Lancashire teen in huge Ebay scam
A teenager from Haslingden admitted that he was able to pull off an eBay scam worth ?96,000 by listing electrical items for sale that were non-existent.
Shofik Ali, 19, appeared at a hearing at the Burnley Crown Court where the court was told that he began selling on eBay by selling low cost items, until he had a trusted reputation, at which point he began to sell large high priced electrical items, which were never delivered to recipients.
Ali admitted he was responsible for the charges of conspiracy to defraud, and is now out on bail until he receives a sentence in November.
He was able to perpetuate the fraud by selling low cost items such as games, clothing, and mobile phone SIM cards, until he became a power seller and then sold high end items.
At this point he refused to be paid through PayPal, making excuses and directing buyers to wire money into a bank account set up in his name.
During the time period of his active scam between December 2007 and May 2008 he was able to scam more than 30 bidders who never received their items.
Out of the alleged ?96,000 that Ali made, ?75,800 had already been withdrawn from the bank.
