CMC thefts may be tip of eBay iceberg

Let the eBay buyer beware.

The investigation of Patrick Coffey, the former Community Medical Center security guard arrested Wednesday after being accused of selling up to $100,000 worth of medical supplies from the hospital on eBay, is part of a rise in fraud complaints involving Internet auction sites.

“I am doing them constantly,” private investigator Kelly Morse said of eBay fraud investigations.

“I’m working on about 100 cases right now.”

An investigator for the Columbus, Ohio-based PICA Corp., Ms. Morse purchased surgical staples from Mr. Coffey, according to his arrest affidavit.

Internet auction sites are monitored by PICA, whose Web site refers to them as the “stores” of the future for contraband goods.

Auction fraud on eBay was the top complaint of the 231,493 fielded last year at the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a nonprofit corporation that refers Internet fraud complaints to law enforcement. That was up from 207,449 complaints in 2004.

The center received 6,603 complaints from Pennsylvania last year, with 63.5 percent concerning auction fraud, up from 2,580 complaints in 2004. Pennsylvania ranked 23rd in the nation in complaints last year and 6th in the number of fraud perpetrators, according to the center.

While the numbers are up, some consumer advocates and law enforcement officials believe Internet auction fraud is under-reported.

“I’ve gotten burned on eBay,” said Scranton police Capt. Carl Graziano, recalling the $30 he spent on a case for an iPod, which he said he never received.

Capt. Graziano did not pursue the matter and said he believes most consumers who get ripped off for small amounts also feel they have no recourse.

“We usually get the bigger cases,” he said.

The median auction fraud loss reported by Pennsylvanians to the center was $450. Nationally, the cost of complaints was about $183.1 million last year, compared to $68.1 in 2004.

Most fraud victims are like Capt. Graziano, they never got what they paid for.

Other frequent fraud complaints concern products with lesser value than advertised, late deliveries and failure to disclose all relevant information, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Both sellers and buyers of fraudulent goods also face the possibility of criminal prosecution if caught in an illegal action.

You could get burned if you buy hot stuff on eBay or other auction sites if the “reasonable inference” is that the item was stolen, said Capt. Graziano, who used the example of a product worth $5,000 being sold for $500.

“You’re taking a chance because you don’t know who’s at the other end of the computer,” Capt. Graziano said.