Email a copy of 'Beware Google Authentication Scam Targeting Online Sellers' to a friend
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Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.
What the deuce is “Fluffy-finders”? And why are they specifically called out along with buyers and sellers?
In the press release, it said scammers also target “sites where you post about lost pets,” so it was a reference to users of those types of sites. (Despicable to target sad pet owners)
I encountered this several times when listing to Facebook’s marketplace and once or twice on Craigslist. Could tell immediately it was a scam. But until now, I wasn’t exactly sure how they used this information; glad I read this! As soon as I replied that I knew it was a scam, they dropped me like a hot potato, all except one who tried to convince me she was legit. I haven’t gotten one of these in a long time, so I’m wondering if there are coordinated groups of scammers doing this in defined geographical areas. If it were random, you’d think I’d get one of these authentication requests every time I posted a listing.
Is it my old eyes, or is every ‘ghost’ scam slightly out of focus, like the old mimeograph copies?