Europol has given little detail on how the scams were worked. However, back in 2005, a similar victim described his own Ebay experience. "I was just ripped off $650 on EBAY and I'm completely at a loss. I saw an imac G4 listed for auction, and it displayed a 'buy it now' option ONLY if you contact the seller directly and arrange payment... To add to my list of stupid decisions I agreed to wire transfer the money to the seller out of country after he sent me a spoofed EBAY invoice that seemed legit in my eyes."
In this particular scam, the crook hijacked a valid Ebay account to place the advert. In other scams, spoof messages from courier services apparently guaranteeing that the item has been deposited in escrow and will be despatched immediately on payment are delivered to the victim.
However the Polish scam was worked, it had victims in at least 15 separate countries, including several in Europe, the US, Canada and India. Instead of the expected items, victims received "bricks, fruit and vegetables," or nothing at all if the purchase was done on Ebay.
"Once electronic funds were received by the fraudsters, they were transferred to unregistered pre-paid cards and cash was withdrawn via ATMs. Customers shopping on eBay are protected by a Money Back Guarantee but the fraud exposure would otherwise have amounted to tens of thousands of euros since 2013," explains Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3).
Europol coordinated an 'intelligence-led' operation and provided the Polish police with access to Europol databases. Ebay assisted from its Dublin operations center by helping the police trace criminal online activity via live monitoring systems. This led to a series of raids in Lubin and Pulawy and the seizure of anonymous pre-paid cards, cars, laptops and mobile phones. "Two key suspects were arrested in Pulawy while attempting to withdraw fraudulently obtained cash from an ATM," notes Europol.
The case is an example of how Europol's EC3 unit is helping to coordinate criminal investigations across multiple jurisdictions. Head of operations at EC3 and former senior Irish garda officer, Paul Gillen, told the Independent.ie, "This is an excellent example of what can be achieved when Europol joins together with national police forces and outside agencies such as Ebay to successfully dismantle a criminal group responsible for sophisticated online frauds across several countries."
But despite this success, auction scams will continue – and buyers need to be continuously on their guard against fraud. It is important to be confident in the veracity of both the goods and the seller. If possible (same countries, for example), say you will be in the area and ask to view the item in person. Direct engagement with the seller will provide clues on his or her honesty.