Keeping clear of eBay fraud

Mahesh Sharma

EVEN as the internet opens up new venues for retail activity, its potential pitfalls are still leading buyers and sellers, large and small, to treat it with caution.

But with a bit of prudence, caution, and plain common sense, online trading advocates say the risk is not as great as it may sometimes appear. Anecdotally, it seems a lot of people have been reluctant to buy and sell using sites such as the online auctioneer eBay. After some recent incidents, it's easy to see why this is the case. Northern Territory police, for example, were recently reported to be on the hunt for a man who scammed buyers of almost $5000.

In that case the suspect, Brent Mack, is alleged to have conned that amount from five people by taking payment for items he had advertised on eBay but allegedly did not own.

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