The Federal Trade Commission reports that Internet-auction fraud was the second most-common complaint in 2005, and con artists continually find new ways to disguise their schemes as legitimate offers or purchases.
Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe issued a consumer alert on a growing category of online-auction scams, namely "second-chance" auction sales.
On the widely used Internet-auction site eBay, the second-highest bidder occasionally has the chance to purchase an auction item if the highest bidder does not follow through on the winning bid. These "second-chance" offers can be legitimate, but increasingly are mimicked by scam artists looking to steal money from consumers.
Con artists look at completed auctions for high-ticket items and find the user name of the second-highest bidder. A few days later, they send an e-mail to that bidder pretending to be the seller and claiming the winning bid fell through.
An offer is made for the bidder to get a second chance to purchase the item. Of course, the scam artist has no such item, and any money sent will be lost to the scammer.
EBay itself has offered suggestions for avoiding such scams. It is their policy to post legitimate second-chance offers on the users "My eBay" page.
Also, scam artists often find items being sold by a potential target, and use that auction to make contact for their fraudulent second-chance offer. Therefore, e-mails bearing the subject line "Question from eBay Member" and referring to a second-chance purchase are likely scams.
"As with most Internet-auction scams, these con artists combine a seemingly lucky opportunity with time pressure," Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe said. "Taking the opportunity to verify any such offers will build your confidence in your purchase and ensure that a great deal doesnt turn into a great loss of money."
Beebe said Internet-auction users should also be wary of any auction that asks them to wire money out of the country, or that indicates that big-ticket items from other countries are being sold well below cost and with inexpensive or free shipping.
