| Auction Scam | Fake Contest Scam | Foreign Dealers |

Auction Scam

Plasma Tv's have became very popular, thus making them a great target for Fraudulent activity. One of the more popular schemes are internet auction houses such as Ebay or Yahoo Auctions. The seller tends to put up desired items such as 50" or 60" plasmas for unreasonably cheap pricing that no one could refuse. Like most auction houses, you bid against others to win the item, however unlike most auction houses, you deal directly with the seller to ship you the item. However the way most auction scams work, is to get the winning to wire or transfer they're money to them, normally the money goes into an account in another country. They tend to use fake names, emails, etc, and then they never send the product.

Helpful tips:

1. Make sure you have kept all documents containing any and all communications between you and the seller. Print out copies of the auction winning page, the auction page containing description and seller id name. If the seller should modify any of the auction details after you win, you should have the seller cancel your bid, do not buy if you are not comfortable with the situation. Keep all emails, trader information and any other means of communications, keep them in a folder together in a safe place.
2. Never send cash, send only payments that have a method of tracking them. Example checks and money orders should be sent with a delivery confirmation and a required signature to ensure you know where it went. Credit Cards can be tracked or stopped by the credit card company.
3. File reports of your fraud claim with these people:
   1. Local Police
   2. Internal Fraud Compliant Center
   3. National Fraud Information Center
   4. USPS Fraud Complaint Center
   5. US Department of Justice
   6. Federal Trade Commission
   7. States Attorney General
   8. US Federal Government Agencies

If you happen to stumble upon an online auction that you feel might be fraud, please report it to the auction service provider immediately for their investigation.

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Fake Contest Fraud:

Usually this starts off as an email you receive saying that you have won one of the hottest plasma's on the market. Then there is instructions stating to claim your prize all you have to do is visit the company's website and enter your debit card number and pin to cover the shipping and handling cost. However, after a few months, you still haven't received your plasma, but you start receiving mysterious charges to your card. Then you start receiving even more emails from junk to others attempting to get your personal information. This particular fraud is one of the most popular identity theft attempts on the web. The best solution don't ever give out your personal information over the internet unless your positive its a secure, and real site.

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Foreign Dealers

A number of foreign online plasma tv dealers have shown up on the web over the years, they're goal is to con you out of your money. Basically they discount the items greatly to lure you in, and then require a wire transfer before shipping. Wiring money to a non-reputable company is a big risk, if they don't ship your item, then you may never see your money again. Or they may ship a damaged product that is non-returnable and unrepairable. Its urged to purchase items from a reputable dealer or an authorized dealer. These dealers tend to take all major credit cards as well as checks and money orders.

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