I got scammed by a hacker on eBay, what can I do?

My situation in brief:


I "bought" an iPhone 4 for 拢390 on eBay, and I transferred the money to the seller via bank transfer, as he gave a discount for doing so. Nothing has arrived.





My situation in detail:


Somebody hacked this seller's account, and posted lots of phones for sale, saying his shop had closed down.


I purchased the item, and transferred the money to the acc. no. %26amp; sort code he sent me via. email.


He also left me his mobile number when he sent me that email, so I gave him a call to tell him it was sent.


A couple of days late, I don't get any e-mails, and I see his feedback has dropped, all saying he is a scammer, etc.


So I call him again, he picks up, then hangs up. Then I call again, but his phone has been disconnected.


I then request eBay for his contact details, and they reply with a phone number (landline) and address. The address is in Lancashire.


I call this landline, and the real seller's mother in law picks up, and she says that he has been moving house for the past 2 weeks, and has not been able to go on the internet.


So I checked the Sort code of the bank details, and it's in Merseyside.


So the hacker is in Merseyside, with my money. (Probably withdrawn, if he isn't stupid).


My bank can't do anything. eBay can't do anything.


What should I do?


Call the Police?


This guy has committed fraud!





Thanks for helping, and help will be highly appreciated!


Thank you, thank you!|||First off I 'm no expert on these things. However Ebay are extremely limited as to what they can do. You must inform the police.Its easy for someone to hack an ebay account, its another thing when bank accounts are involved.It will be easy for the police to trace where this money has gone. How did you transfer the money, Paypal ? or just asked your bank to transfer it ?

I would also seek advice from citizens advice and possibly a solicitor,some solicitors will allow you a free 15 mins, they may be able to tell you if your bank or ebay can refund you.

Push the police, don't let them fob you off.

I would take everything you have been told so far with a pinch of salt. Lancashire and merseyside are close, maybe its the same person.

The only way you will get anywhere is to contact the police, I would go in person

One last thing, we had a collegue stealing from work, he sold the stolen items on Ebay. Once the police got involved, it was actually Ebay who chose to prosecute him, these things are bad for their image

Good luck|||A tip, if it seems too good to be true then it probably is. Normally in these cases the hacker gets away because they are in other countries, the only way to avoid the scam is to be smart and not to fall for it.