new ebay scam using VeRO

I recently listed something on ebay that was taken down due to an "intellectual property rights" violation. I had never seen this before, but the message from ebay claimed the owner of the picture I was using removed the auction. Simple enough I thought. Using stock photos to list items is commonplace on ebay, but maybe they're trying to stop that. Fair enough. I relisted the item with a new photo (one that I took) and it sold on a Buy It Now within an hour. I was glad to sell it but really I wanted to test the waters and see if it got removed again.

See, the curious thing is, the item in question is made by a very large US corporation. One that I would assume owns the copyrights to their photos. In the email, ebay told me to address any concerns with the copyright owner, who just so happened to have a Yahoo email address.

So… a huge ass company using a Yahoo account? Whatever… I relisted it and it sold, so it was only a minor inconvenience.

But the bigger problem here is that anyone who wants to join ebay's VeRO program can go around shutting down auctions. Ebay doesn't give any kind of warning. They just shut it down. And all it takes to be official is a goddamned Yahoo account?

So if I see someone selling something that I'm selling, I can join VeRO and have their auction shut down. Now you gotta buy MY item asshole!

Anyways, it turns out this is becoming the next big ebay scam. I found this article from a company that sells poker supplies. They had another company actively target their auctions using the same VeRO bullshit. And ebay just plays right along without even checking the facts.

This is the best kind of scam because it involves ebay directly. The other types of scams are conducted THROUGH ebay but not WITH ebay. These assholes have figured out how to get ebay to do the dirty work.

Oh and the really fun part? Check this out (from ebay's VeRO info page):
What can I do if I think the rights owner made a mistake?

If you believe that your listing was removed in error, we encourage that you first try to contact the rights owner directly. (The email we sent to you notifying you your listing had been removed should have included the rights owner's email address.) Only the rights owner understands its products and intellectual property rights.

If the rights owner agrees that they made a mistake, have them email us and we will allow you to re-list your item.

Does eBay give out my personal information to VeRO Program participants?

As stated in our Privacy policy, "we can (and you authorize us to) disclose your User ID, name, street address, city, state, zip code, country, phone number, email, and company name to eBay VeRO Program participants as we in our sole discretion believe necessary or appropriate in connection with an investigation of fraud, intellectual property infringement, piracy, or other unlawful activity."

Armed with all of your personal information the scammer can then wreck all kinds of havoc on your ebaying. It just gets them one step closer to hacking your shit.

Thanks ebay!!

death threats continued

The guy who posted the photos I linked to the other day has been told by an anonymous gangster to leave the country or he'll be killed. This is some seriously scary stuff. We're talking about cameras here. Fucking cameras. Unreal…

He writes, "He told me to watch my back. And that if I didn't leave the country I would be killed. "

His post is here.

xbox 360 best buy horror stories

A few choice quotes:

"Eventually the police officers used their batons on several people at the font of the line and threatened to "pepper spray" the whole group, even though there were children approximately 5 years old among the people. A man seemingly 80 years old was pushed away from the door and dragged by his collar by a police officer to his patrol car. "

"I used to work at Best Buy and am completely aware of how bad they are to their customers. I knew it was a recipe for disaster."

And my favorite:

"I awoke and went to my local bestbuy at 7am (the ad says they werent opening until 8). when I arrived to my suprise, the store was already open, and the xbox 360's were already gone. WTF? when I looked around, all I could see was upset parents yelling at store employees. A manager stated he had the right to open the store when he wanted to, and that they only had 50 units. I hate Bill Gates. "

LINK

bikes are fun

For all you Dallas peeps who ride bicycles there’s a site up for Uptown Cycles that posts weekly rides and cycling events. I used to ride around with a few of these guys back when I lived in Dallas and I can fully say they have a damn good time. Now that I’m out in Colorado I actually ride less. But that’s just because I suck.

LINK

richard pryor dead at 65

Well, this kind of sucks. I know the last 15 years weren't his best, but it still sucks to see another one my childhood stars dead. I wonder what a celebrity's death does for sales of their old material. I bet The Toy will be selling off the charts this holiday season. I already ordered eight copies. And what the hell is Carlin doing in this picture? Trying to shake his hand? Oops!

Ok, maybe he's simply gesturing gently.

all the celebrity news you could ever want

What's up with Owen Wilson? How 'bout Morgan Freeman? Or Shatner?

Kewby takes news feeds and compiles them into an easy to search database. So you can hit Clooney for example, and get all your Clooney news in one place. It's like casual stalking. (This would be actual stalking).

Added to the links. 

camera store death threat!

The scam is this – some online electronics store (based in New York) advertises unbelievably low prices, you place your order online and someone calls you back to confirm. At the same time they offer you all kinds of shit you don't need. If you say you don't want it – too bad, they are now out of stock of the American version. Now all they have in stock is the grey market import version. Unless they're out of that too. Then they tell you it will be 8 weeks delivery, unless you order the overpriced accessories. Try to cancel the order and they'll charge you a 30% restocking fee.

This is all well and good. Mostly just a huge headache for anyone who falls into the trap.

But this guy tells the story of his Microsoft coworker who received a death threat from the guy at WaWaDigital (I won't link to it) when he tried to cancel his order! Death! The link to the answering machine message is here, but you should really hit the link below and read the whole thing.

DEATH THREAT STORY LINK

For an even better time, check out this page, which has photos of all the storefronts for these places. Some don't even look like businesses!

I get all my camera gear and supplies from B & H Photo. Fair prices, fast delivery and an honest group of people. Another good online store is EVS. Beyond those, your asking for trouble.

best new show: criminal minds

I can’t remember the last show I was actually addicted to, but I just can’t stop watching this show. I was initially excited about Criminal Minds because well, I am a Mandy Patinkin fan. Sure, he was good in the Princess Bride, and though I never actually watched Chicago Hope I’m sure he was good in that, too. No, my Mandy Patinkin fandom comes jamming from his CD, Experiment. See, he has this amazing tenor voice. And sometimes you just want to hear some Broadway in tenor.

Seriously. You guys think I’m kidding. But I’m actually a huge fan of his and Mandy Patinkin is on more than one of my iPod playlists. So I figured I’d tune in to the pilot episode to see where he’s at in the acting world. What I found was addictive TV in all its glory.

See, they’ve got Mandy teamed up with Greg, some dude I saw on a soap opera once (honestly, only once) , the girl from The Sopranos, and this guy, who steals every scene he’s in. It’s hard to not steal the scene when your character has an IQ of 187.

So fire up your bittorents and catch yourselves up. Or wait for the DVD and have yourself a marathon. If you like the whole CSI/Without a Trace formula this will be your new favorite. That’s my plug.