BT security boss Scammed on EBay
EBay may not be the best place to sell a high ticket electronic device as security expert and chief security technology officer at BT Bruce Schneier found out as he attempted to sell a Sony Vaio TZ-Series laptop on the popular auction website.
His first attempt at selling the laptop was blocked by eBay who told him the sale was cancelled because the highest bidder used a hacked eBay account and thus the sale was void.
In his second attempt to sell on the website the lady who purchased the item with PayPal attempted to scam Schneier by sending the funds via PayPal and then disputing the claims and placing a block on his account to access the money.
Schneier commented that the bidder clearly expected that he would send the laptop in the mail before he found out that she had placed a hold on the payment but he received an email instantaneously from Paypal stating the account holder had disputed the purchase.
He commented that although he was frustrated with the eBay auction service and the failed attempts which he classified as a denial of service attack, he did say he would make a third attempt to sell the laptop because he really did still want to sell the used laptop.
EBay declined to comment on the matter, but for Schneier, perhaps he will find that the third time is a charm, although he is expecting to experience a third type of scam over a successful sale.
