I came across a house months ago here on Ebay in Fullerton, California for $199,000.  The ad had photos of the inside, outside and back and front yards.  It was a well written ad.  The only problem was homes in this area and in fact in all of Orange County are going for $300,000 or more and that is for 1800 square feet!  The ad said "I am on vacation in Europe but if you are interested in the house wire $5,000 to me and I will make arrangements to return for a few days and we can finish the paperwork and the house is yours".  Her name was Barbara.  I emailed her a few times and she always emailed back explaining that all was on the level but she did not want to come all the way back here from her vacation for a "tire kicker".  That was the reason for the "deposit" so she'd know I was a serious buyer.  So far this made sense to me.  But,,, I did some checking anyways AND RECOMMEND this to all Ebayers.  I did ww.411.com and did a reverse address search for the phone number of her house.  All you do is enter an address and the phone number that matches it will come up.  It did not come up so I then got creative and entered the address next door on that street just by adding a few numbers to her address and did get a neighbor's phone number.  I called it and reached her neighbor.  I explained my concern about the price of the house for sale next door and asked if he knew it was only $199,000.  He said yes it was for sale but he thought it was $399,000 last he heard.  I asked if he knew "Barbara" and he said yes he did.  I asked if he could have Barbara call me as I could not obtain her phone number (I already told him how I got his) when she returns from Europe.  HE SAID HE'D ASK RIGHT NOW BECAUSE SHE WAS OUT FRONT WATERING HER YARD.  Of course I was surprised and asked if he could give her my number and have her call me.  She did 20 minutes later in a panic and was very conerned about my explanation of things.  After talking and explaining to her that this is a scam she immediately called the police and anyone else she could to get help with this. 

The potential problem is if only a few simple minded people wired the $5,000 deposit to "Barbara in Europe" they'd eventually get angry enough upon not hearing back that they too would track the real Barbara down just like I did to get their money back.  Afterall her address, name, photos and even her supposed email were in the ad.  She could have (and might still have) a doorstep full of very upset folks demanding their money back.  Who knows how many people fell for this and wired the $5,000 and are just patiently waiting now for a response from "Barbara" that will of course never come.  Can you imagine the real Barbara standing at her front door trying to explain "It wasn't me,,, it wasn't me!". 

So basically some scammer out there used all of Barbara's house photos, her name and even ad copy from an ad she had that was not even on Ebay, to then set up their own Ebay listing!   She was really trying to sell her house and the ads she placed were real, only her price was $399,000.  Someone just hijacked her ad and replaced her contact info with their own email as a point of contact.  I'll bet this same scam can be used with cars, motorcycles, boats, furniture, you name it!  So be careful with how much truely identifying information you place in your ads.  Also,,, beware if someone is in your driveway sometime taking pictures of your house, car or boat.  They might be trying to sell it!!!!