Typical Scammer Email Stating Funds Have Been Recovered

Do not be tricked by email messages similar to the one below. No one writes to you blindly stating that funds stolen from you have been recovered. The email message is utter nonsense.

Always be leery of communications with misspellings, grammatical mistakes, and typographical errors.

Delivered-To: always.the.nekkid.truth@gmail.com
Received: by 10.142.213.8 with SMTP id l8cs7654wfg; Mon, 26 May 2008 07:23:40 -0700 (PDT)
Received: by 10.140.163.12 with SMTP id l12mr34916rve.137.1211811751121; Mon, 26 May 2008 07:22:31 -0700 (PDT)
Received: by 10.141.142.4 with HTTP; Mon, 26 May 2008 07:22:31 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID:
Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 15:22:31 +0100
From: "EU Anti-Fraud Watch" Add Mobile Alert
Reply-to: david-eu-taxoffice@excite.com
Subject: EU Anti-Fraud (Urgent Message) We Have Capture Some of Scamers
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_Part_2652_23380394.1211811751110"
Content-Length: 6000

ATTENTION VICTIMS OF SCAMS!!!

Complements of the season!

I am David Jackson of the EU Fraud watch team. This panel was set to look into recent fraudulent activities and scam victims in the past five years within Africa and Europe.

We wish to inform you that we have received several complain about victims of several Internet scams and suspicious activities going on at the some Blacklisted Banks through the internet fraud watch operatives at the World Bank level.

we recovered some huge amount of funds from internet scamms from Africa and Europe and Aisa.The fraud money recovered was deposited in world bank,Your lost money we be giving to you atfer the investiagation by world.

However, your name, email address and other related details appeared with some of the detail retrieved from some of our prime suspect now in our custody as follows.

The Fraudulent officers of the Barclays Bank and Government officials are still at Large alone with some remote cells working in Africa called EFCC.

This commission have re-confirm this information with World Bank and IMF financial crime list, which has agree to further investigate the genuineness of the transaction.

I will need you to contact me with all the relevant information to aid our investigation and uphold justice.

As soon as i hear from you. You will be further advised on what to do in other to recovery any money lost or make further claims.

I hope to hear from you soonest.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Sincerely yours,

David Jackson
(Director) Field Operation
EU Fraud Watch/Tax Authentication Team
8 Storey's Gate
London SW1P 3AT
EFCC Nigerian Abuje office
Tell:+234-7055762274
Uk Tel: +44-7031906684
Email: david-eu-taxoffice@excite.com

eBay Members Crying Out for Better Security

It has been more than a month since Rob Chesnut, eBay's Senior Vice President of Global Trust & Safety, announced to the eBay community that new fraud prevention initiatives were implemented on eBay's platforms. However, this blog has mentioned many times since Chesnut made his announcement that we have not seen any signs of the new initiatives. Nothing proactive has occurred, eBay member accounts are still being hijacked and fraudulent listings continue to appear on eBay's platforms 24/7/365.

However, there is a simple solution to instill member confidence in eBay, and that is for eBay to require all of its members to use the PayPal key fob that was rolled out onto PayPal's platform in March. Called the "PayPal Security Key", PayPal gives it free of charge to all users that have business accounts and charges $5 to users that have premiere or personal accounts. The "PayPal Security Key" can also be used on eBay, and eBay gave the "PayPal Security Key" to eBay PowerSellers at a certain level for free.

Although the "PayPal Security Key" does not stop fraud, by using it, members have some comfort knowing that they have added an additional layer of security to both their PayPal and eBay accounts. PayPal spokesperson Sara Bettencourt told CNET News.com in January that "If a fraudulent party somehow got hold of a person's username and password, they still wouldn't be able to get into the account because they don't have the six-digit code."

Just as eBay does not want to require new members to take tutorials to learn how to protect themselves from fraud, eBay does not want to require all of its members to use the "PayPal Security Key". However, we have a few solutions to at least instill buyer and seller confidence on eBay's platforms, and an additional enhancement for PayPal to implement. Moreso, the solutions are simple because PayPal and eBay have already rolled out and implemented the "PayPal Security Key".

If an eBay/PayPal member obtains the "PayPal Security Key", the member must activate it on either PayPal or eBay and must register the unique alpha/numeric serial identification number on the back of the key. The member would then also activate the "PayPal Security Key" on the other platform. To use the key on both PayPal and eBay, the member has to log on with his user ID, password, and input the 6-digit number that is randomly generated by the "PayPal Security Key". Once the member successfully logs onto PayPal or eBay he can fully access his account. Members do not need to log into eBay and use the key if they only wish to surf eBay.

The unique alpha/numeric serial identification number on the back of the "PayPal Security Key" is solely assigned to the PayPal/eBay account for a specific person or business. Presently, only one PayPal account can be associated to one eBay account; therefore, if a member has a combination of two or more PayPal/eBay accounts, each PayPal/eBay account would require its own "PayPal Security Key".

If a "PayPal Security Key" is lost, it is of no value to anyone else because the alpha/numeric serial identification number has already been registered with PayPal/eBay and cannot be reassigned or transferred. Should the key become faulty or is lost, the "Paypal Security Key" will be disabled by PayPal/eBay once the member it is assigned to reports such to PayPal/eBay. Members who may leave their "PayPal Security Key" at home, while wanting to access their PayPal/eBay accounts from another location, and those who are waiting for a replacement "PayPal Security Key" are still be able to access their PayPal/eBay accounts, but must answer security questions of which the answers are only known to them. Hijackers are unable to gain access to any PayPal or eBay accounts that are activated with the "PayPal Security Key" because the hijackers are unable to successfully answer the security questions.

The bottom line is that hijackers cannot tamper with PayPal/eBay member accounts that have activated the "PayPal Security Key".

Click on the thumbnail images below to enlarge them for a visual illustration of the PayPal and eBay log on pages when the "PayPal Security Key" is activated.



On a side note, we would like to mention that the estimated life of the battery in the "PayPal Security Key" is approximately one to two years. The battery cannot be replaced, so a member must obtain a new key from either eBay or PayPal.

We suggest that both PayPal and eBay create an icon that will appear as follows:

PayPal

• The new icon will appear on the PayPal message sent to the seller that the buyer accessed his PayPal account by using the "PayPal Security Key" and has paid for the transaction.

• The new icon will appear in a new column on the PayPal transaction register only for transactions in which the "PayPal Security Key" was used.

By implementing this new icon in these locations, it will give the seller confidence that the buyer did indeed authorize payment for the transaction. Although thieves can copy and use the icon in spoof messages, users will be able to verify the authenticity of a payment/receipt by accessing the transaction register on their PayPal accounts.

Click on the thumbnail images below to enlarge them for a visual illustration of the proposed changes to PayPal.



eBay

• Listings that are created and uploaded onto eBay platforms where the seller has logged in to his account with the "PayPal Security Key" will display the key icon in the blue listing box and in the location where the PayPal buyer protection information is located. It will also be necessary to use the "PayPal Security Key" to upload listings through Turbo Lister and any other third-party programs.

• If an existing listing that displays the key icon is revised, the eBay member must log in to access his eBay account with the "PayPal Security Key". If the member does not log into his account with the "PayPal Security Key", he will be unable to revise the existing listing. The member also will be unable to cancel the listing by himself. The member will have to contact eBay's Live Help for Fraud group to have the listing canceled and will also be required to provide verification information to the Live Help agent. eBay will not refund the listing fee to the member, as it will be considered canceled and not TKO'd. The eBay member will be able to list items without the key, but the "PayPal Security Key" will not appear in the listing. By only allowing members to revise listings with the "PayPal Security Key" this further prevents hijackers from accessing accounts and revising genuine listings for their own illegal benefit.

• The key icon will appear for all listings that are uploaded with it in a column on the eBay search results page.

• Just as members may search for listings that have PayPal as a payment option, the key icon will be added as a search function on the left hand side of the search page.

• The key icon will be added as a search function on the Advanced Search screen.

• The key icon will appear on the My eBay Summary screen for all applicable listings sub-categorized under "All Buying" and "All Selling" that are uploaded using the "PayPal Security Key" and paid for through PayPal with the buyer's "PayPal Security Key".

• We also suggest that because PayPal is not accepted by every seller, available in every country, or available to every member, that on eBay's platforms the key should be renamed the "eBay Security Key". eBay should also add its own logo to the existing key (which only says "PayPal") or create a key solely with the eBay logo on it.

Click on the thumbnail images below to enlarge them for a visual illustration of the proposed changes to eBay.



eBay Member Confidence

• eBay members will have confidence in these specific eBay listings, as they can only be uploaded to eBay platforms by the true member that is assigned the "PayPal Security Key".

• Buyers will have more confidence that listings are genuine because they will be able to search for listings containing the "PayPal Security Key."

• Buyers will continue to have confidence when obtaining general search results. They will be able to immediately see the "PayPal Security Key" icon related to each item and know, without having to click on the listing, that the listing is genuine.

• Instilling buyer confidence in eBay listings will generate more sales and higher sales dollars for sellers that use the "PayPal Security Key," and will also increase the average selling price (ASP), final value fees and increase revenue for eBay.

• Should an eBay member be assigned and have in his possession a "PayPal Security Key" and then be NARU'd, eBay will automatically disable the key for all eBay accounts associated with that particular key until the member is again in good standing. PayPal accounts will remain unaffected. However, because eBay and PayPal are considering allowing the "PayPal Security Key" to be used for multiple accounts in the future, this safety mechanism will prevent NARU'd members from having the opportunity to log in to eBay with the key.

• The more exposure the "PayPal Security Key" icon receives through eBay marketing, promotion, and announcements, the more it will convince other members, and specifically, sellers to obtain the "PayPal Security Key" for their own use.

