Crime pays very well when your victims are in Australia and you're in another country. The Nigerians have conned many millions from Australians of a vulnerable bent, and like me you may have assumed in years past that they were untouchable because they lived in Africa. But an increasing number of Australians are finding that criminals operating out of the UK are just as untouchable. Recall my account a few weeks ago of a London-based con man who took over a Hunter man's email account and sent appeals for money to everyone in his contact list. This week I came across a sad story of a family from the Lake Macquarie suburb of Glendale losing the money they'd saved to buy a caravan. In both these accounts the criminals are too far beyond the reach of Australian police, and in any event the scale of internet fraud renders police helpless. Bob and Leanne Lucas were told candidly by Newcastle police when they reported the theft that police could do nothing.
They'd saved $4000 to buy a cheap caravan and they'd found one on eBay at a Buy It Now price of $4318. The seller (email Mike045088@gmail.com) explained that he was in the UK on a business trip, that the van was in Canberra and would be delivered by truck to Glendale. He suggested they pay the money into eBay's international holding account at a Barclays Bank branch in London and that they'd then have five days to decide whether to keep the caravan or instruct eBay to refund the money.
Leanne asked her eBay-experienced brother, Darren, to check the validity of this payment system, and he sent the details of the offer to eBay's Live Help service and asked if it was a safe way to pay. Marjorie D. replied that it was. Of course it was not, and soon there was no caravan and no money and no communication with Mike.
eBay has acknowledged its error, explained that there is no such thing as an eBay holding account, said it has disciplined Marjorie, apologised and suggested Bob and Leanne Lucas go to the police. As you know, they've gone to the police only to be told the police can do nothing.
And communication with eBay came to a halt when the Lucas family asked eBay to make good the $4318 lost on its advice. Nor has eBay responded to my call.
I want to ask eBay how it is that its fraud investigators were unaware of the con that is the eBay international holding account when that fictitious account is listed on eBay's own site. Even a simple Google search shows Mike's eBay holding account scam in action elsewhere, and it is such an obvious fraud that I cannot believe eBay was unaware of it.
eBay suggesting the Lucas family go to the police is devious, given that it knows the police can do nothing and given that it knows it has an ethical obligation to make good the loss itself. Let's see if eBay is prepared to come from behind its electronic curtain to do the right thing.
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