Online Cons Rig Phony Auctions

(CBS)  Jerry Lampe's Harley is the ultimate stress reliever.

"Things get heavy and tight, and you just get on the bike and take a nice ride," he says.

So when Lampe saw a motorcycle posted for sale online, he raced to buy it, but not before checking the background of the seller. And it turned out she had a good reputation, or "feedback rating."

He even got an e-mail assuring him the bike was in eBay's warehouse.

"I was supposed to send the money to the seller, and then eBay was gonna send me the bike," says Lampe.

But as CBS News Correspondent Mika Brzezinski reports, the process that sounded pretty simple turned out to be anything but.

"It was easy to send the money and everything," says Lampe but the sale turned out to be an elaborate con job.

The seller was really a scammer who had stolen someone else's account and password, using it as a way to post phony items and lure buyers.

Lampe says the e-mail confirmation from eBay turned out to be phony too. eBay doesn't even have a warehouse.

The government says Internet fraud has gone up more than 50 percent in the past year, and the most common type involves online auctions.

When Lampe went to file a report at his local police station he found out just how pervasive this scam really is. The only other person filing a complaint had been conned by the very same scheme, but in reverse.

Mitch Krinsky is a seller on eBay. His excellent "feedback" rating is his most valuable asset. It's the thing that shows he's a trustworthy seller.

And that's what was at risk when a scammer hacked Krinsky's password and changed his account, setting himself up to use Mitch's reputation to scam others.

"The guy that was selling on my account actually wrote in his item description, 'Buy it from a seller with good feedback, don't take chances,'" says Krinsky.

The Federal Trade Commission says buyers can protect themselves by using a credit card.

"We've seen sellers who insist on payments through Western Union," says FTC attorney Lisa Hone. "Western Union doesn't provide protections that a credit card provides."

But the best advice may be if something doesn't feel right, you might want to walk, or ride away.