Scams and how to avoid them

Scams and ripoffs are all too commonplace on auction sites these days and TradeMe is no exception. The ScamBusters' website was set up as a community service by a small group of people experienced in identifying auction scams. From the Romanian gang that's been trying to fleece kiwis for over four years, to local crooks hoping to make a quick buck. Here's how they operate.

Are there risks on TradeMe at the moment?

You bet there are, and we know that some of them will cost innocent traders thousands of dollars. Here's some information you need to know if you intend to buy goods on TradeMe.

Current phishing & account hijacking scams

The Romanian fraudsters who infest TradeMe have produced some sophisticated phishing scams starting in February 2006. TradeMe initially described that scam as the "first" to ever target their site, and claimed that only a single scam auction had been attempted. ScamBusters had logged more than forty scams that weekend. TradeMe eventually had to back down and admit to "five" phishing scams specifically targetting their site in the previous 3 months alone.

These phishing scams have proved to be very successful for the Romanians and have resulted in hundreds of hacked TradeMe accounts. We find it ironic that on the eve of TradeMe's sale to Fairfax, the first two prominent auctions listed on the front page of the popular auction site all evening (see below) were both scams being operated out of Romania.

We tried several times to contact TradeMe that evening… we even called their 0900 number more than once, but they were closed! This is not good enough for a 24 hour business.

TradeMe's chief spinmeister Michael O'Donnell appeared on RadioNZ's Insight programme (11 Feb 2007). Regarding TradeMe's Trust & Safety team he said, "They work 24/7 really." Our members know that he's telling porkies, but that's what he does when it comes to ScamBusters.

Part of Michael's job description seems to be to discredit our group as we're the only active critics the company has and the only people who maintain a public record of the extent of scams on TradeMe.

We believe that senior TradeMe staff need to be held accountable for their actions. We're here to keep TradeMe honest Michael. Sorry if you don't like it, but we're not going away.

Please read our Romanian Phishing Scams page for detailed information on these scams and how they work.

More scams

There are a number of common scams on TradeMe - learn more about them to keep yourself safe online.

    Read about more scams here...