Mark Hartman is one of the eBay registered members who like to buy things online, no matter if the merchant is living in a different corner of the world. Sure, it's a risk to buy something from a person who lives on the other half of the planet but eBay is pretty famous and popular for this kind of transactions. So here is Mark Hartman from Sammamish, Washington, bidding for a high-end road bike owned by Joseph, an eBay member living at approximately 2,300 miles away, The Register informed today. Mr. Hartman was pretty excited when he won the auction but a message sent by email stopped the party. His bid was blocked because it was suspected to be fraudulent, the same source continues. The biggest upset was that he already sent a $1,500 check to the eBay merchant which means he could lose the money without even receiving the product which he bid for.

It seems like this is a popular eBay scam activity as the folks from The Register wrote. "In it, eBay accounts with immaculate user feedback scores are hijacked by overseas con artists who figure out a way to crack the user's password. The scammers then fleece unsuspecting buyers with sham auctions for cars, exercise equipment and other pricey merchandise."

Getting back to our case, Mr. Hartman knew he had to do something to intercept the check so he started looking for information. The only thing he got was the address of the user to receive the payment so he contacted the authorities to inform them about the matter. Soon after that, the sheriff called him. "I'm in Joseph's house right now, and I have your check in my hand," he said for The Register.

The same source writes that Joseph had the Down Syndrome and lived in a "mobile home next to his parents." So, how did he manage to trick Mark Hartman to send the money? Actually, Joseph had no fault because the scammers contacted him by email and demanded to deposit the money into a private account. "He was then to send the payments minus a $70 commission to an address in Ukraine," The Register writes.

So, if you're an eBay user, don't send your money unless you're sure that you receive the product that you bid for. And keep in mind that eBay is not responsible for any fraud unless they concern the PayPal paying system.

For the complete story published by The Register, click on this link.