Site Key

There may be some eBay members that infrequently use eBay, and therefore, might find the added security by using the "PayPal Security Key" to be cumbersome or not worth the $5 investment. Therefore, we suggest that to accommodate these eBay members and to provide further security, eBay also implement a site key.

A site key is a small image, chosen by the member to "individualize" his account. Each member will select an image from a random array of 50 images, and set up a security question. Each time a member logs in to his account, after entering his user ID, he will be directed to a second screen showing a random set of images. The member must choose his preselected site key and input his password to complete the login process. If the member does not choose the correct site key, he will be allowed a second attempt. If again unsuccessful, on the third attempt he will be asked to answer the security question. If the security answer is incorrect, the account will be completely disabled for 4 hours. The member will be sent an email message addressed to his eBay registered email account notifying him of the three unsuccessful attempts to log in to his account, and that the account is disabled for 4 hours. The email will also provide instructions on how to contact Live Help for assistance to have the account reactivated, though no action will be required by the member if he did not access his account and if he can wait through the 4 hour disablement period.

• The security question choices will be out of the ordinary. For example, questions with common answers will be easy to guess at. However questions such as "What is your eldest sibling's middle name" and "Name your first employer" will be nearly impossible for a thief to answer.

• Site key images will always appear in random order, and because the member will have two attempts to select the correct image to log into eBay prior to answering the security question, hijackers will be unable to determine which image is correct through keylogger programs.

• We further suggest that eBay create a library of 3000 site key images to choose from, although it only needs to offer a member an array of 20-30 images to choose from to initially activate the site key account protection. By implementing the site key and security question precautions, a hijacker would be unsuccessful in leading a member to a fake eBay login page.

• Since we are aware that there are millions of dormant accounts in eBay's database, we suggest that if a member has not activated either the "PayPal Security Key" or the site key within 30 days of the site key being rolled out, that eBay temporarily disable such accounts and require verification of membership when accessed. In the alternative, at a minimum, eBay should disable the selling privileges on the dormant accounts so hijackers already having access to an undetermined inventory of user IDs and passwords are unable use the dormant accounts to create fraudulent listings for their own purposes.

Click on the thumbnail images below to enlarge them for a visual illustration of the proposed changes by adding a site key.



Email Messages, Hyperlinks and Member Registration

• Both eBay and PayPal will remove all hyperlinks from its messages and only send messages to members stating they have new messages to read in the My eBay My Messages/PayPal accounts.

• By removing hyperlinks from messages and educating its members that neither eBay nor PayPal send email messages with hyperlinks, members will learn that any messages that look like they appear from either eBay or PayPal with hyperlinks in them are spoof and phishing attempts to obtain member IDs and passwords. By removing hyperlinks and educating members, the members will be less likely to be spoofed or phished, and thus not give up their private information.

• eBay will no longer allow members to register member IDs that are at all similar to their eBay registered email addresses. In this way, members will be less likely to receive fake Second Chance Offers from scammers who use random generator matching programs to detect member email addresses for their scams. This is extremely important because eBay's SMI initiative only obscures member IDs when a listing with bids reaches the $200 threshold.

• eBay will no longer expose any member's email address in Ask the Seller a Question and member to member messages. eBay will allow sellers to answer bidder questions that request additional images by creating eBay generated disguised links through the eBay messaging system similar to the way TinyURL works. Furthermore, eBay will perform malware scans on the links and images to ensure that neither the links nor the images are infected. Bidders wishing to see the images will click on the links to view them.

Click on the thumbnail image below to enlarge it for a visual illustration of the proposed changes to email messages.



If eBay requires its members to either use the "PayPal Security Key" or the site key, thieves will be unable to hijack eBay member accounts and existing listings, therefore, thieves' activities will be limited to the listings on the brand new accounts they create for themselves.

By implementing the above security processes as a complete package, eBay gives its members options, along with offering true security and assurances, that listings on its platforms are created by the true account holders and not hijackers. Member confidence in eBay being a safe marketplace will increase, members will be able to properly evaluate other members through feedback, the public's perception of eBay will be positive, and eBay will be proactively taking action to combat fraud on its platforms. Transparency will return to eBay's platforms.

Implementation of the security processes will allow eBay employees assigned to removing fraudulent listings, securing accounts, and assisting members with fraudulent activity due to hijackings to spend their time doing better things than repetitively removing listings, securing accounts, and advising its members how to keep their accounts secure. eBay's Trust & Safety team will become more effective and have the manpower and opportunity to concentrate its efforts on the problems with the Chinese counterfeiters, shilling violations, and other important trust and safety issues.

By no means will these security processes eliminate all of the fraud on eBay, however, it is a step in the right direction and a way to remove most of the fraudulent listings from eBay's platforms, while keeping its venue status, and protecting its members. We urge eBay's and PayPal's management teams to evaluate these security processes and implement them immediately.

The Nekkid Truth blog thanks the administrator of the Company Exposed website, eBay member "thepursesboutique", Team Whack a Hack, and the many eBay members wishing to remain anonymous for collaborating on this blog entry and providing the illustrations.

For press/media contact, please write to the blog administrator at always.the.nekkid.truth@gmail.com. We welcome all reader comments and questions. Please feel free to post your comments directly to the blog or email always.the.nekkid.truth@gmail.com for further information.

***NOTE***
We believe that we are proposing viable security solutions that eBay can easily implement, which will benefit eBay and its members. On Sunday, May 20, 2007, email messages were sent to eBay executives Bill Cobb, Philipp Justus, Rob Chesnut, Matt Halprin, and Dave Cullinane requesting that they review the proposed security suggestions and respond to this blog entry (see email message below). We will keep our readers updated and let you know if and when we receive a response from eBay.

Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 12:04:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: "The Nekkid Truth"
Subject: Security Proposal to Reduce Fraudulent Listings on eBay's Platforms
To: billc@ebay.com, pjustus@ebay.com, robc@ebay.com, mhalprin@ebay.com, dcullinane@ebay.com
CC: ina@auctionbytes.com

Dear Messrs. Cobb, Justus, Chesnut, Halprin, and Cullinane:

A group of eBay members that have been critical of eBay's lack of security have taken it upon themselves to find solutions to reduce fraud, and increase security and member confidence on eBay's platforms. Implementation of our proposed security enhancements are solutions to the issues eBay faces daily, and, will ultimately increase sales and revenue on eBay. Please review the proposal posted at http://nekkidtruth.blogspot.com/2007/05/ebay-members-crying-out-for-better.html.

We believe your IT group is technically capable to write the required code and perform the beta testing in order for these security enhancements to be implemented on eBay's platforms prior to the Christmas 2007 listing/buying season.

Further, by implementing these solutions, eBay returns transparency to its marketplace. Our proposed security solutions have merit and not only will solve eBay's security and fraud issues, but will strengthen eBay and give eBay members confidence in eBay. This is a win/win situation for eBay.

If you are in favor of implementing our proposed solutions this would be a wonderful announcement you can make at eBay Live. eBay's upper management will be getting the message out to a very large audience that it is proactively pursuing solutions to increase security and reduce fraud on its platforms.

We welcome your comments.

Sincerely yours,

The Nekkid Truth Blog

Company Exposed

Team Whack a Hack

Anonymous eBay Members

eBayGate: Covering Up Fraud on eBay

At the Town Hall Meeting held on April 30, 2007, Rob "Pinocchio" Chesnut, Senior Vice President of eBay's Global Trust & Safety Group, stated that curtailing fraud on eBay's platforms is eBay's number one priority. He also stated that the group is securing hijacked accounts and nullifying fraudulent listings within 2-3 hours of the first report it receives from eBay community members that spot and report fraud. Chesnut's comments are so far removed from the truth that we are surprised that he hasn't been struck by lightning. Fraudulent listings continue to run rampant on eBay's platforms.

On April 9, 2007, Chesnut announced new fraud prevention initiatives to the eBay community, however, his announcement was vague, and we continue to not see any filters implemented to catch the fraudulent listings prior to them uploading on eBay's platforms. Despite the implementation of Safeguarding Member IDs (SMIs) for items that have bids exceeding the $200 threshold, members continue to receive fake Second Chance Offers. Shill bidding continues and eBay handsomely profits from it, but it is now nearly impossible to report the infraction due to eBay's SMI initiative. There has not been one iota of improvement in curtailing fraud since Chesnut made his announcement.

When questioned by a caller at the April Town Hall Meeting regarding implementing mandatory educational tutorials for new members, Matt Halprin, eBay Vice President for Policies and Procedures, stated that eBay does not want to force its members to take tutorials; it wants to make the buying process simple so buyers can get in and out quickly. The only mandatory educational tutorial that eBay requires new members to take is for members that have feedback ratings of 10 or less that wish to leave neutral or negative feedback for a transaction.

A few weeks ago, the administrator at Company Exposed installed new RSS feeds powered by FEEDBITE. The RSS feeds consist of common scammer phrases, specific email addresses, and well-known items the scammers are known to list on hijacked eBay accounts. At any one time the RSS feeds expose hundreds, if not thousands, of active fraudulent eBay listings. The fraudulent listings appear for endless hours, if not days, certainly exceeding the 2-3 hour window that Chesnut proclaimed was the eBay response time for nullifying these listings and securing accounts.

Although there have been announcements made by eBay that it is actively protecting its membership, there have been no significant or positive changes implemented, therefore, eBay continues to be a thief's best friend and accomplice when it comes to defrauding eBay members.

