Scam Alert!!!  Please read all before you buy any bike!!!

For a number of YEARS there has been a scammer or group of scammers hijacking accounts of ebay'er (using phishing) and posting multiple listings of the same bike for sale.  One of the original scams I found targeted triathletes and cyclists involving the sale of a "slightly" or "lightly" or "very lightly used 2005 Felt B2 triathlon bikes @ a 52 cm frame".  The scammer(s) would post their multliple (sometimes 7 at one time) almost exact scam auctions (under the same or different ebay accounts) that end in less than a day, would ask the seller most of the time to email either a  gmail.com, googlemail.com, aol.com, hotmail or yahoo.com email address before bidding (there were at least now 30 different addresses used) or your bid would be cancelled and would start off at either a low no reserve starting prices or  a set low dollar price.   The scammer would have you pay for the item via Western Union, with your chance of recovery nil!  Please note that after years, this same bike description as well as other are still being used to bait potential targets.  There are now many different bikes and pics of the same bikes being used.

If you were looking in lets say the keyword "triathlon" you would find these bikes but the originating category would never be in bikes or even in the sporting goods sections, they would always be in some totally different area such as sewing, dolls, toys, clothing, etc.  The city locations would almost always be one of several areas such as Mission Viejo, CA,  La Cresenta, CA, La Canada Flintridge (he likes that city), CA and other locations in the U.S.but would be in dollars, pounds or other monetary units (please note that you should always look at the "sellers" location for clues as on one scam posting, the scammer hijacked the account of a Greek national yet posted the location address as the La Canada Flintridge wanting you to pay in Austrailian dollars or any other monetary unit!).  The bike pictures are taken from other legit auctions that have ended would always be used (many times the same one) as well as the exact same description of the bike (this scammer is lazy), down to exact special upgrade components.  The scammer would use hijacked accounts with very good to excellent ratings to try and dispell any hesitation of the bidder even though in most cases the seller would never sell such items (based on prior item sales as many specialized in hobbies or clothing only).

Please note that the scammer(s) is now also offering other bikes (usually high dollar ones), still in the wrong categories (This is very much a dead giveaway as posting to a wrong category seems to remove some of the scrutiny bikes in the real categories get), wrong place of origin (the UK for a Michigan based ceramics seller's account they hijacked!), and all the mentioned hallmarks of this cheat.  The scammers are now using very legit looking pages with full graphics but doesn't change the discription so its the same scam in a nice looking box.  The scammer is even using "Buy Safe" logos or other safe harbor type institutions with hyperlinks that error out in order to present a very safe looking and money loosening buying environment but still using the same ad, same scam.  The scammer may even change the ad once someone bids... Don't buy into it!

Be aware that the following addresses were used for contacting the scammer (these were posted on several scam bike auctions each using the same description, different pics, different sellers but same address with very wrong category like audio cds):  Please note that the scammer is changing again and is using at times a "ask seller a question" hyperlink instead of an address so you will not see these and other scam addresses.  They claim "If you look for a fast and 100% safe deal, please email me.", Want to start a business" or "You will not receive a response" if you use the ebay "ASK SELLER A QUESTION", or even offer free shipping if you first contact them via their posted email but its still the same scam!

belualex at yahoo.com
big50sale at yahoo.com
hyperiondeals at yahoo.com
joanaseller at yahoo.com
Leroy_792002 at yahoo.com
monysssss at yahoo.com
nautilus_2002 at yahoo.com
pamuye33 at yahoo.com
parrama at yahoo.com
rafaellodeals at yahoo.com
sadrianv at yahoo.com
tranda36 at yahoo.com
viorell mz at yahoo.com
xinyun16868 at yahoo.com
aldegheorghe at gmail.com
andy.wonder at gmail.com
bazixe at gmail.com
bestbikes4u at gmail.com
boxado at gmail.com
charmaine.belnap at gmail.com
deliceamor at gmail.com
eb4ym4il at gmail.com
elxgoods at gmail.com
michaelanthony40 at gmail.com
powercheap at gmail.com
ronnie321 at gmail.com
saptefix at gmail.com
smekerii at gmail.com
barbut41 at aol.com
donlakila at AOL.com
eseeler at aol.com
kibrit41 at aol.com
pittbullsmen at aol.com
reebk77 at aol.com
aldegheorghe at googlemail.com
benqbush at googlemail.com
dannyukebay at googlemail.com
seneico at googlemail.com
joe.wonder at hotmail.com

PLEASE NOTE I CANT USE THE @ SYMBOL FOR ADDRESSES IN THE ABOVE EMAILS.  This list is not complete as the scammers keep changing or reusing addresses at will.

I alerted ebay many times on this scam and he seems to have moved to a new scams but seems to try to hit the same target:  triathletes and cyclists with cash flow.  I have seen some evidence of a "sellers" using the same described techniques but moved on to other types of bikes such as Lightspeed and others.  Be wary of the following that should raise red flags:

This scammer may post other auction items in the hijacked account of an ebay'er of high value to lure buyers into a false sense of security (yet all are posted with ending dates of  less than 24 hours after posting).  Looking closer you can see the scammer places all of these extra items in one fell swoop and all at the same starting price, anywhere from .99 to whatever.   

