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A couple were jailed yesterday after defrauding thousands of customers around the world through the internet auction site eBay. In what one detective described as the biggest online scam he had seen, the pair stole £298,796 from unsuspecting bidders they called idiots.
Nicolae Cretanu, 30, was sentenced to 3½ years and his wife Adriana, 23, was given 30 months for an elaborate scam that lasted two years.
A relative of the pair coordinated the scheme from Romania and the gang advertised fictitious goods, including cars, motorcycles, war memorabilia, electrical items, tickets to sporting events and parachute trousers, then contacted bidders saying they had failed in their attempt to secure the item.
They used sophisticated software to garner email addresses and, using a pseudonym, offered bidders a "second chance" to purchase similar products, telling the customer to pay by money transfer through Western Union before receiving their purchase. The items always failed to materialise, London's Middlesex Guildhall crown court was told.
Outside court, Detective Chief Superintendent Nigel Mawer, head of Scotland Yard's specialist economic crime unit, said: "The message we are trying to get over to the public is, do not send money by money transfer to a person whose identity you do not know personally."
He said the £300,000 in this case was "but a drop in the ocean" against the estimated £1bn a year conned from people who wired funds in this way, adding: "eBay scams are a substantial part of that."
Detectives believe there may be thousands more victims in the case who have not come forward. Derek Zeitlin, prosecuting, said: "There are approximately 3,000 victims worldwide, with 60% in the US. The rest are in Europe, Africa, this country and other countries including Spain, Germany, Canada, Honduras, Korea, Italy and Peru. This fraud is continuing to this day."
The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Constable Andrew Bonafont, said: "This was a well-planned and sophisticated fraud involving the use of multiple bogus identities and modern telecommunications technology. It is on the biggest scale I have ever come across and conned thousands of victims."
The Cretanus, from east London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obtain property by deception and money laundering earlier this year. Their accomplice, George Titar, 26, was found to be using three false passports. He was also sentenced to 30 months. They were caught after officials from Western Union informed police.
All three have been served with deportation notices. The Cretanus used 12 aliases to obtain the money and Titar would visit Western Union's east London office to collect payments. Much of the money was sent back to Romania.
A spokesman for eBay said the company was extremely sorry that anyone had suffered through their association with the website. "These transactions did not take place on eBay and as soon as we were made aware of them we took action. By working with the police we helped ensure that the prosecutions were successful, showing that crime does not pay on eBay," it said.
"Payments were made using Western Union money transfers, which both eBay and Western Union strongly recommend against. In fact, eBay.com in the US has banned payment via Western Union and eBay.co.uk will soon be following suit." The case highlights how vulnerable those bidding for goods over the internet are to fraud and illegal sales. Over the past few weeks, interested parties could have tried to buy flu vaccines, or sunglasses the seller says belonged to Saddam Hussein.
The digital equivalent of a car boot sale, eBay lets sellers place unmoderated advertisements, although a team of investigators looks into contentious cases. The company, which celebrated its 10th birthday this year, made $759m (£427m) profit last year, during which goods worth more than £2bn were sold through its UK website alone.
Hits and misses
The League Against Cruel Sports forced eBay to remove an auction to kill a stag in Devon: 'Winner will retain the trophy head only; if carcass is required, this will be extra'
Tamiflu, a Roche drug to combat bird flu, is being auctioned on eBay and has fetched up to £104
Thomas Wildman, a Staffordshire ambulance paramedic, was struck off the medical register after trying to sell life-saving equipment
Southend pier caught fire, and days later a huge lump of charred wood was on auction with proceeds purportedly going to the RNLI
The General Optical Council has been battling since November over contact lenses, which should be sold only by, or under the supervision of, an optician or doctor. A hearing with eBay is due next month
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