OT: Phone Number Scam? (ebay)

I have a Leica for sale on eBay. I received an email yesterday from a

supposed interested party. They said that they were interested and

had a lot of questions and wondered if they could get my phone number

so they could call me.

 

Of course I didn't want some wacko calling me day and night so I said

I was out of town and why didn't they email me the questions they had

and I'd respond to them.

 

Later I noticed that the email address was ____@yahoo.cn cn being

China. I can't imagine someone being interested enough to call me

halfway around the world to talk to me about my camera (even though it

is a wonderful and all around great camera).

 

I guess it must be some kind of scam but what can one do with my phone

number? Any ideas?

 

Thanks,

 

Chad

You are way too paranoid. I guarantee tons of people already have your phone number. Why dont you just have them call you at work or something if you are really worried.

 

Also I imagine someone looking for a Leica probably will not sweat the cost of a phone call to the US. Especially considering the closest strong Leica market for them is Japan, and we all know the prices they fetch there.

Hong Kong was always a big centre for Leica colelctors, and it's perfectly possible that

people in Shanghai and other chinese cities have got the same bug.

 

China, like many fast-developing societies, is a place of huge inequalities. Many people

there have trouble finding enough daily food, but there are also many people who

seriously rich by any standards.

i wouldn't worry. i've called around the world when interested in something. probably 2 bucks in phone charges. not bad for peace of mind on his end no?

When I was living in Indonesia, and bidding on ebay, I would appreciate it if I could know the person who is selling the Leica is a real person. And don't want to be scammed. It would give a much more assured feeling of not getting scammed. A phone number to talk to the seller directly would be appreciated.

You have no way of knowing why they would want your phone number and although a lot of people may already have it that is no reason for you to reveal it under those circumstnces. They can use it for spam and you will get hundreds of returned messages that you didn't originate. One piece here and another there and bingo! someone steals your identity and you get ripped off. You aren't paranoid, you are just being cautious.

Chad: I honestly can't figure out what you could possibly be afraid of in this case. Just out of curiosity, what exactly are you selling?

Their email, if it came via eBay, will have a username attached, and you will

be able to check their feedback. If their feedback if non-existent, and yours is

good, chances are they are a scammer. If your feedback is minimal, and theirs

is good, perhaps they think <i>you</i> are a scammer!

"They can use it for spam and you will get hundreds of returned messages that you didn't originate."

 

What? That's way out there... Do you think someone could place a virus through your phone line?

maybe you should call the buyer

you're worried about a phone call? if i was buying a camera over the net, i think i might want to talk to the seller just make sure it's legit. too

I guess what I'm afraid of is somebody wanting to talk to me about different brands of scotch, Tilley hats and Mephisto shoes. Like I need that.

You need to get out a little more Chad; a phone call to China is nothing these days.

In most cases I can tell you as a Leica user, in a case like this (on eBay), I always would want to talk to the seller about an item (especially on an M body).

Chad, quite a serious problem in UK is the hijacking of people's phone

numbers through which people, particularly in the Far East, make calls to

premium rate numbers which they own. I don't know how it works but many

people here have opened phone bills and seen long phone calls to premium

numbers abroad they had never called. So its always better to err on the side

of caution. Plus what could be said by phone that couldn't by email?

seb, it's not what couldn't be said over email that could over phone, but the tone of voice and the way they sound. a couple min's on the phone can give the extra assurance you may need when making a purchase like this. i know it has for me.

 

if you're worried, get his number and you spend the few bucks to make a call.

If the item I'm interested goes for a lot of money by my standards I always request a phone number so that I can talk to the person and also to do address verification of who they claim they really are. When I sell items I always give people my phone number at the end of the e-mail if they ask me a question.

I agree with Rene. Give him your phone number. If it turns out to be a mistake, there's always the Federal Witness Protection Program. Seriously, I'd give my (work) number if I were selling an item of value.

Chad, if you are so concerned about revealing anything about you, why do you trade on eBay?

I was shocked recently to find that my local telephone company was actually PUBLISHING PEOPLE'S TELEPHONE NUMBERS! In a big book that they'd just leave lying around all over town, no less!

Maybe the guy doesn't quite trust a sneaky American - those capitalists all think arike.

Just buy a cell phone at a retail business,providing home phone number,address, social security number, date of birth for credit worthiness to secure a contract and then produce your credit card to complete the purchase.

I don't know what is the missing link in this chain of identity theft?

 

Syed shah.

ask him to use web phone, or video cam through the web, on apple you have isight, I am

sure there are equivalent on pc as well. i have been reading Leica's quarter report, only the

far east has shown substantial sales growth. sometimes it is strange to see on ebay that

the seller does not ship overseas, even now on german ebay, they are starting to use both

german and english, ebay is about international trade, not local garage sale.