E-bike scam stopped

A man swindled out of $5000 he paid for an e-bike through a Trade Me auction warns shoppers on the site that lots of positive feedback doesn’t necessarily make a trader safe.

The man, who declines to be named, says police have issued a warrant for the arrest of a man he paid $5000 to for a e-bike which didn’t exist, Stuff reports.

Trade Me trust and safety head Lisa Kerr tells Stuff; “We were really sorry to hear that he has been a victim of fraud and we’re doing everything we can to make sure the person responsible is held accountable, alongside the authorities.

She says as soon as Trade Me’s trust and safety team became aware of this seller immediate action was taken to protect Trade Me members.

The e-bike the man thought he was buying was supposedly on the West Coast and would be packaged up by a bike shop for shipping, which the fake vendor said would be done free, Stuff

reports.

The man paid by bank transfer and doesn’t expect to get his money back.

He warns buyers on Trade Me to pay using methods that carry fraud protection, such as Ping, Pay Now or Afterpay and for which Trade Me has a ‘Buyer Protection’ policy.

A ‘Community Watch’ button on every listing can also be used to alert Trade Me to anything that doesn’t seem quite right.