Man arrested in huge eBay fraud

**udit** · 05-16-2007

Police in South Salt Lake, Utah, are working with eBay to determine just how many people were victimized by what authorities say was one of the biggest frauds in the auction site’s history. Police arrested 31-year-old Russell Dana Smith last weekend after hundreds of auction winners complained that they sent $1,000 or more to a company named Liquidation Universe for laptop computers they never received. Police say the firm appears to have raked in $1 million from about 1,000 victims in just a few weeks.Meanwhile, would-be buyers are also pointing the finger at SquareTrade, an eBay seller verification service, which had vouched for Liquidation Universe’s legitimacy — and, the buyers thought, offered a fraud guarantee.

JoseYero · 05-22-2007

Good to see this. People think they can't get caught cause it is on the internet. Wrong!

Laettner14 · 05-27-2007

Doesn't Ebay offer some type of protection for larger ticket items like laptops now, where you have to send them the serial number or some other proof of the item's physical existence before you can put it up for auction?

rts47 · 06-20-2007

That sounds a huge fraud.How can people think that they can scam people abot 1000k$ and then go with it.They are plain stupid i think.

Lee · 06-20-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laettner14

Doesn't Ebay offer some type of protection for larger ticket items like laptops now, where you have to send them the serial number or some other proof of the item's physical existence before you can put it up for auction?

I don't know about other countries but I sold a laptop on ebay last month without any of that.

aspire · 06-21-2007

That a huge boost to the anti theft lobby. It gives at least some hope that fraudester cannot get away just like that.

sarentack · 03-31-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laettner14

Doesn't Ebay offer some type of protection for larger ticket items like laptops now, where you have to send them the serial number or some other proof of the item's physical existence before you can put it up for auction?

between them and paypal, they preach about buyer protection and seller protection quite often, that is until a fraudulent transaction occurs, then all of a sudden your not covered.

truly the only reason this guy was probably caught was because ebay or paypal got frauded by him somehow, really TBH, its not normal for neither those companies to go after anyone for fraudulent activities like that, I have seen some fraud from sellers in my time on ebay.