Forming An eBay Posse
from the taking-the-law-into-your-own-hands dept
Weren't we just talking about identity theft? What if you could use the same techniques to track down someone who stole from you? That's what it appears a group of eBay users are doing. They got scammed by a guy who sold them laptops, cashed their checks and never sent the merchandise. They found each other online and started investigating the guy. The investigations seem to have gone a little overboard. They called his mother. They got control of his email address. They talked about getting a copy of his birth certificate. It certainly sounds like they went beyond the realm of what is legal - but they say that eBay and various law enforcement agencies weren't doing anything (though some are now), so they felt the need to take the law into their own hands.
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Vigilantes!
msykes
PS: Too bad they had to call his mom though, she might qualify as an innocent bystander
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Re: Vigilantes!
I am totally cheering these people on. I mean maybe the NEXT con artist who reads this story will think twice before ripping people off.
I understand that their means could be illegal (or in a legal grey area) and that there are risks of "might makes right" (which totally sucks)...but I would think some leniency is offered when its clear that these victims had little recourse other than to fill out a form, and bend over and smile...
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