Beware of sellers of bikes that don't know anything about the bikes other than the description.  Sellers that owned the bike always put something in the ebay formatted description section of the page.  This scammer is lazy and almost always uses only one picture from a legit previous ebay auction (which is copyrighted property of the original poster)

Be especially wary of bikes that suddenly appear less than a day before they end.  Usually all new items in a category have a "sunrise" icon next to them denoting a very new item.  This is is a dead giveaway to a possible scam bike if there is less than 24hours to the ending of the auction for it.   Please note that the scammer(s) is/are becoming a bit bolder and may even do some scam auctions with 2-7 day ending dates. Speed and quick action is usually the scammers best way to trick you out of your money because it puts the potential bidder in a situation of urgency to bid on something they think is a great deal.  Always check out ebay even days or weeks before you know you want to buy.  This gets you familiar with what is out there and especially seeing something that keeps coming back.  If you have a way to print them out or save pages as pdf's, do so.  It helps you spot something that might look familiar and if it is a fraud, helps ebay too!  Also note that if you are doing searches in catagories like TRIATHLON these bike scam auction post are usually grouped together in bunches.  This is a red flag usually since they all again ask that you contact the seller before you bid.

Beware of sellers who ask you to contact them before bidding to a direct address.  They may claim faster response or that the address attached to their ebay account gets too much spam so they do not respond to it (lame excuse).  The scammer does this so you will not contact the hijacked accounts owner.  You should always use ebay's ASK SELLER A QUESTION and for an extra measure of security check the box that prevents the seller from getting your email address.  Also note that many scam auctions sometimes use the privacy setting to prevent bidders from being contacted by former scammed buyers, Ebay'er who know the auction is a scam or others who want to warn bidders of a blatant scam, or at least ask the bidder to question the "seller" before paying for the auction.  I honestly have given up warning bidders in non private auctions because of the negative and hateful email many of these warned bidders before and especially after they have been scammed.

Find a bike that looks good, do a search for that exact bike.  Copy the item description or at least the year, make, model, frame size, and whatever else is in the description you have on the bike you want.  If you find one with either/or the same picture, same exact description or same requirements (email an address posted before you bid) or the same email address or part of email address, report it to ebay asap.   

Beware of scammer's new tactics.  They are trying to learn from their mistakes and are many times are not putting their scam bikes under the totally wrong catagory to appear more legit.  But even being under SPORTING GOODS and even subcatagories that are close but no cigar like RECUMBENT BIKES when a bike is clearly a mountain bike or tri/road bike can be suspect.  Then again many times they still are under the very wrong category.  Check out previous auctions of a suspect seller.  I have seen a scammer take an account of a seller of ladies clothing and put 10 bikes for sale all at once.  The seller has never sold anything other than ladies clothing!  That should bring up a red flag big time, especially if the bikes are all different sizes.  This is also the case when they put a lot of expensive items in addition to the bike you find.  Just like the bikes, they post the same items to scam people looking for those items.

Say no to offers outside of ebay and / or Paypal or other secure ways of paying for your bike.  Local Pickup offers are great and allow you to even check out the bike first if offered.  If a bike is for sale in your area and there is no offer for local pickup, ask with ebay's ASK SELLER A QUESTION, not the email address posted or seller posted hyperlink.  Many legit ones can say no but scammers never reply.  If the account is hijacked you might help alert the owner of that account as to something he is not selling!  Also note that on some auctions the scammer has been posting on some auctions the option to pay with paypal but will discourage you from paying via Paypal with the promise of a big discount.  They have also been posting on some scam auctions the lure of a discount of up to 50% off if you buy in less than 12 hours (so you only lose half your money faster?) or even take a best offer or buy it now but not use ebay's BUY IT NOW option.

NEVER, EVER send money via western union to pay for a bike.  You can most likely kiss that money goodbye.  Some of the scammers state they take Paypal along with Western Union or bank transfers but when it comes time to pay will try to bait you to use Western Union.  Don't fall for it!!!

Inform yourself about your target bike and ask questions via EBAY's ASK SELLER A QUESTION, not the email address posted or some seller placed hyperlink in the auction.  Be aware of tactics on their auction page that are meant to lure you into a safe and secure sense of mind on bidding like bonding agents and the like.  Check out the hyperlinks and you will find scam ones go to error pages (cause they use old links to previous auctions or bad info) or sites away from the legit ones.  An educated bidder is a happy bidder.

Check out the many sellers that do volume auctions, have click and mortar location(s), or specialize in bikes, and all things bikes as well as the many legit sellers offering real wares to fellow athletes. 

In the end, you control the bid.  Use it wisely.  Don't let scammers make you a mark.  Bid Smart!  Bid Wisely!