Mummy Buzz

Oct
26
2011

14-Year-Old Masterminds eBay Scam

Lap of (Laundered) Luxury

The Versace and Prada threads should have sounded alarm bells. Oh, and let's not forget the Louis Vuitton bags, the limousines, and penthouses overlooking Sydney Harbour...

By the time the 14-year-old boy's mom caught on, her son had masterminded an eBay scam which netted him A$200,000 and the collusion of Australia's four biggest banks.

Although the boy can't be identified, he was arrested at school once his frauds were linked to an IP address on a classroom computer.

Of course rather than deal with her son, the Sydney woman is suing the banks -- the Commonwealth, ANZ, Westpac and National Australia Bank -- for damages.

Apparently the boy auctioned non-existent items like laptops, mobile phones and watches on eBay, earning more than A$6,000 a day.

After the boy began booking A$4,300 penthouses and hiring limos to go to the beach, his mom ultimately found a log book detailing the false transactions which were deposited into several different bank accounts.

Though his mom repeatedly tried to warn the banks that her son was a minor, they defended their position and would not speak to her due to "privacy concerns."

Since 2007, his mom has allegedly handed over her son to the police 15 times.

It's staggering to think a 14-year-old boy could open bank accounts so easily. Shame he didn't put those entrepreneurial skills to good use on Dragons' Den.