IT student from Middlesbrough admits to eBay fraud

• by Ian McNeal, Evening Gazette
• May 6 2013

A STUDENT has admitted being part of an internet scam targeting Teesside people selling goods on eBay.

Fraudsters were hacking into the Paypal system to make illegal payments and then collecting the goods in person.

But the victims were later contacted by PayPal telling them that the money had been recalled, Teesside Crown Court heard. A number of individuals across Teesside and the Darlington area were linked to the frauds.

IT student Harun Hussain, 22, from Middlesbrough, was caught with a phone and "dongle" equipment which had been used to access the systems.

Hussain pleaded guilty to taking part in the frauds on the basis that he was a courier who collected goods from the homes of two sellers.

Prosecutor Jolyon Perks told the court: "The legitimate seller of goods on eBay would be contacted through a hacked eBay account and an offer of cash for the goods they were selling would be made.