eBay online fraud leaves you saddled with debt, junk you didn’t order

Sending unwanted orders to the innocent is an old, online fraud scam that most of us are aware of. But there’s a difference between an unwanted $13 pizza and an unwanted $13,000 purchase.

Online fraud can hit you in some truly surprising ways. Take the alarming case of Ars Technica writer Ken Fisher, who does not live in the UK or own an eBay account, yet received a notice from eBay UK out of the blue, congratulating him for successfully bidding $13,000 for 500 LED lights. In an article describing his experience, Fisher expresses his concern that this could happen, and his further frustration that his attempts to get in touch with tech support proved fruitless. Fisher was unsure of the origin of the message and whether or not it meant he was having online privacy issues. In the end, he just ignored eBay.

Take it from an online identity expert: it’s all fun and games until you wind up with 80 pounds of electronics.

John Sileo is an online fraud expert and keynote speaker on privacy, identity and reputation protection. His clients included the Department of Defense, Pfizer, and Homeland Security. See his recent media appearances on 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper and Fox Business.

Posted by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo in Fraud Detection & Prevention and tagged John Sileo, online fraud expert, online identity, Online identity theft, online privacy issues.