Western Union scam:
This scam involves eBay and the appeal of high priced goods, usually electronics, for a bargain price. A seller will advertise an item, (camera, laptop, plasma TV) at low cost. The body of the ad instructs buyers to contact the seller directly outside of eBay at a yahoo or hotmail type account. When contact is made, the seller gives a long story about his problems receiving payment by Paypal - eBay's payment arm. The seller insists that the buyer send money by Western Union. The allure is that the product is a huge bargain; (eg. $2000 item for $700) Of course, if money is sent, it is gone forever and no product is ever delivered. The phony seller usually has a list of prepared e-mails to respond quickly to questions from buyers; he'll go on about how his integrity is important, how he wouldn't risk his family's name, he's legit, check 'his' feedback etc.

The phoney seller makes the listing look credible by using a real eBay id to list the item. The real id has been stolen from a legitimate seller with good feedback, usually by means of e-mail phishing. EBay has a warning on its help site about this increasingly popular scam but ultimately does little to protect victims of fraud. Paypal, as well, does very little to protect its victims of these types of fraud.

An actual e-Mail response from a scamming seller:

"I am sorry but my paypal account is inactive and i cant use it. I want to take this opportunity to assure you that this deal is as legitimate as it could possible be.I have a familly, 2 kids, that means I would not risk anything to put them in danger or something like that for that kind of money, I have a career, I am a person of honour and a serious seller and I don't see any reason for not respecting you as I did with the other customers, Why should I be different with you ??? It makes no sense... I earned my money through hard work in this life and I don't force you to do anything that you won't like, at this price I can find easy another customer. I can guaratee you that you will be more than satisfied and be sure we will do more business in the future. I won't risk my career, my freedom and my future for anything in the world!!! I would rather close this deal with other person than to know that you'll be very stressed hoping that I am a honest person, until you receive your package. Your peace of mind is a lot more important than this deal!!! Building a long-lasting relationship with my customers means building trust. Advertising and marketing efforts create interest and will initially pave the way, but the results are the core of my success in this tough business environment. To be competitive on a highly dynamic market I must find new ways of improving quality of my products/services and reduce costs. Western Union payment services and FedEx delivery services are an excellent way to achieve a high level of profesionalism with a great impact on the results of our trade. Please take into consideration my past experience with different commercial services and the advantage gained from avoiding commercial charges and hidden costs. These are not neglijable aspects of our transaction and they allow me to offer you excellent products and services bellow the market value. If you decide not to go through with it there is no problem. I got quite a few offers left. Get back to me and let me know what you decide. Thank you for your time and interest. Whatever you decide I wish you good luck. "