Recently an eBay member that frequently participates on the Trust & Safety forum provided an excellent definition of fraud:

Fraud: A knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment. A concealment or false representation through a statement or conduct that injures another who relies on it in acting.

eBay proclaims itself as a "safe trading environment." Based on the definition above, is eBay's proclamation true or false?

eBay commits fraud by concealing the extent and prevalence of fraud on its platforms and, therefore, places eBay members at risk through the false representation that eBay is a "safe trading environment." eBay's misrepresentation as a "safe trading environment" is for its own financial enrichment and such conduct truly injures eBay members.

Misrepresentation

eBay claims it is safe and claims only 0.01 to 0.1% of the visible listings are fraudulent. Unsuspecting new buyers are lulled into becoming members without being properly educated that by becoming eBay members and actively entering into transactions on eBay they will become the number one target to be hacked, hijacked, phished, spoofed, and lured into sophisticated fraudulent schemes to purchase non-existent merchandise.

eBay's fraud calculations are grossly misleading and are only based on claims paid out through PayPal. Members that are defrauded and make payment to thieves through any mechanism other than PayPal do not have actionable claims and, therefore, are not included in the calculations, nor are fraudulent listings that are uploaded and eventually removed by eBay. Also not included in the calculations are fraudulent payments made to sellers through mechanisms other than PayPal. eBay does not publicly report in the aggregate the number of fraudulent listings uploaded on its platforms.

Conduct

eBay actively conceals and censors its members on eBay community message boards by removing warning posts provided by eBay members illustrating and documenting fraud on eBay's platforms. eBay actively acts to conceal and misrepresent the fraud.

eBay removed member posts on its March Town Hall Forum thread that did not violate board policies. Pointed questions were removed regarding fraud in an effort to conceal members' concerns about this issue. Days prior to the April Town Hall Meeting, eBay blocked access to the March Town Hall Forum thread.

eBay removed and continues to remove any post on eBay's Trust & Safety community board and on other eBay community boards that point to specific or even non-specific proof of fraud on eBay's platforms.

On April 16, 2007, Avery from eBay's Community Development group posted a thread entitled Discussing and Reporting Member-Specific Activity and in part stated:

The manner in which accounts or listings are referenced is less important than the reason why they are being referenced. If it is being used to report a violation, then search strings, item titles, item descriptions, links to other threads with reports, etc. are also examples of posts that are likely not appropriate in these forums.

The original argument for pulling certain posts off eBay community discussion boards was to protect innocent eBay members from mistaken accusations.

However, Avery's comments clearly state eBay members may not discuss fraud in any shape or form, including posting links to the German eBay Trust & Safety community board where eBay members have an official thread to report hijacked accounts.

eBay removed posts linking to its own German Trust & Safety community board when users report hijacked seller accounts with fraudulent auctions. Instead of eBay creating a thread for members to post questions on for the April Town Hall meeting, eBay members were told to submit their questions to an email address. This was done intentionally so eBay members could not review the questions being presented to the panelists at the Town Hall meeting.

It is quite apparent that by eBay's recent actions that it no longer wishes to have transparency on its platforms. Certainly, eBay management is aware of its members' criticisms, but instead of proactively working with members that are knowledgeable about fraud, eBay instead prefers to cover up any traces of both the criticisms and the fraud.

Who is kidding who here? Contrary to what eBay is telling its members, investors, and the media, eBay is not making any visible or significant progress in reducing the number of fraudulent listings on its platforms. eBay has not implemented proactive fraud initiatives; instead it is making its best efforts to conceal fraud, and to censor and sanction its members from discussing fraud. There is no "Trust & Safety" at eBay.

This is an eBayGate cover up; the proof is on Company Exposed's website and is visible by reading the threads on eBay's community message boards and the many blogs and message boards throughout the Internet.

eBay Town Hall Meeting on April 30, 2007 - Trust & Safety Issues to be Discussed

Based on the following announcement, it doesn't appear that eBay wants to create a thread on its Town Hall Forum message board for members to post questions. eBay would prefer to privately receive email so the panelists can quietly select the questions they want to answer.

***Phone In Your Questions! Town Hall with Bill Cobb on Monday, April 30th***

April 19, 2007 | 12:10PM PST/PT

Hi everyone...this is Bill Cobb, President of Marketplaces North America. I'd like to invite you to my next Town Hall event on Monday, April 30 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Pacific time. This month's topic is Trust & Safety.

My friend and colleague Rob Chesnut, eBay's Senior Vice President of Trust & Safety, along with several members of his team, will be joining me during this Town Hall. I'm also pleased that eBay's Chief Information Security Officer, Dave Cullinane, will be able to join our panel. Dave brings 35 years of experience in the information security business to our team, and we're delighted to have him.

Ask us your question on the air
We'll be broadcasting LIVE via Internet radio with the help of our friends at wsRadio. If you have a question for me, Rob, or one of the other leaders on our panel, you'll be able to call us at our toll-free number – 877-474-3302 – to talk to us about your Trust & Safety question in person.

As always, you'll be able to listen in via Windows Media Player or Real Player.

Email us your question before the Town Hall
If you’d prefer, you can also email your Trust & Safety-related question to us before the event to TownHall@ebay.com – we’ll be answering some of our email during the show, as well.

So, I hope you'll join us. Visit www.ebay.com/townhall for all the details.

Sincerely,

Bill Cobb
President, Marketplaces North America

From past experience, the panelists, and specifically, Bill Cobb and Rob "Pinocchio" Chesnut, most likely will not be forthcoming and answer the tough questions about fraud on eBay's platforms. Cobb and Chesnut will probably continue to tout the success of eBay's SMI initiative and state that fake second chance offers and shill bidding are practically non-existent. eBay members know differently ~~ SMI has bombed and it only protects the identities of shill bidders.

We would like to know what questions you are posing to the panelists. Send a copy to always.the.nekkid.truth@gmail.com and we will post your questions on the blog (out of courtesy to you and for your own protection, we will omit your email address). Even if eBay doesn't believe in transparency, we do. After the Town Hall Meeting transcript is released, we will then know exactly which questions the panelists chose to answer.

eBay Censoring Members on Community Message Boards as Fraud Continues to Spiral Out of Control

The blogger and owner of both the FireMeg blog and the FireMeg website was suspended by eBay at the end of March for 30 days for speaking out about fraud on eBay's community message boards. This blog has recently received communications from eBay members that have been sanctioned and indefinitely suspended from eBay for speaking out about fraud on its community message boards. Gag orders, known as "pink slips," notifying members that their posts have been removed by Live World, community board sanction notices, and eBay registration suspension notices are constantly being emailed to its members.

eBay has become more heavy-handed in censoring its members, because it continues to DO NOTHING about fraud and it doesn't want its members discussing it on eBay. eBay now has zero tolerance when it comes to its members discussing fraud on its community message boards. The only way to keep the discussions about fraud off of the boards is to censor its members. In eBay's eyes, if there aren't any active discussions regarding fraud on eBay, then there isn't any fraud running rampant on its platforms. In essence, if you can't see it, it doesn't exist.

When people register to become eBay members and post on eBay community message boards, they give up their rights to free speech. eBay has Board Policies and a Policy Explanation Board explaining the rules. Bottom line, you either play by eBay's rules or risk being silenced and having all of your privileges suspended.

Most recently, eBay has been locking down threads on the Trust & Safety (SafeHarbor) message board. On Wednesday, April 18, the thread entitled Massive, worldwide, multiple user hijacks Thread 2 4/4/07 was locked down to prevent further discussion about fraud (the first thread was locked down because of the vast amount of posts on it). The last post on the second thread is from the eBay employee that locked it down.

This discussion is now closed. Please review the Board Usage Policy and Policy Explanation board before posting further.

Thanks,

Avery

It appears that eBay doesn't want constructive criticism from its members, yet it wants its members to police its platforms and quietly report fraud, but only to eBay. eBay does not like its members being publicly critical, therefore, posts on eBay's community boards are continuously being removed and threads are being locked down. As a member, if you are outspoken, you will be sanctioned for it. eBay thinks it has the upper hand by censoring its members on the community boards, but there are plenty of blogs and message boards off of eBay where members have been voicing their criticisms and they are not being censored.

It's too bad that eBay moves at warp speed when it comes to censoring critical comments from its members, but moves at a snail's pace when it comes to nullifying fraudulent listings and securing accounts. eBay needs to get its priorities in order.

The truth is that fraud is spiralling out of control on eBay, and Rob Chesnut, eBay's Senior Vice President of Global Trust & Safety, doesn't have a handle on it. We believe that Chesnut is most likely the person behind the scenes requesting that the critical eBay members be censored. We are now certain that Chestnut's Trust & Safety group is actually the local division of the Keystone Cops.

In a recent blog post on FireMeg dated April 16, the blogger referred to Chesnut as a pathological liar and bumbling idiot. In a nutshell, eBay's head crime fighter is inept and grossly underqualified for the position that he holds, and Chesnut would be better suited securing employment as a character at a Disney theme park because he lives in fantasy land. We propose he apply for the position of "Pinocchio" because he is such a proficient liar. Apparently eBay's hiring criteria is based on the Peter Principle, meaning "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence." Chesnut has arrived!

Fraud is on the increase at eBay. However, Chesnut infers that it is significantly reduced, ignores that it exists, falsely misleads members into believing new fraud prevention initiatives have been put into place, or implements flawed fraud prevention initiatives to mask it and protect the thieves. There is no longer any transparency at eBay. eBay, with its quick trigger finger, deletes the evidence and because of the cover up should be renamed eBayGate.

Prior to Chesnut's employment at eBay, he was an assistant US attorney for the Southern District of Virginia. Chesnut used to seek justice from corruption; under the veil of eBay's 'venue' status he now helps hides it. Per Martindale-Hubbell, Chesnut is admitted to practice law in Virginia, but not admitted in California. He does not need to be credentialed in California to be employed as corporate counsel because he is not litigating cases. One has to wonder, however, why Chesnut has not sat for the California bar examination.

