Buyer beware of Internet auction trick
by Bob Hansen
The Internet auction site ebay works on trust. That’s why 75 people around the country feel so betrayed. Jim
Brennecke in Riverside is one of them. He thought he was bidding for the popular Sony PlayStation II video
game.
“This was for my son, my ten-year-old son for Christmas,” Bernnecke said.
He thought he paid $300 for the game, but “I didn’t get my station in the mail,” he said.
What came in the mail instead was an envelope from Airborne Express, which contained a photograph of a
PlayStation system. That’s right. Instead of the actual PlayStation, Jim and his son got a color picture of the
game.
I showed my e-mail complaints to Bobbie Hill at the consumer group UCAN.
“This was a very well orchestrated scam,” Hill said. “They thought they were bidding on a PlayStation. At least 75
people thought they were.” Here’s the problem: the description part of the auction says, “You are bidding on the
Sony PlayStation II Xmas bundle picture below.” It doesn’t say “pictured below,” just “picture.” And that’s all the
bidders got for their money. Is the auction illegal?
“That’s a real good question, because of the way he worded this ad,” Hill said. “We are waiting to hear back from
the District Attorney as well as from federal authorities to find out if what he did was illegal.”
The victims of this trick say they mailed their money to a Mail Boxes Etc. on El Cajon Boulevard, and that they
were dealing with a man named Anthony Van Dean.
“Victims tell us that Anthony Van Dean was using a UCSD e-mail address and reports have it that he was a
former student here. But university officials tell us they don’t know anything about the alleged scam,” Hill said.
So far, the people at ebay say they have started an investigation. And local law enforcement is beginning to hear
from the dozens of victims, who instead of an actual video game are looking at a picture.
In this case, a picture is not only worth a thousand words, but perhaps also a criminal investigation. We tried to
talk to Anthony Van Dean, leaving a message on his cellular phone, but so far we have heard nothing. If you are a
victim of this trick or one like it, you should report it immediately to the FBI’s Internet Fraud Complaint Center.
You can find the link at the beginning of this story.
http://www.msnbc.com/local/KNSD/NBCFDGG0SVC.asp
