Online auction buyers 'easy prey' for fraudsters
Online auction buyers 'easy prey' for fraudsters
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Judge warns of online auction fraud

Bogus sale should serve as a 'serious warning' to online buyers

Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 08 Dec 2004
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A judge has warned that is "extremely easy" for fraudsters to take advantage of online auction sites, after convicting a woman of selling bogus Glastonbury tickets on eBay.

Sara-Louise Hambridge pleaded guilty to selling non-existent tickets for the festival, and netting over £3,000 for fewer than 20 tickets.

Judge Richard Bray, of Leicester Crown Court, warned that eBay users were an easy target for fraudsters, adding that the case should serve as a "serious warning" to online buyers.

Sales are currently based entirely on trust, said the judge, making it easy for dishonest traders to take advantage of unwary buyers.

Hambridge, a former Army payroll clerk, claimed initially that she had sent the tickets by post, but later confessed to her crime. She was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years. The money has since been repaid.

EBay released a statement claiming that less than 0.01 per cent of its transactions were fraudulent, and that it has over 1,000 specialists working to identify fraudsters.

See also:

Losses due to internet fraud reach $265m in 2004ID theft and dodgy online auctions top the bill  02 Feb 2005
Sellers will pay up to 22 per cent moreProfessional eBay Sellers Alliance up in arms  27 Jan 2005
If you don't feel safe flashing your plastic online, there's a range of secure payment services you can use to pay for goods instead. We investigate  11 Nov 2004
Experts warn on eBay virus emailMalicious code uses previously undocumented packer  25 Oct 2004
Don't use money transfers  12 Oct 2004

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