Fraud Alert - Shakawat Hossain

[syg3]

If your seller asks you to make payment to a bank account in the name of Shakawat Hossain in Kolkata, please beware. This is a fraudulent seller.

His latest eBay ID is kosher_100. Other eBay IDs he operates under are nitin_100 and red_laava.

I was saved from being defrauded of Rs.11750, because of postings on this forum. I won an auction for a camcorder from kosher_100 which is the latest avatar of Shakawat Hossain. The bank details match exactly with what was posted.

I tried to call him on his mobile number but no one responded. I then took a look at his feedback - 100% for 9 items. I then saw each of the 9 items and guess what - all of them were Rs.80-Rs.100 sales of game CDs.

I then did a search for "shakawat hossain kolkata" on Google and came up to this forum.

The moral of the story - we can't depend on eBay to help. In fact eBay does not even have a simple "Report Suspicious Activity" form on the site.

Please view the other threads on this issue:

http://forums.ebay.in/thread.jspa?threadID=500000275&start=0

http://forums.ebay.in/thread.jspa?threadID=600000272&start=0

[emailswarup]

Hi,

Its nice to see that someone has been benefited from the cautions we mentioned about Shakhawat Hossain in may be a dozen postings on this board.

eBay must try to trace out this crocked super fraud and try to book him under the law, else ebay.in may be in for greater complicacies soon. A possible way to trace out is by his Bank details.

There is a system to report about such fraud but its deep inside the Contact Us link. eBay should make that link more easier to find, mainly for the new members. Best Regards 😄
Swarup Dutta
Kolkata

[emailswarup]

Hi,
I hope eBay should trace out the culprit from the Bank details by now.

BANK NAME : ICICI BANK
BANK BRANCH : HOWRAH
A/C HOLDER'S NAME : SHAKAWAT HOSSAIN
A/C NO. 628001029477

Its too long seeing such super fraud, Shakawat Hossain, cheating on eBay, unabated, with changing IDs. He is coming back with new ID almost every fortnight and cheating a loc or two within a few days before deregistration. Please note that the fraud, Shakawat Hossain, has done long term planning for such cheating. The present ID of kosher_100 is more than 2 months old. He may be having another 100 dormant IDs now. On 20-Feb he has successfully sold items worth more than 2 lacs thru kosher_100 ID. If he has got payment for even 50% of that then its another 1 lac in this cheater's booty.

If eBay has already taken at least some legal action other than just deregistering (which is not at all sufficient) then they can mention those in brief and take us all in confidence.

If eBay's legal department choose to sit idle on this issue then I don't think it will be a prudent act and they will pay dearly for that in near future.
Best Regards
Swarup Dutta
Kolkata Best Regards 😄
Swarup Dutta
Kolkata

[snrama]

Hi,

Having these type of fraud sellers is a insult to honest and prompt sellers.

I have read the announcement that eBay will be creating a link "Report Listings" in all the listings soon. This will sure erase most of the fraud activity. ---------------
With Regards,
Navaneeth (snrama) 😉

[syg3]

Now there are no more listings under kosher_100. All were removed, probably yesterday evening. The ID is still active though.

I wonder which ID(s) Shakawat Hossain is operating under now. Very hard to find out, probably Camcorders, iPods, Laptops.

Thanks to Swarup, Atul and all the other eBayers.

regards,

Sanjeev Binaykia

Mumbai

[sapana@ebay.com]

Hi syg3,

Thanks a lot for informing us and other community members about your suspicion. I will be forwarding the same to Trust and Safety team for further investigation and appropriate action.

I will encourage you and all other members to report any such user and activity via Contact Us as well. Since the team works 24x7, they will be alerted fast and thus will ensure faster investigation and action.

The link for the same will be:
Contact us - http://pages.ebay.in/help/contact_us/_base/index.html
Problem with Other members >>> Fraud Concerns >>> You dont bid, but you think the listing is fraudulent or The Problem you are having with fraud isnt listed.

Warm Regards,
Sapana

[syg3]

Thanks Sapana. I reported the case yesterday using your online form - my ticket number is KMM26217349V99142L0KM.

