Consumer Alert: Beware of buying rare books online
This is from the Lexington Kentucky News
"If you're thinking about buying a rare book online, be very careful. The multi-million dollar industry has skyrocketed as a result of internet auction sites, but rare book collecting is also ripe for fraud.
"The suspect worked this scheme by purchasing unsigned first edition antiquarian books on Ebay. He then forged the signatures of famous authors and resold them on Ebay for much higher prices," said U.S. Postal Inspector Al Herzog.
Book prices ranged from $50 to $1,000 each, depending on the author and book.
"(The scammer) took the actual genuine samples of the authors signatures took them to a local stamp company and had actual stampers made so the stampers could be used to mass produce the fraudulent autographs," said Herzog.
Buyers skeptical of the signature began complaining to postal inspectors, who started checking the defendant's background.
"We made some purchases of our own and eventually we were able to obtain a search warrant and that's how we were able to obtain the heat stampers," said Herzog.
If you are buying rare items or memorabilia online, exercise caution. Postal inspectors recommend always using credit cards, not debit cards, for online purchases. Credit cards offer dispute rights, making it easier to reverse a fraudulent charge. Experts say to always research the seller as well.
"In this instance, the defendant was one person operating out of his home, there was no business, no licenses, there was no reputation if you will in the antiquarian book business," said Herzog.
The defendant was sentenced to more than two years in prison and ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution"
I have experienced this as my longtime readers may remember. I posted about it ages ago. I bought a book on Ebay and some time later received an email from the US Justice Department telling me I had purchased a book with a fake signature on EBay but the would not tell me which book. For a couple of weeks I looked with great concern at my library wondering which one of my books it might be. Eventually a sympathetic customer service rep at EBay looked it up (I was given the email address the fraud used). It turned out to be Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions first edition. Not great... but, the problem was resolved as to which book it was. I heard from the Justice Department from time to time over the next year as the cheat went to trial and was eventually sentenced to jail for 2 years (I think it was..) - time served plus a huge fine. He eventually got out and was in a half-way house the last time I heard from them.
Did that make me stop buying books on EBay - No - But I am much more careful about the buyer - how many books have they sold, how well is the book described, is there any negative feedback?
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