MAN ACCUSED IN EBAY SCAM DEPUTIES SAY HE DUPED BUYERS.

Byline: PATRICIA FARRELL AIDEM Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- Tickets to the Rose Bowl, a camcorder, two televisions and a designer handbag -- standard eBay fare, but the buyers never saw their purchases.

A Santa Clarita man remains jailed since his arrest Jan. 3 on suspicion of grand theft, accused of duping eBay buyers into paying him for pricey items he never delivered, sheriff's Detective John Howard said Wednesday.

Suspect Ronald Lamont Walker, 37, jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail, is due to be arraigned Feb. 6 on six counts of felony grand theft for scamming users of the world's largest virtual shopping mall.

Walker, a former Valencia restaurant manager out on a work-related disability, is accused of collecting $9,000 from six victims who paid him for the Rose Bowl tickets; a Sony camcorder; a 72-inch and a 32-inch TV; and a Louis Vuitton bag, Howard said. The would-be buyers were in New York, Michigan, Texas and California.

``It's a common scam right now,'' Howard said. ``It's not just eBay, but any online purchase, you have to be careful on the big ticket items like televisions, tools.''

Walker, he said, used various accounts, including one in his own name, to sell the high-end items.

He required payment either be wired by Western Union or via a money order -- two red flags when shopping on line, Howard said.

``When someone applies to be an eBay user online, there's no human contact,'' he said. ``There are certain safeguards, but if a person really wants to create a fraudulent account, it can be done.''

Catherine England, spokeswoman for the San Jose-based eBay, said the company takes security seriously with a three-pronged ``trust and safety'' team that works in concert.

``Buyers and sellers aren't going to come here if they can't engage in safe trade with each other,'' England said.

One group watches for unusual activity on the Web site and changes in users' behavior patterns; a second is proactive, searching the site and individual accounts for evidence of misuse; and the third works with law enforcement, answering subpoenas and reporting criminal activity, England said.

The team is headed by former federal prosecutor Rob Chesnut, who leads a group with impressive law enforcement credentials, she said.

England agreed with Howard that eBay users should steer clear of wired payments or money orders. EBay recommends its PayPal system, and accepts liability up to $2,000 per item if fraud occurs under that payment system.

[e-mail]

[phone]