[CR]Ebay scam

(Example: Framebuilding:Brazing Technique)

From: "Lewis Ting" <lewisting@comcast.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2005 09:31:25 -0500
reply-type=original
Subject: [CR]Ebay scam

Dan Stoner wrote:
>Hi Folks:
>Just a note about a scammer operating with impunity this very day. I'm a
>little humiliated to reveal this >because it shows my ignorance when I was
>brand new at E-bay purchases. Nonetheless, I want to educate others as to
>what's going on & warn you not to deal with a known con artist.
>Right now, you may notice two bikes currently listed on E-bay by a
>"mogulpal". One is a Masi, the other a Gios (here's a like to the Masi:
>http://ebay.com/<blah> I dealt with Mogulpal several months ago- bid on his Gios, didn't win it as it never reached reserve. Contacted Mogulpal thru E-Bay after the auction about a "second chance" purchase option. MogulPal sent me bogus e-mails appearing to be from E-Bay notifying me I'd won the bike & asked me to send money by Western Union, as his Paypal acct was down. In reviewing Mogulpal's 100% E-Bay record, I assumed it was safe to deal with him. His scam E-bay notification also stated that he had money in an escrow account to insure the buyer's satisfaction. After paying the money by WU, the bike was never shipped. When I emailed Mogulpal, he continually claimed that he had mistakenly shipped two bikes to me instead of one, and asked me to send another chunk of $ so >he could have the second one released to me.

This is very intriguing as I have dealt with Mogulpal before and have corresponded with him extensively. I wondered if there is a legitimate enthusiast/ebay seller named Mogulpal, the person I have dealt with, and a scam-artist operating out of Germany or whereever, who have been hijacking the real person's identity. When I paid for items from Mogulpal, it was through Paypal without a hitch. Also, I believe his vintage bicycle knowledge is far beyond that of scam-artists that I have come across.

Regarding at least the Masi that's on eBay, I knew ahead of time from Mogulpal that he was going to list it, and it appears that he is using Paypal for this transaction.

Please be sure that we are not confusing a legitimate seller with con-artists. In this case, I have my doubts.

Lewis Ting
Chicago, Illinois