Opinions by eBay members about Chesnut's qualifications do not vary. When recently asked about Chesnut's qualifications, an eBay member stated:

I've always felt that Rob Chesnut is highly UNqualified for his job. Through discussions over the years he has admitted that he's "not very good with computers", and doesn't know how to do html. I've had conversations with him about viruses, computer coding, etc. He doesn't have a clue. So how can someone be head of trust & safety for an online company - one that uses computer technology to provide their services - and not know a damn thing about computers?

And as for illegal activity and how to detect same, he doesn't have the first clue.

Another member feels as though Chestnut's impotence elevates him to 'blivot' status.

An eBay watchdog reported earlier this week that since Rob Chesnut announced the new proactive fraud initiative on April 9, that accounts detected with fraudulent listings have increased by 20% when compared to the same time period a month ago. Other members reported on Tuesday that the Chinese hijackers' fraudulent Apple I-Pod and Microsoft X-Box listings are now appearing by the thousands and that eBay cannot take the listings down fast enough. This blog, which usually captures approximately 200 of the thieves' email addresses and fake domains on eBay every week, captured 182 email addresses on Tuesday, and in the past 4.5 days has added 411 new email addresses and fake domains found in eBay listings to the blog.

Investors, analysts, eBay management and even the thieves that fraudulently list on eBay may be happy with the recently announced first quarter earnings results, but the eBay watchdogs and members that have been harmed because of eBay's blatant inattentiveness to fraud are angry and will continue to complain about it.

eBay may continue to censor any member that speaks out about fraud on its community message boards, however, you can make eBay hear you very clearly if you refuse to transact any business on its platforms.

Boycott eBay; it is unsafe. Spend your money elsewhere.

eBay's New Fraud Prevention Initiative ... it is Clearly Not Working

On Monday, April 9, 2007, Rob Chesnut, Senior Vice President of eBay's Global Trust & Safety announced a new fraud prevention initiative to curtail the massive number of fraudulent listings created by thieves on eBay. The specifics of this announcement can be found on this blog in an entry dated April 10, 2007.

It has been almost a week since Rob Chesnut made this announcement, however, we see absolutely no reduction in the number of fraudulent listings found each day when we are reviewing listings on eBay. Mr. Chesnut announced that the specific criteria would be kept secret so that the fraudsters would not be alerted to it. As far as we can tell, the specific criteria that eBay has established to curtail the number of fraudulent listings appearing on eBay's platforms is also being kept secret from eBay. There has not been one iota of improvement since the announcement was made.

By now, we should have seen fraud prevention filters in place so that listings with common scammer language (see blog entry below dated April 11, 2006) would be caught automatically. The eBay members that voluntarily police eBay every moment of the day would not have to continuously report the hijacked accounts that have listings with these common phrases. Instead eBay members are reporting that there is more fraud.

If fraud prevention filters were in place, eBay would be catching the fraudulent listings created through Turbo Lister and other third-party programs, yet the listings are immediately being indexed and appearing instantaneously, which is contrary to Mr. Chesnut's announcement that there would be a substantial delay for listings appearing on eBay.

If fraud prevention filters were in place, eBay would be catching the fraudulent listings that had known scammer email addresses in them. Thousands of these email addresses are documented on this blog. The same would hold true for the well-known items that the scammers list. eBay would be catching the bulk of the fraudulent listings automatically.

What could eBay's and specifically Rob Chesnut's excuse possibly be? The truth is that the fraud prevention initiative that Rob Chesnut announced has either not been implemented or it is so flawed that it is not working effectively. In actuality, we believe that Rob Chesnut's announcement is a monumental lie. A new fraud prevention initiative does not exist, and the announcement was made to make the eBay community believe that eBay is safer and proactive towards fraud.

Mr. Chesnut, are you so brainwashed by the eBay machinery, that you believe the lies that you make publicly? Do you sleep at night with a clear conscience? Do you go to confession and tell your priest that you lie?

Rob Chesnut has ZERO credibility amongst those that participate on eBay's Trust & Safety community board. On April 30th, eBay is hosting a Town Hall Meeting and the topic is trust and safety. Rob Chesnut is one of the panelists. What could he possibly say to regain the community's trust?

eBay is allowing thieves to upload fraudulent listings on its servers. eBay is only taking these listings down and securing the affected accounts when members bring the accounts to eBay's attention. eBay is doing nothing on its own to make its platforms safer. By doing nothing, eBay continues to aid and abet criminals, and continuously allows criminals to defraud its members.

eBay should be ashamed of itself.

We urge all members to take a stance. If you are a seller, find other avenues to sell your items on. If you are a buyer, do not shop on eBay. Boycott eBay; it is not safe.

Scammer Language Found in eBay Listings

Whether you are finding thieves' email addresses or fake domains in listings, and whether or not the listings are in the correct categories or not, the following are phrases found in bogus listings on eBay. If you come across a listing with any of this phrasing in it, for heavens sake, do not bid and do not make contact with the thief.

Note: Due to the fact that the auction bidding was restricted, the eBay listing will appear in your "Won" folder only after we will be able to confirm that your funds have been secured in our account. This is also available for all messages regarding this transaction, including the invoice #VPP-2063212. You will have all e-mails in your eBay "Messages" after your payment will be secured and confirmed.

DO NOT BID WITHOUT MY PERMISSION OTHERWISE YOUR BID WILL BE CANCELED AND NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LEFT!

PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE BIDDING TO CLEAR EVERYTHING OUT ! DO NOT BID UNTIL YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO DO SO, OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE BANNED FROM PARTICIPATING AT THIS AUCTION. SORRY BUT I AM GETTING SO SICK OF SCAMMERS AND NON PAYING BIDDERS I HAVE HAD TO IMPLEMENT THESE RULES. I APOLOGISE TO ALL THE GOOD GUYS OUT THERE IN ADVANCE. I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO END ANY AUCTION AT ANY TIME.

Notice!!! Please DO NOT use the eBay "Ask Seller a Question" button to contact me because my eBay e-mail is infected with a trojan virus and answering you from there will get your mail infected.

For a better and secure comunication please use this e-mail

Please contact me to the following e-mail address if you want a fast reply because my eBay e-mail address is full and i can't receive any new e-mail. For more informations please contact me IN ENGLISH:

I SELL IT TO THE BEST OFFER AND I SHIPP IT WORLDWIDE

Mail me only at for questions, prices, terms & conditions

DO NOT bid with out my approval. I'm sick of time wasters and for people just asking questions because they don't have any better thing do to. Bidding with out my approval will be cancelled and you will get negative feedback.

BEFORE YOU BID, CONTACT ME FOR THE BUY NOW PRICE, BECAUSE IT IS VERY LOW!!!

I will offer free shipping to the winner. Contact me for more details.

SEND ALL YOUR QUESTIONS AT

WHEN YOU TRY TO CONTACT ME THROUGH ''Email the seller'' OPTION PLEASE UNMARK ''Hide my email address'' BECAUSE I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO E-MAIL YOU BACK. THIS OPTION IS DOWN THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN

Please leave me your email because is more quickly and I cannot access my ebay account only in the weekend

I HAVE 20 UNITS FOR EACH BRAND LISTED ABOVE IN MY DEPOSIT RIGHT NOW. YOU CAN CONTACT ME USING THE EBAY OPTION " ASK SELLER A QUESTION " UNDER MY EBAY ACCOUNT.

So if you want to make a deal contact me at

SINCE OF NON-PAYING BIDDERS I REQUEST TO BE CONTACTED BEFORE BIDDING AND PLEASE WAIT FOR MY ANSWER,IF NOT YOUR BID WILL BE CANCELLED AND YOU WILL GET A NEGATIVE FEEDBACK!

My ebay email is locked and I can't receive your question if you use "ask seller questions"

The asking price is

I have 100% positive feed-back, we can have a deal now with a fast and free shipping

I reserve my right to cancel all bids if you don't contact me first

Contact me to Buy Them Now !!!

You don`t need to bid to buy from me, is much better if you e-mail me and you will gain money and time.

Our company is ready to make business partners domestically and internationally.

Also if you use the normal ask seller a question there will be a delay until your e-mail that is sent through eBay will reach me, and I don't check my eBay messages very often, so please contact me at

I will sell it to the first buyer who will contact me and offer me

PLEASE EMAIL ME BEFORE YOU BID SO WE CAN AGREE ON THE TERMS

DO NOT BID WITHOUT MY PERMISSION OTHERWISE YOUR BID WILL BE CANCELLED AND NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LEFT!

BUYERS, PLEASE USE THE EMAIL BELOW TO GET ANSWERS

Send me your questions using this form because my home e-mail is not working.

ATTENTION : Due to a high volume of non paying buyers and credit card frauds, you must contact me for pre-approval to purchase this item. Providing Full Billing Information is Mandatory, I cannot issue a Invoice or sell you an item unless you provide your details e-mail me first

because my ebay email address is my business

YOU NEED TO CONTACT ME BEFORE PLACING YOUR BID FOR SHIPPING AND PAYMENT DETAILS.YOUR BID WILL BE CANCELLED IF YOU DON'T E-MAIL ME FIRST!!!

PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY MORE EMAILS USING ASK SELLER A QUESTION BUTTON.

BUYERS, PLEASE USE THE EMAIL BELOW TO GET ANSWERS:

We can discuss over the listing and you can ask everything you need to know, related to the unit, shipping or payment. We can also agree to a Buy Now price.

and get informations how to buy

Before placing any BID or BUY this product, please email me at

Important Please e-mail me me at

PLEASE E-MAIL ME BEFORE BIDDING AS I HAVE BEEN MESSED ABOUT TOO MANY TIMES IN THE PAST.

i want to speak personally with every interested buyer

Contact seller BEFORE BIDDING so you can be sure that the item is in stock.

