Online auction room fraud is on the rise, with websites such as eBay and Amazon being targeted because of their large number of users.

Online auction room fraud is on the rise, with websites such as eBay and Amazon being targeted because of their large number of users.

A senior garda and a representative of eBay will appear on RTE’s Crimecall on Tuesday week to warn the public about the problem.

While the auction rooms are safe to users, fraudsters pose as genuine sellers and invite interested buyers to contact them outside the website.

They ask for direct email contact - and offer a reduction in the price of an item by suggesting that there will be ‘‘no commission’’ if the sale is private.

Victims of the scams are often left out of pocket and lose the protection that secure sites offer. A significant number of complaints have been reported to sites such as eBay in Ireland and Britain, and these complaints have been passed on to the Garda.

Posted: 04|8|07 at 9:26 am. Filed under: Auction News.