Fraudster charged in landmark case
By Stephen Hunt, 6th July 2010
A man from County Durham has been fined £5000 for bidding on his
own Ebay auctions using a second alias.
Paul Barrett put his goods up for sale on one account and then
bid on them with another in order to inflate the final price. In
the event of winning the auction, Barrett left positive feedback
about himself.
Using this underhand method, known as 'shill bidding', Barrett
succeeded in selling a myriad of disparate items, such as Mercedes
vehicles, mobile phones, a Land Rover, a cash register and a pie
and pastry warmer.
Barrett is the first person to be prosecuted in the UK for
bidding on their own auctions on eBay in this way, and follows
legislation introduced in 2008 to counteract internet fraud.
His aberrations came to light after a complaint was lodged by a
buyer about a minibus that he had sold.
According to the judge he only avoided going to prison due to
the relatively small amounts of money involved and the fact that he
had no previous convictions.
About such fraudulent activity on online auctions, he said:
"This sort of conduct strikes at the heart of that trust which is
vital if this very, very useful commercial medium is to continue to
operate successfully."
The punishment was well received by eBay itself.
Head of corporate communications Vanessa Cazini said: "This
practice is not only prohibited on eBay as it damages the integrity
and fairness of trading on our site, but it is also illegal."
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