I've been SCAMMED?!

ctitivites going onn on Ebay. In the past couple weeks I have been involved with three other individuals who have lost money on musical instrument fraud (mine was a guitar). Without disclosing too many details on this forum since these matters have been turned over to law officers in New York, Texas, California, and Washington, this is a sophisticated scam that appears to involve identity theft. The thieves have posed as sellers with excellent feedback and actually communicate answers to questions posed to them through Ebay. Once the auctioon is over they collect the money and are gone. The incidents I know of involved the same user ID but three different mailing locations and people. One of the buyers scammed was a power user with a multitude of transactions and savy on the board. They appear to be sophisticated so bid with extreme caution and only as much as you are willing to lose. Also be aware that Ebay is of little use if something happens to you (read the fine print of their contract). It also appears to be pervasive judging by the number of incidents that are mentioned on the Ebay discussion board.