May I also suggest that you put up a top-level message board for Fraud Alert, where we can immediately post suspicious activity. That will make it easier to maintain a support community for users.

regards,

Sanjeev

[srjsms]

:_| bad news....try reporting that hossain guy..99% of the time..the complainant gets suspended...!! why..?? this questons comes from my friends in delhi

[ganeshimpex]

hi

if you want to take some action just F.I.R in local police station with fraud case and send that F.I.R copy to ICICI Bank and also to Calcutta Police HQ. So they can take action against such a fraud seller...Even Ebay can do that

with regards
ganeshimpex

[syg3]

Hi everyone,

I got a reply from eBay to my Fraud Alert complaint. It is a standard boiler-plate reply that absolves eBay of responsibility to initiate action. Not just law enforcement, which I wasn't expecting eBay to do anyway, but it also implies they will not take any extra precautions, such as checking Hossain's bank account details on record, to ensure that Hossain does not operate on eBay.

Here is eBay's response:

---------------------------

Hello Sanjeev,

Thank you for writing to eBay. My name is Rahul and today I will be
helping you with your concern regarding your item # 7591015784 (Canon
digital Camcorder Mv700I).

Sanjeev, please understand that, as a venue for buyers and sellers to
trade, eBay has limited legal powers to become involved in a buyer and
seller dispute. eBay will only take action on our site as described in
our User Agreement. You can view this page by using the link I have
provided below:

http://pages.ebay.in/help/community/png-user.html

This means that we cannot mediate, make decisions for a member, take
sides, reimburse a member, force a member to live up to their obligation
after the end of the listing or initiate a criminal investigation
against a member. Please be assured that we will be happy to respond to
any questionable activity that occurs on the eBay site such as
registering, buying, listing, and board postings.

Although we sympathise with your situation and certainly understand your
frustration, Sanjeev, we are unable to act as an intermediary or
mediator in these situations. Please understand that legally eBay must
remain neutral.

Apart from taking possible disciplinary action against a member's
account, which we do according to established protocol, eBay cannot
initiate contact for a member or initiate formal proceedings against a
member. From a legal standpoint, we can only suggest options for members
to consider.

Therefore, Sanjeev, if you wish to contact law enforcement, please know
that we will be happy to assist any legally recognised association that
our members involve in these issues with their investigation.

If you choose this option, we will gladly help the Police with any
inquiries they may have. Please contact us providing the following
information:

1. The officer's name
2. The officer's telephone number

My goal, Sanjeev, as always, is to help you with your questions as
quickly and accurately as possible. If you ever have any problems,
questions, or concerns in the future please do not hesitate to contact
us again, remember the sooner you contact us the sooner we can help you
solve your problem. I appreciate your patience and understanding
regarding this matter.

Kind Regards,

Rahul
eBay Customer Support

---------------------------


These are a few observations that I have:

1. It seems Rahul has not understood that I did not even get defrauded - I was going to be. It looks like he may not have read the full details of my case. I am not the aggrieved party, since I did not lose money, I was requesting eBay to take preemptive action to stop Hossain from operating and duping more buyers.

2. For all of us here who believe that eBay may take legal action against errant members, here is proof that they have a policy of doing no such thing. This is encouraging :), especially if you're one of those whose intentions are not honest!

3. Rahul has told politely told me what eBay cannot do. What I am interested in knowing is what eBay plans to do. By their words "....possible disciplinary action against a member's account, which we do according to established protocol, ...." it does seem they are a trifle reluctant to do anything. Of course, I may be wrong.

4. May we have the option of knowing what eBay plans to do to stop Hossain from operating, by when they plan to do that, and what is the action taken till now?

Meg Whitman (CEO of eBay) was in India this week, and mentioned India is one of the fastest growing markets for them. There was also special mention of protecting against fake branded products, but no mention of how they are going to minimize fraud, given our less than ideal legal system. Perhaps eBay is prudent not to get involved in Indian court cases (who would want to), but that my friends is the very reason that eBay should have more stringent policies for use in the first place.

But more than anything else, the moot point I see here is not the legal standpoint of eBay and its Terms of Use, but a distinct apathetic attitude.

eBay India, as a long-standing member of your wonderful community, I sincerely hope you can prove me wrong.