DO NOT use ASK SELLER A QUESTION eBay message system as you'll NEVER receive a response.

Auction may end at any time if the seller is out of stock so BE FAST

The Item is for sale only for the buy it now price not thru bidding.

Bidding with out my approval will be cancelled and you will get negative feedback.

I can not be contacted trough ebay mail system

THIS IS NOT A PRE-ORDER AUCTION DO NOT BID, I REPEAT DO NOT BID. YOU CAN CONTACT ME RIGHT NOW IN THIS MOMENT AND BUY 1 OR MORE UNITS OF NOKIA BRAND NEW AND UNLOCKED (I HAVE 30 UNITS FOR EACH BRAND LISTED ABOVE IN MY DEPOSIT RIGHT NOW). YOU CAN CONTACT ME USING THE EBAY OPTION "ASK SELLER A QUESTION" UNDER MY EBAY ACCOUNT OR YOU CAN VERY EASY TO CONTACT ME USING MY EMAIL ADDRESS

I can't get in touch with you if you use the ask seller a question option

If you want to make a deal contact me at

PLEASE MAIL ME WITH OFFERS SINCE THIS CAR IS ADVERTISED LOCALLY I CAN CLOSE THE AUCTION ANYTIME.

The bidding for this item is NOT relevant!!! This is strictly a buyitnow auction!!!

My ebay email is locked.

For Buying It Now, or any other questions or informations, please Contact me at

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR IF YOU WANT TO BUY IT NOW - EMAIL ME

For serious buyers only!! Please contact me before biding so i will know you are serious.I shipp only in US so for thous who want to shipp to NIGERIA OR AFRICA STOP CONTACT ME

IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATIONS I CAN BE REACHED AT

I'm looking for a fast transaction, so hurry up!!

Notice! Please DO not use my ebay "Ask Seller a Question" to send me questions because my eBay e-mail is infected with a trojan virus and your mail will be infected. To contact me please use the following e-mail address:

I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SELL THIS TICKETS TO ANY BIDDER WHO IS COMMITTED ENOUGH TO BID

If you need anymore information please email

DO NOT BID ON IT or your bid will be canceled and you will not have the privilege to buy it anymore.

I wait you questions, but don`t use my ebay adress because is locked and I can't use it anymore. (I will sell it only at Buy It now)

if not your bid will be canceled

Please contact me before you bid for the terms and condition of this auction. I don`t want any non paying bidders so please make sure you contact me before you bid and see if you agree with the terms and condition of this auction. I reserve the right to end the auction early if i find a buyer before the closing time. Thank you.

If you are realy interested please contact me

FREE DELIVERY WITHIN EUROPE. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT IN SPAIN AS I AM CURRENTLY HERE WITH MY BUSINESS. ITEM IS READY FOR DELIVERY. SHIPPING WILL TAKE PLACE AS SOON AS PAYMENT HAS CLEARED. IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THE TERMS DON'T BID!

IF INTERESTED IN BIDDING AND BUYING E-MAIL

If you want to buy this please contact me only via e-mail

If You want to buy the

Contact me BEFORE BID for informations regarding the Terms & Conditions for payment, Shipping and Handling at

NOTE: For free shipping contact me prior to bidding. Go for the buy it now price by contacting me at the given e-mail address.

If you want to buy this item contact me for "Buy it now price" and "Before Bidding"

If you want to Buy It Now for only

Transaction will be done only over eBay.

Don't wait for auction to end you can buy it now anytime convenient to you before somebody else does.

To be able to bid on this auction you must contact the seller first:

The seller have the right to allow bidders on this auction. Members who place a bid without contacting the seller will be directly reported to eBay.

If you want to buy it now please contact me at

If I'm not contacted before the bid is

The Tickets were bought over ebay from 3 different sellers. I am selling them for a very good price! Let me know your offers.

IF YOU TRY TO CONTACT ME THROUGH

I AM SELLING THIS CAR FOR A FRIEND SO PLEASE DO NOT USE "ASK SELLER A QUESTION" AS I'LL NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER.

Email the seller

Do not bid or I will delete you

and do not use ask seller a question because my outer mail is my work address and I can't access it soon

I would advise you contact me prior to bidding for payment and shipping terms.

100% Safe Deal Under eBay Protection

STOP do not bid on this item you will have to contact me first in my email address

IF YOU WILL NOT CLICK ON MY EMAIL ADDRESS

I'M A SERIOUS SELLER WHO'S TRYING TO DEVELOP A NEW SELLING SYSTEM, A DIFFERENT WAY FOR GETTING THE BEST DEAL FOR BOTH OF US, JUST EMAIL ME WITH YOUR BEST OFFER OR WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE AT:

IF YOU LOOK FOR A FAST AND 100% SAFE DEAL YOU JUST FOUND IT!!!!!!!

IF YOU WANT TO BUY THESE TICKETS PLEASE CONTACT ME ONLY

PLEASE EMAIL ME FIRST ! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL YOUR BID, IF YOU DON'T EMAIL ME FIRST ! IN THIS WAY I WILL AVOID ALL THE NONPAYING BIDDERS THAT I OCCURE EVERYDAY !
FREE SHIPPING !!! BUY IT NOW PRICE

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR IF YOU WANT TO BUY IT NOW - EMAIL ME

give me an e-mail at my office address

My home e-mail might not be working, so please use the for below to contact me.

feel free to contact me at my business

DO NOT BID WHITOUT MY PERMISSION OTHERWISE YOUR BID WILL BE CANCELED AND NEGATIVE FEEDBACK PLACED.

BECAUSE MY EBAY EMAIL ADDRESS IS QUITE SLOW AND SOMETIMES NOT WORKING AND I CAN`T GUARANTEE A FAST REAPLY !!

feel free to email me with any questions directly at

MY EBAY ASK SELLER A QUESTION IS VIRUS INFECTED SO PLEASE EMAIL ME DIRECTLY AT

feetback

DO NOT BID UNTIL RECEIVING A RESPONSE FROM OUR SALES DEPARTMENT

PLEASE DO NOT USE Ask Seller A Question OPTION BECAUSE OUR eBay EMAIL ADDRESS IS OVER QUOTA AND WE DON'T RECEIVE YOUR QUESTION

For all informations please feel free to contact me

If you are interesed about "Buy it now" price

I won the tickets at the UEFA lottery and I will receive the tickets at the very beginning of May and they will be immediately send to you by secure worldwide shipment.

For more pictures and details contact me at

I WILL HANDLE THE SHIPPING AND WILL BE FREE OF CHARGE FOR YOU! I AM SELLING UNDER THE MARKET'S VALUE BECAUSE I NEED LIQUIDITY IN ORDER TO FINISH THE HOUSE THAT I AM BUILDING.

100% safe deal with eBay Protection

Very important: I am away from my home email address registered with eBay, so please contact me with your questions at my wireless email address for a fast answer:

For more details, shipping terms and buy it now price please email me

For a buy it now price or for other informations contact me

I can arrange to ship the vehicle. I will cooperate if buyer wants to arrange shipping. Buyer is not responsible for any costs associated with the pickup or shipping of this vehicle.

All is free for buy it now option.

if you have feetback low than 10 email me before

I have a low = Buy it Now = price. Before you bid please contact me only at my personal email address

I will sell them for a good price!!!

the only reason I didn't placed a buy it now feature is because of all the non-paying bidders so if u are interested in purchasing the bike please contact me. I reserve the right to reject and cancel any and all bids, also i reserve the right to end this auction early, contact me before bidding if you want to buy the bike!!! The shipping cost is already paid, included in the price!

for Buy it Now and other important infomations

FOR BEST BUY IT NOW PRICE CONTACT ME AT

and we can make immediately this deal. You don`t need to bid to buy from me ,is much better if you e-mail me and you will gain money and time.

For pre-Approval please e-Mail me at

sell with the lowest price possible. So if you want to buy immediately this item e-mail me

For buy it now price email me

I am now located with my work in Las Vegas,NV and i have the bike here wih me.I will handle the shipping and will be free for you!

Your questions will be promptly answered. Please specify the item's title in the subject.

Due to the fact that many people bid without consulting me first, and due to the fact that eBay doesn't let me have a featured item and pre-approved bidders, I cannot stop bidders for biding, and I don't bother to remove bids because are too many bidders, and when I remove one always a second follows, I can promise you that I will sell this car to a person who I consider that will take good care of it. So please don't bother to bid, contact me you'll have a better chance at this car. Also if you use the normal ask seller a question there will be a delay until your e-mail that is sent through eBay will reach me, and I don't check my eBay messages very often, so I want to ask you to left-click below, or write me directly at:

Click Here To Contact

For questions regarding this auction don't hesitate to email me

DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS, I CAN`T RECEIVE YOUR QUESTIONS THROUGH THE THE "ASK SELLER A QUESTION" LINK, SO STOP WASTEING YOUR TIME !!!

For more details and a buy it now price, just email me

I am in the process of starting my own business

For more informations or to Buy Them Now please contact me

Note: Due to the increasing number of not serious bidders this listing is posted as buy it now. Email me if you want to buy it.

as my eBay e-mail address is unavailable for the moment

contact me only using this E-mail

Do NOT bid without my approvement!!!

No money first to me - i will receive money after you will receive the car.

Contact the seller at

IMPORTANT: PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO CONTACT ME PRIOR OF BIDDING IN ORDER TO MAKE CLEAR THE TERMS OF THE SALE SO WE DO NOT GET INTO ANY DISPUTS

for Buy it Now

For some reasons emails through eBay go to my JUNKMAIL folder.

