire deposit out of your account, (like a bad cheque!). However, any money you've given to the 'associate' was a legitimate transaction and it's gone to the scammers!

No, I haven't gotten taken by this, or any other scam, but I think it shows a level of ingenuity that could easily take someone a little more trusting. I had no idea how this could go bad until I looked it up, but I knew it smelled fishy at the time. As I'm sure everyone here knows, when something a little funny happens, even if you can't figure out right away what's going on, it's a scam! Wherever possible, meet the seller or buyer face to face, and pay CASH!

Re:The $77k is worth noting

[Dachannien]

The US DOJ is not the only game in town, though. In many cases, a violation of federal law will also involve a violation of state law, so if the Feds won't handle a case, check to see whether the state or county authorities are interested.