Spotsylvania resident Tony Hahn, 18, fell victim to a scam while selling his motorcycle on eBay.

Local man falls victim to online scam.

By PORTSIA SMITH

Date published: 1/22/2005

Tony Hahn has sold dozens of items on eBay with no problems.

So the 18-year-old Spotsylvania resident was floored when he ended up losing several thousands of dollars in an online scam. Worse, the Internet thief is using Hahn's identity to scam others.

"I never thought it would happen to me," Hahn said. "I was so naïve."

Online scams are becoming more sophisticated as the Internet ages, and even savvy computer users, like Hahn, can get caught up.

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, there were 63,316 fraudulent complaints in 2003. More than 60 percent were related to Internet auction fraud. In all, victims reported a total loss of $125.6 million--money that they probably won't see again.

That's what Hahn is discovering. Though he's been chasing his money and identity for months, he hasn't made much progress.

Hahn received an e-mail offer in October from someone who called himself "Terry Ray," an auto agent based in Nigeria. He said he wanted to buy the 1982 Honda CM-250 motorcycle Hahn posted on eBay.

They had telephone and e-mail conversations about the sale. Ray persuaded Hahn to bypass using eBay's PayPal system--a free, secure service to ensure safe transactions.

Within a few weeks, a cashier's check for $4,000 arrived--four times the $1,000 asking price.

In an e-mail exchange, Ray told Hahn the check was from his client. It included payment for the bike, his commission as the agent and the fee for shipping overseas, he said. He instructed Hahn to wire the remaining balance to a shipping company in Nigeria as soon as the check cleared.

Hahn took the check to the National Bank of Fredericksburg on Courthouse Road. He was told it had to sit for a day until he could cash it. The following day, he withdrew the extra $3,000 and wired it, as instructed, to Ocean Airliners, a shipping company in Nigeria.

"Honestly, I thought it was weird," Hahn said. "But I figured I was done since I had my money."

Hahn waited for a call from the shipping company that was supposed to pick up the bike. Instead he got a call from the bank saying the check hadn't cleared and that he had to pay back the amount that was missing--more than $3,000.

Date published: 1/22/2005