Web rage attack prompts warning to TradeMe users

TradeMe users are being warned not to give out their addresses after a buyer drove nearly 40km to assault and threaten a man at his home after a trade went sour.

The victim had sold his attacker a computer hard-drive, and posted negative feedback about the buyer on TradeMe when they became embroiled in a dispute about damage to the hard-drive.

The negative feedback so enraged the buyer, he drove across Auckland to his victim's house, assaulted him and forced him to remove comments from the website.

Nearly two million Kiwis are TradeMe members and could be unwittingly sharing too much personal information during trades. People often put their telephone numbers and addresses on TradeMe, and buyers and sellers also post feedback good and bad about their trading experience on the website.

The assault has prompted warnings from internet safety watchdog Netsafe and TradeMe, which will bar the buyer from trading following Sunday Star-Times inquiries.

In court on Tuesday, Mark Rata, 42, of South Auckland, admitted the daytime attack at his victim's North Shore home. He had no previous criminal convictions and agreed to pay reparation. His actions have been described as the result of a "massive brain-fade" and he returned to the victim's home moments after the attack to apologise.

The victim, who asked not to be named, sold Rata a faulty computer "as is, where is" late last month. Subsequently both posted negative feedback but Rata became furious when the victim reneged on an agreement to remove it.

The victim said he received increasingly intimidating emails from Rata.

"He said I have to delete it... that morning [of the assault] the email was I've got till 12 midday otherwise 'I'm coming down there and I'm going to sort it out'. And I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'You know...'''

Rata and a friend drove the 39km to the victim's house with the faulty hard-drive and refused to leave when asked.

Rata grabbed the victim by his shirt and pushed him inside the house. Threatened with the hard-drive, he was forced to log on to his computer and delete the feedback.

"It was just his attitude was the really scary thing. He was just so calm... just menacing."

He said the attack took him by surprise. "I was like a stunned mullet. I just complied." The ordeal lasted about 15 minutes but "felt like ages".

He dialled 111 from a phone next to the computer but Rata ripped the phone from the wall. Police were sent when the emergency operator's attempts to call back were unsuccessful.

TradeMe manager for trust and safety Dean Winter said the company had a "zero tolerance" attitude to such behaviour and Rata would be banned.

Traders became highly emotional about their online reputations and TradeMe often received complaints, but management avoided getting involved because it needed to remain impartial.

He said users should take advantage of the option to post a response to negative feedback an explanation or comment listed just below the feedback. And in extreme cases where postings were "obviously defamatory or obscene" TradeMe would remove them.

Ebay last month changed its feedback system, preventing sellers from posting negative feedback against buyers. It said the move was aimed at "enhancing buyers' experiences" and avoiding malicious comments. TradeMe was sceptical about the change and would not be following suit.

Rata's victim said the experience had not put him off using TradeMe but it has made him think about posting negative feedback.

"It's made me aware that people seem to take the feedback a lot more seriously than it should be."

He said Rata returned shortly after the assault to apologise, saying he had never done anything like that before.

 

- © Fairfax NZ News