Please mail me at:

During to unknown circumstances I am unable to receive mail from "ASK SELLER A QUESTION" so for BUY IT NOW price and TERMS

CONTACT ME AT

This auction will end when i end a buy it now transaction with the first client.

Please click on the Contact me form below, for a fast answer, and for more pics. Please ignore ALL BIDS, because as per eBay rules I have the right to choose my buyer. I reserve the right to end the auction when I choose. You see this car belonged to my father, and it has also sentimental value, value that money cannot replace, so no-matter how high is the bid, the price of the car stays the same

Buy It Now Available

only US $

Please contact me before you place a bid on my auction.

My home e-mail might not be working, so please use the for below to contact me.

CONTACT ME before placing your bids and wait for my approval

I will answer only at this email. Do not use "Ask a seller a question" link because I will not answer. Do not bid on this item without contacting me. This is a bulk sale. Fell free to email me at

We will be online for you 24/24 7/7 to answer at all your questions!

contact me before bidding to clear things out

Due to unknown reasons i cannot receive any email if you contact me through "Contact Member" or "Ask Seller a Question" eBay message system

eBay will refund you the money if the car is not like i have described or the car dose`t arrive.

Contact me directly in my email to receive a respond about shipping & payment

because i've reached the e-mail storage limit

I am willing to sell this unit for the best buy it now price on the market.If you have any question about this item or you need any details about payment or shipping taxes feel free to mail me to my personal email address

because my home email is not working

because my ebay registered email address is unavailable for the time beeing

Before bidding on it please email me

New ebayers are welcomed but please email me to confirm your bid as genuine. Unconfirmed bids will be cancelled. If your feedback is ZERO - email me first. Please DO NOT bid with out my approval. I'm sick of time wasters and for people just asking questions because they don't have any better thing do to. Bidding with out my approval will be cancelled and you will get negative feedback.

before taking any action

please email me

DO NOT bid with out my approval. I'm sick of time wasters and for people just asking questions because they don't have any better thing do to. Bidding with out my approval will be cancelled and you will get negative feedback.

Before BID ON IT email me for details at

BUY IT NOW BY CONTACTING ME at

PRE-APPROVED AUCTION - IT MEANS YOU BID/BUY ONLY IF I SAY SO!

DO NOT BID IF YOU HAVE NOT CONTACTED ME AND I SAID "YES" YOU CAN BID/BUY!

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE BUYER TO GET HIS/HERS LOAN APPROVED ETC. CONTACT ME ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE FUNDS

IF ANYONE BIDS WITHOUT MY CONCENT THE BIDDER WILL BE BLOCKED AND REPORTED TO EBAY, I DON'Y SELL MY CAR TO JUST ANYONE, SO PLEASE, DON'T WASTE MY TIME!!

I have 100% positive feed-back, we can have a deal now with a fast and free shipping

If you want to buy the unit, give me an e-mail at my office address

For any questions and offerts please contact me at my wireless e-mail address

You will be satisfied about the product price!

FREE DELIVERY WITHIN EUROPE. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT IN SPAIN AS I AM CURRENTLY HERE WITH MY BUSINESS. ITEM IS READY FOR DELIVERY. SHIPPING WILL TAKE PLACE AS SOON AS PAYMENT HAS CLEARED. IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THE TERMS DON'T BID

PLEASE E-MAIL ME BEFORE PLACING ANY BIDS.

This is the only -price-i-sell-for- so please try -not-to-bid

All the buyers with feedback under 100 please CONTACT ME BEFOR BIDING !!!

I TRIED TO DESCRIBE THIS TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY

If you will not contact me your bids will be cancelled because there are a lot of timewasters!!!

THIS IS MY HUSBANDS CAR-DON'T USE ''ASK SELLER A QUESTION'' BECAUSE I CANNOT ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS!

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE SEND THEM DIRECTLY TO MY HUSBANDS EMAIL

Buy direct, please email to make an offer

Buy it Now Only $

We reserve the right to end the action at anytime if the buy now price is offered, so fell free to contact us.

please send me an e-mail at

Suggestions:
-Contact seller BEFORE TAKE ANY AUCTION so you can be sure that the item is in stock.
-DO NOT use ASK SELLER A QUESTION eBay message system as you'll NEVER receive a response.
-Auction may end at any time if the seller is out of stock so BE FAST

We can discuss over the listing and you can ask everything you need to know, related to the unit, shipping or payment. We can also agree to a Buy Now price

BUY IT NOW FOR ONLY

do not bid

Before you start your bid please mail me directely because i have "BUY IT NOW PRICE"

before you bid please e-mail

the only reason I didn't placed a buy it now feature is because of all the non-paying bidders so if u are interested in purchasing the car please contact me. I reserve the right to reject and cancel any and all bids, also i reserve the right to end this auction early, contact me before bidding if you want to buy the car!!!

buy it now price

I WILL SELL MY ATV TO THE FIRST BUYER WHO WILL CONTACT ME AND OFFER ME MY BUY NOW PRICE.

BUY IT NOW PRICE CONTACT ME AT

Any bid placed without my autorization will be canceled and negative feedback left.

before taking any auctions

I WILL STATE MY TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND THE PRICE (BEST PRICE I ASSURE) I AM LOOKING FOR.

before place bid contact me

Also, I will advise you not to use the "Ask seller a question" link because of some problems I have with my e-mail for the moment, (I reported the problem and AOL technicians are working as we speak to resovle the errors), but as I don't want to miss any of your contacts please e-mail me directly to

Before you bid please contact me only at my

Contact me Only Here

Due unknown problems i cannot be contacted through the ebay system so i will wait your questions and offerts directly in my e-mail address

Contact me to Buy Them NOW

contact me prior bidding for the correct reserve

contact me prior biding for the corect reserve

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR POTENTIAL BUYERS: PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE YOU BID BECAUSE I WANT TO BE SURE THAT YOU ARE SERIOUS AND YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED TO BUY MY BABY! ALL WHO WILL BID BEFORE CONTACT ME WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BUY THIS CAR BECAUSE I CONSIDER THAT I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SELECT MY CLIENT.

contact me at

Looking for a serious buyer!!! Please contact me before you bid or I will cancel it!!

for more photos

PLEASE EMAIL ME FIRST ! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL YOUR BID, IF YOU DON'T EMAIL ME FIRST ! IN THIS WAY I WILL AVOID ALL THE NONPAYING BIDDERS THAT I OCCURE EVERYDAY !

contact me before making any bids to make things clear

my eBay e-mail address is unavailable for the moment. Your questions will be promptly answered. Please specify the item's title in the subject.

Contact Me Only At

Please DO NOT bid with out my approval. I'm sick of time wasters and for people just asking questions because they don't have any better thing do to. Bidding with out my approval will be cancelled and you will get negative feedback.

Contact me directly to my email address

CONTACT ME USING MY EMAIL ADDRESS

PLEASE DO NOT USE Ask Seller A Question OPTION BECAUSE OUR eBay EMAIL ADDRESS IS OVER QUOTA AND WE DON'T RECEIVE YOUR QUESTION

Contact the seller at

for Buy it Now and other information

PLEASE MAIL ME WITH OFFERS SINCE THIS CAR IS ADVERTISED LOCALY I CAN CLOSE THE AUCTION ANYTIME.

contact me first at

CONTACT ME BEFORE BIDDING.IF I'M NOT CONTACTED BEFORE THE BID IS MADE I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL YOUR BID.EMAILS THROUGH EBAY GO TO MY JUNKMAIL FOLDER.CONTACT ME DIRECTLY AT

BUY IT NOW price is

I promisse you a fast reply.

Also, I will advise you not to use the " Ask seller a question " link because of some problems I have with my e-mail for the moment, (I reported the problem and AOL technicians are working as we speak to resovle the errors), but as I don't want to miss any of your contacts please e-mail me directly to

contact me before bidding at

otherwise the bid will be cancelled

private auction

REMEMBER YOUR OBLIGATION AS A BIDDER AND EBAY COMMUNITY MEMBER. DO NOT BID UNLESS YOU HAVE THE ABILITY AND INTEND TO PURCHASE VEHICLE. DO NOT BID BEFORE YOU RECEIVE THE PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS FROM ME. IF I AM NOT CONTACTED YOUR BIDS WILL BE CANCELLED.

approved contact alowed

Do not BID ON IT

The money will be transferred to my South african bank account for which i will make the account number available to the winning bidder.

I will sell it only at buy it now price

!! Very important!! To have a better communication, please send me your e-mail address. I will not answer the people which does not leave their email.

DO NOT USE ask seller a question

me directly at

DO NOT BID WITHOUT MY PERMISSION OTHERWISE

DO NOT BID WITHOUT MY PERMISSION

For serious buyers only!!! Please contact me before bidding or else i will remove your bid so i will know that you are serious. And the shipping is free with the buy it now price.

DO NOT BID PRIOR TO CONTACTING ME

DON'T BID BEFORE EMAIL ME

!!! No Reserve Auction !!! So don't wait until the end of the auction to bid, you might miss out !!!

Do not bid until you contact me first

BECAUSE I HAVE SOME PROBLEMS WITH MY EBAY'S EMAIL ADDRESS I WILL ASK YOU TO CONTACT ME ONLY AT THE ADDRESS IN THE PICTURE. PLEASE CONTACT ME ALSO BEFORE BIDDING

Do Not Bid Untill You Contact Me

WE HAD DECIDED THAT WE WILL BUY FROM THE BIG SUPPLIERS AND TARGET THE SMALL WHOLESELLERS AND SELL IN LOTS OF 20. SO, HERE IS YOUR CHANCE, TO MAKE A FEW BILLS FAST AND PROBABLY KEEP ONE FOR YOURSELF.

