AN ALLEGED internet fraudster accused of conning buyers out of nearly £40,000 could be living on the Fylde Coast, claim his 'victims'.

The Citizen has received a number of complaints from around the country about an eBay user apparently listing items on the internet auction site but not forwarding goods for which he has taken payments.

One man claimed he had lost £4000 in one go by transferring payment for a watch to the vendor's bank account -- he says he has received neither the goods nor a refund.

Another buyer who 'was taken for £1170' in a laptop scam insisted: "I know he has taken 20 of us for £28,000. It's getting bigger by the day.

"I have set up listings on Ebay asking people who have been scammed to come forward. The response is overwhelming."

He said many people who got in touch quoted different names for the seller, but the same mobile number or bank account number. He believes the account is held in Blackpool or St Annes.

Another angry man emailed eBay to say: "My feeling is that if I broke in to someone's house and stole over 30 grand I would have the old bill knocking at my door within minutes and I would be going to jail for three or four years."

Sellers too are claiming fraud. They say their eBay accounts are being hacked into and used without their knowledge. They believe this is how a conman or gang are listing items fraudulently without ever having a traceable eBay ID number of their own.

An eBay spokeswoman said she was unable to investigate or comment on claims about a seller without such a number.

But she added: "It is important to note that the overwhelming majority of transactions on eBay site are completely secure and without incident.

"As in life off the web, there is a small minority of people who seek to perpetrate fraud online, however their success is extremely limited and eBay presently estimates that less than 1/100th of one per cent of listed items result in a confirmed case of fraud."

She said reports of account takeovers are 'taken very seriously' by eBay and that the company took all necessary action to prevent them.

"Users should use caution with responding to any email that asks for your personal information and report suspected spoof emails to spoof@ebay.co.uk.

"Users should use different usernames and passwords on each site they frequent and they should check their accounts and their emails regularly to make sure there is no unauthorized activity."

Can you help us shed some light on the eBay mystery? Contact the Citizen newsdesk on 01253 292005 or email nikki.masters@blackpoolcitizen.co.uk