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Tom Brady won't find his missing jersey if he keeps looking on eBay


MARKETWATCH 9:56 AM ET 2/8/2017


The New England Patriot's jersey may not see the light of day for a while

No, Tom Brady, your jersey won't end up on eBay (EBAY) .

After Sunday night's stunning Super Bowl victory, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says someone stole his jersey. As of Monday evening, it was still lost -- and Brady told reporters (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early- lead/wp/2017/02/06/tom-brady-on-his-missing-super-bowl-jersey-its-going-to-be-on-ebay-soon-i-guess/?utm_term= .5be747b23296): "If it shows up on eBay somewhere, someone let me know."

It likely won't. Robert Moraca, the vice president of loss prevention for the National Retail Federation, a retail trade association, says that it will probably end up in someone's private collection. "It is like a treasured piece of art that gets stolen," he says. "The ultimate buyer can't show it publicly."

Still, it shouldn't be surprising that an eBay sale popped into Brady's head: A number of criminals do use the site to hawk stolen goods. Among the more high profile cases: Members of a Chicago-area family who netted roughly $4 million by selling stolen coffee (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-03-06/news/chi-northbrook-family-accused-of-being-part- of-4-million-shoplifting-ring-20140305_1_black-dress-northbrook-family-federal-authorities), books, toys and more, who was jailed last year, had to forfeit $2.8 million in gains and had their five-bedroom house seized (http:// www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-family-shoplifting-ring-sentenced-met-20161121-story.html). A separate ring of six criminals who sold $2.5 million in stolen goods on eBay, including sporting goods, household items and pet care products; they were sentenced in 2015 (https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/lead-defendant-shoplifting-ring- sentenced-7-years-prison)and 2016 (https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/final-defendant-shoplifting-ring-sentenced- prison).

Even for non-high-profile merchandise, eBay can be a risky place to hawk stolen goods, experts say. That's because its program for busting people selling fraudulent and stolen merchandise is "robust," says Moraca. And police say that eBay is helpful to their efforts to nab criminals: After the arrest of the criminals who sold $2.5 million in stolen goods, the special agent in charge of the case said his team was "especially thankful for eBay's assistance."

Each year, eBay says it trains hundreds of police and other experts in how to help victims of crimes, like those who end up with stolen or fraudulent merchandise; it also allows law enforcement to search listings and obtain eBay records in real time and report allegations to eBay's own investigators. eBay also says that while it respects privacy, it will "appropriately provide evidence to law enforcement and give evidence in court where necessary."

Still, while it's impossible to know how much stolen merchandise appears on eBay, it happens often enough that eBay has a dedicated department on the issue. So, if you're unwittingly defrauded by a seller on eBay, here's what to do: Contact the local police and report the incident, get a crime reference number and then let the police contact eBay to investigate.

-Catey Hill; 415-439-6400; [e-mail]


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