Any purchase without my agreement will be canceled and reported to eBay.

And Other Info Please Send Me An E-Mail At

Contact me before you place a bid on my auction.

Notice!!! Please DO NOT use the eBay "Ask Seller a Question" button to contact me because my eBay e-mail is infected with a trojan virus and answering you from there will get your mail infected. For a better and secure comunication please use this e-mail

Do not bid until you contact me at

I want this transaction to be smooth enough as I am caught in the middle of some very important events and have very few time at my disposal. The car is in perfect condition, no scratches, no special marks, no need for additional repairs what so ever.

In absolutely mint condition. As you can see from the pictures, this car is flawless inside and out. It has to be seen to be believed. The interior is in like new condition and has never been smoked in. The engine maintains perfect compression across the board.Not need change any part, only gasoline, change oil AND RUN IT.

Only serious buyer and please contact me to establish details of shipping if it's possible.Please do not bid on this auction unless you are serious about owning this vehicle. All non-paying high bidders will be reported to eBay, and negative feedback posted.

If you are not sure about something, Please ASK. Do not assume anything not listed is included. I reserve the right to cancel bids for excessive negative feedback. I reserve the right to end the listing if the vehicle is no longer available for sale.

do not contact me trough ask seller a question

do not contact me by ebay system

(---Si vous me contacterez, donnez-svp moi votre adresse d'E-mail, parce que je ne pourrai pas vous contacter du travail. Je devrai savoir votre adresse d'E-mail pour un bon comunication. Merci Beaucoup---)

don't hesitate to email me at

PLEASE NOTE: All email sent to the "Ask Seller" link above will be IGNORED due to Ebay's new privacy policy of not supplying your email address to us through that.

great offer

If I'm not contacted before the bid is made I reserve the right to cancel your bid. Please do not contact me by ebay system because your email will go in my work email and I won't be able to access that email until next week.

DO NOT BID PRIOR TO CONTACTING ME

I WILL NOT RECEIVE YOUR MESSAGE

Don't use ask a seller a question because i cannot respond you

dear ebuyers

you can have this

Notice!!! Please DO NOT use the eBay "Ask Seller a Question" button to contact me because my eBay e-mail is infected with a trojan virus and answering you from there will get your mail infected. For a better and secure comunication please use this e-mail

e-mail me ONLY at

Email before you bid or I will cancel your bid

I DO NOT WANT MUCH FOR IT SO PLEASE SPEAK WITH ME BEFORE BIDDING SO I CAN CHOOSE THE NEXT OWNER CAREFULLY.THIS IS ONE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CARS YOU WILL EVER SEE.

My son run it slow and from time to time.He was very satisfied and proud about her but now he moved away and wants me to sell his car. I have been tested personally and run like new. Not need change any part, only gasoline, change oil AND RUN IT.

e-mail me with any questions

I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY TRADES,SO PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT ME ABOUT THAT.ALSO,PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE FINANCE AVAILABLE IF YOU ARE GOING TO BID.ALTOUGH I HAVE A VERY SMALL RESERVE PRICE PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PAY FOR IT.

DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL.Please email for VIN and all the details for shipping .I WILL DO MY BEST TO ANSWER EVERY ONE OF THEM.THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!!!

P.S.I can provide shipping in the continental US if requested.Just email me the zip code.

before bid

IMPORTANT: Since there are non-paying bidders, please do not bid or buy the item without my approval or i reserve the right to cancel your bids.

For more details and information, also to allow you on the Pre-approved Bidder/Buyer List for this car please contact me before taking any actions on this listing.

'Ask seller a question' not available so please contact me directly at:

Any questions email to

FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR SELLING TERMS E-MAIL DIRECTLY AT

B.U.Y I.T N.O.W

E-mail me prior bidding or your bids will be deleted and your user will be blocked.

and get informations how to buy

PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY MORE EMAILS USING ASK SELLER A QUESTION BUTTON. BUYERS, PLEASE USE THE EMAIL BELOW TO GET ANSWERS:

cannot get in touch with you if you use Ask a seller question

FOR ANY QUESTIONS CONTACT ME AT

It is a one owner, never smoked in, never abused, and always garaged vehicle.

FREE SHIPPING WITH BUY IT NOW

When you purchase a vehicle, you are entering into a legal and biding contract to purchase the vehicle. This arrangement is outlined in the eBay User Agreement.

for a quickly and sure answer contact me directly a

All the buyers with feedback under 100 please CONTACT ME BEFOR BIDING

forget to include the item number in your message

I don't accept paypal, money order, cashiers check, personal check ONLY. 100% LEGIT NO PAYPAL

payment is due to be sent within 24 hrs after auction end, contact must be made, i will send you my address for those who want money order/check.

FREE for anyone that will e-mail me at

I REQUEST TO BE CONTACTED

This auction represents a legal sales contract. My offer is private and not commercial. If you should have further questions after the end of the auction, you can contact me by telephone. For questions during the auction, please contact me by e-mail. Please do only make an offer if you are seriously interested. I will have to take legal action against people who are bidding just for fun or threaten the auction in any other way and report the incident to eBay. The product will be selled excluding all warranties for defects and guarantee. The put provision is excluded. The buyer has to pay the costs for shipping. I will pay the eBay fees.

I had a lot of problems with to many time wasters.

I will sell it only to a serious person

Please contact me before you place a bid at my email address Gesmundoja@aol.com so i will know your location for shipping and everything and establish the terms of this sale . The price is negotiable so if you contact me before you bid you can get a discount and free shipping.

I WILL NOT SELL THROUGH THE BIDDING

THIS IS A PRE-APPROVED AUCTION! I REQUEST TO E-MAIL ME BEFORE BIDDING,IF NOT YOUR
BID WILL BE CANCELLED!!!

I WILL REMOVE ALL YOUR BIDS

FREE DELIVERY WITHIN EUROPE. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT IN SPAIN AS I AM CURRENTLY HERE WITH MY BUSINESS. ITEM IS READY FOR DELIVERY. SHIPPING WILL TAKE PLACE AS SOON AS PAYMENT HAS CLEARED. IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THE TERMS DON'T BID!

I will give you an instant answear

just email me here

I will pay the shipping worldwide but I will use as method of payment only a money service transferWESTERNUNIONonly through ebay,is more cheap.

get informations how to buy

I will cancel your bids and ask ebay

IF INTERESTED IN BIDDING AND BUYING E-MAIL ME DIRECTLY

IF you are in the first 10 contacters

If you have any questions, please contact me trough mail

I will be able to respond asap

You have 10 days to verufy the product and if you don't like it you can send it back and you will get your money back

If you want to buy this please contact me only via e-mail

If you want to buy this item for only

Is ready to be shipped with Fedex Priority Service insured that means you will receive it within 24 hours

please email me directly

IF I AM NOT CONTACTED YOUR BIDS WILL BE CANCELLED

If you bid BEFORE you contact me at the email above i will remove your bid

OPTION PLEASE UNMARK

Any purchase without my agreement will be canceled and reported to eBay.

mail me now if you want to buy it now for only

mail me at

Please contact me before you bid because the price is low and I have a discount of 10% if you will buy it in 24 h

Do not bid or use ask seller a question

more about payment, shipping and buy it now price

My ebay email is locked

MY EBAY EMAIL ADDRESS IS VERY SLOW AND SOMETIMES NOT

My mail account is full

My mail account is full so in order to contact me use ONLY this link

my ebay registered email address is unavailable for the time beeing

MAIL ME BEFORE BIDDING TO CLEAR EVERYTHING OUT

PLEASE EMAIL ME FIRST! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL YOUR BID, IF YOU DON'T EMAIL ME FIRST! IN THIS WAY I WILL AVOID ALL THE NON-PAYING BIDDERS THAT HAPPENS EVERYDAY

MAIL ME NOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED AT

Mail me only at

PLEASE NOTE: All email sent to the "Ask Seller A Question" link above will be IGNORED due to Ebay's new privacy policy of not supplying your email address to us through that.

OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE BANNED

Note: Include your email address for a reply!

NOTE: If you want to buy the

or your bids will be deleted

new privacy policy of not supplying your email address to us

Make sure you`ll contact me only using this E-mail

READ OR LEAVE THIS PAGE

No money first to me - i will receive money after you will receive the car

with your eBay user ID

Shipment fee included in price

I will give you an instant answear. I use mobile internet ,don't use " ask seller a question " mail me now if you want to buy it now for only

Any questions please feel free to e-mail me at

Since of non paying bidders

So before bidding, please contact me by mail

PLEASE ASK FOR APPROVAL PRIOR OF BIDDING.YOUR BID WILL BE CANCELLED

Please don't bid without contacting me first

PLEASE DO NOT BID AS I WILL CANCEL YOUR BID

If you have any question regarding the item, shipping, payment details or in case you want to buy, email me at

For better a respons please contact me directly at my email and you will have a faster answer!!!

To be able to bid on this auction you must contact the seller first

To find more about payment, shipping and buy it now price

The BUY IT NOW price is

USD so please contact me asap at

Please do not bid on the item mail me. If you bid I will cancel your bids and ask ebay to suspend your acount.

Please do not bid

speak pesonally via email

PLEASE EMAIL ME FIRST! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL YOUR BID, IF YOU DON'T EMAIL ME FIRST! IN THIS WAY I WILL AVOID ALL THE NON-PAYING BIDDERS THAT HAPPENS EVERYDAY !
FREE SHIPPING !!!

