How to Report Fraud on eBay
In 2008, about one in every four grievances submitted to the Internet Crime Complaint Center of the Federal Trade Commission involved an auction scam, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Complaints on money transfer scams, fraudulent second-chance offers and counterfeit checks or money orders are among the types of online-auction scams a consumer may suffer at sites such as eBay or its competitors. If you are a victim of auction fraud, take meaningful steps to bring the offender to justice and protect other consumers by reporting fraud as soon as possible.
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Instructions
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Send the FBI a tip about the auction scam, as it welcomes truthful reports on auction fraud. An FBI special agent or staff member will review your submission. While the FBI may not be able to reply to your report, sharing your story will make a difference, especially if others have similar stories. The "FBI Tips and Public Leads" form is brief and contains a 7500-character space for you to describe the incident of fraud.
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File a complaint online through the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which is an organization co-sponsored by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). While an IC3 report may not support a transaction dispute, a referral to an applicable international, federal, state, local law enforcement or regulatory agency may occur. Trained analysts research complaints to decide which agency may support you in taking civil or criminal action -- and you may revisit this site to add to the complaint as necessary.
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Report the incident of fraud to eBay within 90 days of the event. EBay investigates reports of seller violations such as shill bidding, misrepresentation of identity, false contact information, inaccurate product representations and various other seller performance standards violations. Contact an eBay customer service representative directly by calling 866-540-3229 between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
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