Area man charged in $200,000 eBay scam

There are so many internet schemes out there it's hard to keep up. But this alleged eBay scam caught my eye last week, if only because it involved the federal court here in Charlotte, and a routine type eBay crime that could snare any unsuspecting buyer.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte last week filed charges against a Barry Alan Younce in connection with what prosecutors described as a fraudulent scheme to sell computers on eBay. They say between March 2005 and September 2006, Younce used the user name of "sq20" to post ads on eBay saying he had computers for sale. The bill of information prosecutors filed says "he in fact had no intention of providing the merchandise to the potential buyer."

Authorities say on about 252 occasions, he obtained payment by wire transfer or otherwise, but didn't send the equipment. They say Younce engineered one of the transfers at least in part from Caldwell County. Overall, prosecutors say victims lost more than $207,000, some of which Younce refunded, and some of it he kept.

I know many folks use eBay often and love it. But I've always hesitated to buy things there, precisely because of possible situations like this one. I asked the eBay folks for comment, and a spokeswoman sent an e-mail saying:

"eBay has a zero tolerance for criminal activity and we work closely with law enforcement to prosecute anyone who attempts to abuse our services. We are fully committed to creating a safe, fair and enjoyable trading experience for all eBay users while aggressively protecting our users from harm."

She also said people should check out eBay's tips for buying safely through the site.

Caveat emptor, people.