A WOMAN is in debt after falling victim to an eBay scam.

And the 41-year-old faces mounting costs to debt collectors, after what seemed to be an innocent work-from-home job turned sour.

The mother of three - who was too scared of the scammers to reveal her name - responded to an advert last December on a job-seekers' website asking for people to sell products for a company on the popular auction site.

She claims she was told to use her own account, and payment service PayPal, to receive money for the goods before passing it on to the company.

She told the Gazette: "I decided to just put £1,000 through to the company and wait for what customer feedback was like.

"Thank God I did. I soon heard from customers that they received only empty envelopes.

"I told the company and they said it was a mistake, but when it happened again I could no longer get hold of them by phone or by email."

The woman was forced to refund £4,000 paid by angry customers but still owes £1,000. A collection agency has now taken on the debt and has demanded the money immediately. She has also been banned from using eBay and PayPal.

She said: "I was quite depressed when I realised what had happened. None of this is my fault but I am paying for it.

"It's very stressful. I do not have that money to pay back. I don't know what will happen now."

The Consumer Action Group said people up and down the country were falling victim to the scam, with job adverts and companies using many different names.

A spokesman for eBay and PayPal said: "Customers should be very careful when listing items on behalf of someone else.

"Customers are responsible for the sales going through their personal accounts, although eBay and PayPal may decide not to pursue outstanding debts while any fraud investigation is ongoing."