Bait and Click: feedback reputation systems manipulated to swindle buyers

[mandy]

The eBay vendor had a glowing record -- more than 900 successful sales, with only a single complaint amid a long series of positive testimonials from customers. So when a Georgia bidder won the seller's auction for an Olympus digital camera in January, there seemed little reason to worry about dispatching almost $700 into cyberspace.

But the camera never arrived.

"I don't think I will ever buy anything over the Internet again," the conned bidder lamented in a posting on an eBay discussion board. "I am not a wealthy person, had saved long and hard for this camera for my business, and don't know when, or IF EVER I will see my $700 again."...

full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...01939.html

[maggie777]

"I don't think I will ever buy anything over the Internet again," the conned bidder lamented

Thanks eBaY 

[jessie]

The scams take countless and ever more ingenious forms. These include intimidating other users who give negative ratings by threatening to retaliate with negative feedback of their own.

How many 99% ratings would there be if people weren't afraid to leave negatives?

[mandy]

A related article:

Web expert Tom Merritt says you should be wary when relying on feedback ratings.

"There are more and more scams where people have figured out how to game the system," said Merritt of CNET.

The latest scam involves the thief selling a lot of cheap items to build up his positive feedback.

"They can go to their big ticket items like HDTVs, take people's money, and you never hear from them again," said Merritt.

Another scam is using fake feedback. A seller creates two different accounts and sells to himself...

full article: http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readarticl...leid=12378&z=3&p=