It seems no matter how much publicity is given to fraud on bay there are still plenty of unwitting victims

I think eBay is wonderful and I use it all the time, but it is a haven for thieves. I'm an experienced buyer, considered a "Hard Case" but early on I personally was a victim of an unscrupulous seller but also of Identity Theft due to a forged notification from eBay.

All of this fraud can be avoided by following a few very simple, common sense rules.

1. NEVER use Western Union

2. NEVER use a debit card.

3. NEVER give anyone your PIN number

4. ALWAYS use a PROTECTED credit card

5.On high value items NEVER deal with an unknown entity. Make sure you have a bona-fide name address and telephone number.

I know of one person in the UK who actually visits the sellers. This isn't too practical in the USA. But you should take adequate precautions. Checking with the BBB isn't a bad idea, but is far from fool proof.

eBay has plenty of good rules to follow that can help. Can they do more? I think so.

But " God helps those that help themselves."

Here's one of the latest examples of what not to do.

This young man is one of the many victims of a bay fraud. He wanted to buy a used car for around 4 thousand dollars. He found one and bid on it. He didn't win. The car went to a higher bidder. But, wait!

He got an e-mail from the seller of the car, saying he had a second chance to buy the car, because the winner had backed out. He jumped at the chance and before he knew it, he was scammed.

The so-called second chance was a fake. It had been copied from bay