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Online Auction Fraud

Due to the rising popularity of internet auction trading, Tasmania Police is receiving an increasing number of complaints relating to internet-based fraud.

Many such complaints relate to unsatisfactory purchases made through auctions sites such as eBay™, and although the complainants are generally Tasmanian residents, the offending vendors often reside interstate or overseas.

In addition, it is often difficult to establish in the first instance whether any crime has been committed, or whether the transaction simply constitutes a civil dispute, breach of the website’s policy or mutual misunderstanding. In fact, eBay™ acknowledges that up to 80 per cent of complaints are communication failures between the buyer and the seller, rather than the result of any fraudulent intent.

The Australasian Police Ministers’ Council (APMC) Senior Officers’ Group (SOG) is currently considering options surrounding the adoption of a national approach to online auction fraud. However, in the interim, eBay™ have agreed to the following procedures:

1. Complainants should be advised to contact eBay™ in the first instance to initiate an investigation. Complaints can be registered on the eBay™ website at http://pages.ebay.com.au/securitycentre;
2. eBay™ will conduct a preliminary investigation to establish whether any offence has been committed;
3. If no offence has been committed, eBay™ will resolve the matter within its own complaint resolution framework; and
4. If established that an offence has been committed, and an offender has been identified, eBay™ will prepare an investigation file for the relevant jurisdiction.

When a file is received from eBay for a Tasmanian resident, the investigation will proceed as with any other.