Somebody Call Sherlock Holmes

Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Gary announced that he recently lost $2,200 to an Internet scam, and that he wasn’t sure whom he could contact about it.

Gary reported that he, Fred, Robin and Artie went in together for Howard’s Christmas gift, but that he couldn’t find what they wanted at any store.

Therefore, Gary placed a bid for the item on eBay and ended up being the second-highest bidder. Gary went on to say that a few days after the auction ended, he was contacted by someone claiming to be the seller of the product telling him that the winning bidder had backed out of the deal and that he could have it for his bid price. Gary admitted that he should’ve realized he was being taken when “the seller” asked him to start contacting him through his personal e-mail address rather than through eBay, but that since it sounded so official, he went along with the request.

Gary commented that, because “the seller” was located in England, he couldn’t accept payment through PayPal, and instead requested that Gary wire the cash, which he did. As the days went by and he hadn’t received confirmation of the payment or the item he thought he purchased, Gary admitted that he had been had.

To try to get back his money, Gary noted that he utilized eBay’s fraud department as well as the Internet scam division of the FBI, but that since he didn’t correspond with “the seller” through the site, there was nothing that could be done. When Howard informed Gary that he didn’t like the idea of not getting the $2,200 present, Gary assured him that he located a $2,000 replacement, so he wouldn’t be without the gift.