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American Morning
Real People, Their Money: Internet Buyers Beware
Aired December 19, 2002 - 07:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning in our series, "Real People and Their Money," Internet buyers beware. Online auction sites fast becoming a haven for scam artists.
Dave Metta lost $3,500 trying to buy a custom-made Les Paul (ph) guitar that he thought was available on eBay. Dave Metta joins us live this morning from his home near Chicago to share his story.
Nice to see you -- happy holidays. Dave, good morning to you.
DAVE METTA, VICTIM OF INTERNET FRAUD: Good morning, Bill. Thank you.
HEMMER: We should make it -- point it out anyway at the outset here that you got your money back, but before we find out, you went online to get a guitar. What happened? What trap did you fall into, Dave?
METTA: I found a guitar on eBay that appealed to me, and I e- mailed the seller the fact that I was interested in it and would like to buy it. He offered me a price on it that was fair in my estimation. I made contact with him over the phone and via e-mail several times to the point where it raised my comfort level considerably...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: So, not only -- not only did you make contact with him by e-mail, but the telephone was important. You got his home address as well. You're a former police officer. You felt pretty secure in all of this, did you not?
METTA: I did.
HEMMER: Tell us what it means, Dave, when you go online, make a bid, write a check and you get nothing in return.
METTA: In my particular case, there were two primary factors. One was embarrassment because of my law enforcement background. The second obviously was anger.
HEMMER: Did you call authorities?
METTA: Initially, no. I waited about two weeks, and after the seller had missed two shipping dates, I became a lot more concerned and made numerous attempts to contact the seller via phone and e-mail.
HEMMER: How long did this go on, Dave?
METTA: The entire process from beginning to end took nine months.
HEMMER: Nine months in time. So, eventually you got your money back. How did you do it?
METTA: I am one that worked with guitar dealers and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) forum, a guitar forum, and I put the story out on eBay and on the forum and through all of the dealers I knew, and gathered information on the individual and his location and his home address, driver's license, so on and so forth. And I was able to track him down that way.
HEMMER: Yes, you had this guy surrounded, didn't you, Dave?
METTA: I tried.
HEMMER: Well, listen, part of the reason why you came on today was to make sure this does not happen to other people. You gave us a few tips here. I want to go through them quickly here. You say, make sure you keep your copies of e-mails and auction listings. It sounds pretty common logic. Know the item you want to buy. Examine the seller's history. Is the product description detailed? A few other tips, you say, use online escrow services and make sure pictures are current and not copied.
Of these six tips, Dave, is there one that is more critical than others in your case?
METTA: Probably examining the seller and his background and prior history of selling.
HEMMER: And you thought you did your homework too, and you were still taken for a short time.
METTA: Yes, it can happen.
HEMMER: Yes. Listen, you're a guitar collector, you say, huh? And I can see one behind your right shoulder there. How many do you have in your home?
METTA: I think it's 18 today.
HEMMER: Well, listen, you got your money back, and we appreciate you sharing your story, OK? Dave Metta. We should point out by the way, you found out about this on eBay, but the transaction actually took place outside of the auction site. I want to point that out and protect people. So many thousands who use that online site and do it frankly in a good and safe way.
Thanks, Dave -- have a good holiday.
METTA: Thank you -- you too.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired December 19, 2002 - 07:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning in our series, "Real People and Their Money," Internet buyers beware. Online auction sites fast becoming a haven for scam artists.
Dave Metta lost $3,500 trying to buy a custom-made Les Paul (ph) guitar that he thought was available on eBay. Dave Metta joins us live this morning from his home near Chicago to share his story.
Nice to see you -- happy holidays. Dave, good morning to you.
DAVE METTA, VICTIM OF INTERNET FRAUD: Good morning, Bill. Thank you.
HEMMER: We should make it -- point it out anyway at the outset here that you got your money back, but before we find out, you went online to get a guitar. What happened? What trap did you fall into, Dave?
METTA: I found a guitar on eBay that appealed to me, and I e- mailed the seller the fact that I was interested in it and would like to buy it. He offered me a price on it that was fair in my estimation. I made contact with him over the phone and via e-mail several times to the point where it raised my comfort level considerably...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: So, not only -- not only did you make contact with him by e-mail, but the telephone was important. You got his home address as well. You're a former police officer. You felt pretty secure in all of this, did you not?
METTA: I did.
HEMMER: Tell us what it means, Dave, when you go online, make a bid, write a check and you get nothing in return.
METTA: In my particular case, there were two primary factors. One was embarrassment because of my law enforcement background. The second obviously was anger.
HEMMER: Did you call authorities?
METTA: Initially, no. I waited about two weeks, and after the seller had missed two shipping dates, I became a lot more concerned and made numerous attempts to contact the seller via phone and e-mail.
HEMMER: How long did this go on, Dave?
METTA: The entire process from beginning to end took nine months.
HEMMER: Nine months in time. So, eventually you got your money back. How did you do it?
METTA: I am one that worked with guitar dealers and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) forum, a guitar forum, and I put the story out on eBay and on the forum and through all of the dealers I knew, and gathered information on the individual and his location and his home address, driver's license, so on and so forth. And I was able to track him down that way.
HEMMER: Yes, you had this guy surrounded, didn't you, Dave?
METTA: I tried.
HEMMER: Well, listen, part of the reason why you came on today was to make sure this does not happen to other people. You gave us a few tips here. I want to go through them quickly here. You say, make sure you keep your copies of e-mails and auction listings. It sounds pretty common logic. Know the item you want to buy. Examine the seller's history. Is the product description detailed? A few other tips, you say, use online escrow services and make sure pictures are current and not copied.
Of these six tips, Dave, is there one that is more critical than others in your case?
METTA: Probably examining the seller and his background and prior history of selling.
HEMMER: And you thought you did your homework too, and you were still taken for a short time.
METTA: Yes, it can happen.
HEMMER: Yes. Listen, you're a guitar collector, you say, huh? And I can see one behind your right shoulder there. How many do you have in your home?
METTA: I think it's 18 today.
HEMMER: Well, listen, you got your money back, and we appreciate you sharing your story, OK? Dave Metta. We should point out by the way, you found out about this on eBay, but the transaction actually took place outside of the auction site. I want to point that out and protect people. So many thousands who use that online site and do it frankly in a good and safe way.
Thanks, Dave -- have a good holiday.
METTA: Thank you -- you too.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