Please contact for shipping details

Please e-mail me before making any bid

PLEASE EMAIL FOR PURCHASE DIRECTLY AT MY HOME ADDRESS

Please Contact me before bidding or buy it now at

please use my other e-mail address

seller a question because there is a delay up to 48 hours

To Buy them Now please contact me at

Please contact for Shipping Terms and Buy it now price at

To be able to bid on this auction you must contact the seller first

THE BUY IT NOW OPTION, FREE SHIPPING AND MORE EMAIL

Private Auction - only approved bidders are alowed

I AM DETACHED WITH MY WORK in Las Vegas, NV AND I HAVE THE CAR HERE WITH ME. I WILL HANDLE THE SHIPPING AND WILL BE FREE FOR OF CHARGE FOR YOU!THE ONLY REASON THAT I AM SELLING BELOW THE MARKET VALUE IS THAT I AM BUYLDING A HOUSE.

Please contact me for any other questions at

I also have a buy it now price

please do NOT bid just contact me if you are a serious buyer

PLEASE MAIL ME BEFORE BIDDING

because ebay e-mail is from work

PLEASE E-MAIL ME BEFORE BIDDING TO CLEAR EVERYTHING OUT ! DO NOT BID UNTIL YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO DO SO, OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE BANNED FROM PARTICIPATING AT THIS AUCTION !IF ASKING QUESTIONS THROUGH EBAY, BE SURE TO UNCHECK THE "HIDE MY E-MAIL ADDRESS" OPTION, OTHERWISE I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RESPOND !!! IF YOU DO NOT UNCHECK THIS OPTION, YOU MIGHT AS WELL NOT ASK ANYTHING AS YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A REPLY ! IN ORDER TO ENSURE A FAST REPLY, IT'S BEST TO E-MAIL ME DIRECTLY AT

do not bid before

Please contact me only in this e-mail

respons please contact me directly at my email

Your account will not be charged for this listing

Your email address

Your eBay user ID

You have to contact me first to know all the terms

You can get 10% discount if you buy in next 12 hours

100% safe deal

I cannot get in touch with you if you use the "Ask seller a question" option, so please e-mail me directly.My eBay contact is currently unavailable because i've reached the e-mail storage limit and i wouldn't be able to answer any of your questions.

Why Buying From Me

You Can Contact Me At This Email Address

PLEASE E-MAIL ME BEFORE BIDDING TO CLEAR EVERYTHING OUT ! DO NOT BID UNTIL YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO DO SO, OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE BANNED FROM PARTICIPATING AT THIS AUCTION !IF ASKING QUESTIONS THROUGH EBAY, BE SURE TO UNCHECK THE "HIDE MY E-MAIL ADDRESS" OPTION, OTHERWISE I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RESPOND !!! IF YOU DO NOT UNCHECK THIS OPTION, YOU MIGHT AS WELL NOT ASK ANYTHING AS YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A REPLY ! IN ORDER TO ENSURE A FAST REPLY, IT'S BEST TO E-MAIL ME DIRECTLY AT

will be directly reported to eBay

100% SAFE AND FAST DEAL

We can also agree to a Buy Now price

You want this product

UNITS IN MY DEPOSIT RIGHT NOW

Will wait your questions here

don't use ask a seller a question because i cannot respond you

Just Announced ... A New eBay Safety Initiative to Combat Online Fraud or is it More eBay Propaganda?

eBay has announced a new initiative informing its members that it is implementing a new process to combat fraud. We believe this announcement is nothing more than propaganda and was made to lull eBay members into believing that eBay is taking a proactive stance towards fraud. However, eBay is doing nothing more than providing its members with another false sense of security by implementing an additional layer of ineffective security.

The following announcement was made on April 9, 2007 by Rob Chesnut, Senior Vice President of eBay's Global Trust & Safety.

***A Message From Rob Chesnut – Combating Online Fraud***

April 09, 2007 | 09:21AM PST/PT

Hello...I'm Rob Chesnut, eBay's Senior Vice President in charge of Global Trust & Safety. As you may know, over the last several months we've been working on a number of initiatives that comprise a new, more proactive approach to securing the safety of the marketplace. For instance, last fall we implemented listing restrictions to help reduce counterfeits on the site. In January, we changed our buyer protection plan to encourage the use of safe, insured payments through PayPal. We've been protecting bidders on high-end items through the Safeguarding Members ID project, and we're testing Detailed Seller Ratings to help buyers choose sellers who offer the best customer experience through feedback 2.0, the next generation of our feedback system.

Early results from these and other behind-the-scenes efforts show we're moving in the right direction. We're seeing a significant reduction in fake Second Chance offers, for instance, and fewer reports of potential counterfeit listings in the categories most favored by scammers. Of course, as we make changes, the scammers also adapt their methods. While I'm pleased with our direction and progress, I also want to help the Community understand this is an ongoing effort that requires an aggressive long-term approach.

Some of these actions have caused some legitimate concerns in the Community, and we've worked hard to address them with education and communication. With Safeguarding Member IDs specifically, we're working to improve the user interface – we know this is the right policy, but we also know we can improve the user experience, and we're working on it.

We've launched feedback 2.0 on eight eBay international sites, and the initial reaction so far has been encouraging. We're closely watching how this improved feedback system works, and listening to feedback from eBay members in these markets.

Proactive Fraud Reduction
Today I want to let buyers and sellers know about another security measure we're taking. For safety reasons, items reportedly most favored by fraudsters may not be viewable for several hours before the listings are indexed into Search results. These new listings are still viewable on the site through My eBay or if you search for the specific item number; however, they are not immediately visible through a keyword search or Browse.

To maximize exposure for these listings and ensure that buyers who browse by category see these items, we've made an important change. Any listings impacted by this review process will appear in the "Newly Listed" sort based on when they are made visible in Search (as opposed to when they are listed.) This ensures they will appear at the top of default Browse results - as well as within the "Newly Listed" sort option for Search - where they belong.

What kinds of listings will be impacted?
Unfortunately, it's not possible for us to give you criteria, because that information could be used by scammers to work around our Trust and Safety efforts. Overall, however, we expect this security measure to impact only a fraction of listings.

Let me say that I understand that this has some impact for our sellers, but with the change to how we sort listings, and the fact that most bidding occurs in the final 12 hours of a listing, we believe it's the right step to take. I know we share the same goal – to keep eBay a welcoming, safe marketplace for both our buyers and our sellers.

To learn more about these changes, please read our Frequently Asked Questions.

Join me at the next Town Hall
Trust & Safety will be the focus of Bill Cobb's next monthly Town Hall on April 30 at 2 p.m. Pacific time. I hope you’ll join me, Matt Halprin, and a number of other eBay leaders as we talk to Bill about Trust & Safety and answer member questions.

Again, I appreciate your support – working together, our efforts are helping keep the marketplace a safe place to buy and sell.

Sincerely,

Rob Chesnut
Senior Vice President, Global Trust & Safety

So eBay has a new initiative for proactive fraud reduction; it appears that eBay is going to review specific items that are frequently listed on its platforms by thieves that are either hijacking innocent member accounts or are creating new accounts for the intent to defraud. Isn't this what eBay's much touted Fraud Automated Detection Engine (FADE) program is supposed to do?

Announced in 2002, by eBay CEO Meg Whitman, FADE is an automated program that collects information reported by defrauded members, and compiles the specific items in a database; FADE then predicts which new listings are fraudulent and prevents them from uploading on eBay's platforms. Although eBay has always been vague about FADE, we know that it has never pre-screened listings that were uploaded through eBay's Turbo Lister or other third-party programs, as those listings are immediately indexed and visible on eBay's platforms.

Please note that in Rob Chesnut's announcement yesterday, he stated:

For safety reasons, items reportedly most favored by fraudsters may not be viewable for several hours before the listings are indexed into Search results. These new listings are still viewable on the site through My eBay or if you search for the specific item number; however, they are not immediately visible through a keyword search or Browse.

Chesnut never announced that any listings detected as fraudulent through this pre-screening process would be prevented from appearing on eBay, nor did he even mention if the new process would pre-screen listings created through Turbo Lister or other third-party programs.

The Nekkid Truth believes that this announcement was made as an excuse to satisfy member complaints for eBay's indexing delays, as listings created through eBay's Sell Your Item (SYI) form normally do not appear on eBay platforms for 7 or more hours, shorting members exposure for their listings. Member complaints are prevalent on eBay community boards that sellers are paying for more hours of listing visibility than they are receiving.

Although we do not know what items eBay is pre-screening, we are still finding the same fraudulent listings for vehicles, boats, heavy machinery, cameras, electronics, baby carriages, prosthetics, musical instruments, and event tickets that we found before. Three hours after Chesnut's announcement was made, and now over 24 hours later, fraudulent listings created through Turbo Lister and other third-party programs still appear on eBay platforms immediately after being uploaded and indexed. Since we know that FADE never pre-screened these listings, we strongly doubt that the newly announced process is pre-screening them either.

The new pre-screening process is just as inefficient and flawed as FADE is. Hasn't eBay woken up to the fact that its Turbo Lister program is the favorite listing tool for thieves and that any new process should be pre-screening listings created with this program and other third-party listing programs?

eBay, it is time to return to the drawing board. How about implementing a fail safe method for credentialing new members, imposing selling restrictions on newly created and recently activated dormant accounts, and automatically reviewing aberrant buyer activity? It is time for eBay to invest the money and build a new platform that is truly secure instead of trying to patch the gaping holes with processes that are blatantly ineffective for detecting and eliminating fraud.

We will begin to believe that eBay has credibility and accept its announcements seriously once it has proven that it has a zero tolerance level towards fraud on its platforms and that it is diligently protecting its members. eBay, stop making excuses and hiding behind your venue status.