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Online Auctions
Online auctions are popular for good reasons: they help shoppers track down hard-to-find items and get great deals. EBay is the most well known of the online auction sites but shoppers also flock to sites sponsored by Ubid, Webidz, Overstock.com and others.
Unfortunately, auction sites are also popular with scammers and fraudsters. In fact, auction fraud consistently ranks in the top five on the Federal Trade Commission's annual list of consumer complaints.2 Late deliveries, dishonest advertising, or merchandise that never arrives are the most common complaints. Other customers report being misled about the value of their purchase, and still others feel cheated by underhanded bidding schemes.3 Sellers can also be ripped off by dishonest auction buyers perpetrating counterfeit check scams.
Auction sites are helpful to shoppers but it's important to learn to use them safely. Before making your first bid, check out the rest of this portion of the CyberStreetSmart Web site.
- Pew Internet Project, Latest Trends, “Internet Activities – Total” , Feb.-March 2007
- Consumer.gov, Sentinel Top Complaint Categories
- Federal Trade Commission, Internet Auctions A Guide for Buyers and Sellers