Security Captcha interrupting checkouts

[kennetpeterse_13]

Hi,

So, lately it seems like the security captcha has decided to kick in right as I was in the paying for my purchases. On average I'd say it occurs one out of every three purchases.

I'd select my payment method, go through my payment login, click on the confirm/authorize payment button and... get redirected to the security Captcha. Then, once I complete the Captcha, I have to start all over from the checkout page

I haven't seen any signs of being double billed yet, but... Is it good account payment information processing security to have my payments interrupted like this? Or need to regularly resubmit them?

Thanks for listening.

[eburtonlab]

What browser are you using? Do you notice any difference using a different browser?

If so, it is possible that some setting in your browser is contributing to receiving such Captcha tests; some things like blocking third-party tracking can contribute to problems with Captcha.

Try disabling ad blocking or script blocking on the checkout page. If you are using Firefox, try disabling "Enhanced Tracking Protection" on the checkout page or PayPal sign-in page.

[kennetpeterse_13]

I use Avast Secure browser. And I've had the same thing happen in Chrome. 

I've tried adjusting my ad blocking to exempt ebay but, it's an annoying process. I exempted ebay as a site only to find that several of their internal links (messages, account, etc.) apparently have different enough addresses for my add blocker to not exempt them.

I have to watch my ad blocker's icon to make sure the individual linked pages are still exempted and add them if they aren't.

Unfortunately, the payment/checkout page is one of those. I didn't notice it till I was checking out on another purchase and got kicked to the Captcha again. So I'll have to wait till my next checkout to see if it's still happening.

Thank you for the suggestions though. I really appreciate them. 🙂

[eburtonlab]

You are welcome -- I hope those suggestions help.

I have used Avast Secure Browser, though not for eBay checkout or purchases.

I agree that juggling various add-ons such as ad blockers that can cause problems on certain sites or pages can be quite annoying, but the ad blocking feature is so useful to me that I am willing to put up with a certain amount of effort to make things work the way I prefer. One good thing is that it is possible to exempt the sign-in page or checkout page from ad blocking and still block ads on the rest of the site. Similarly with "Enhanced Tracking Protection" in Firefox, which can often cause issues with sign-in or checkout.

I typically use Firefox, though at one point I had made some changes -- I changed some default settings regarding links opening in new tabs, and it turned out that the changes prevented the PayPal sign-in at checkout from working correctly. So for a while I was using Firefox, but switching to Chrome or Edge to complete checkout, until I finally undid the changes and restored the default behavior.

[audirebel]

I'm using Google Chrome and I'm having the same issue.  Captcha is useless.  There are better ways to authenticate a user.  Please remove the Captcha.

[eburtonlab]

Please remove the Captcha.

I don't work for eBay, so asking me -- or anyone else likely to be reading this old thread -- won't actually accomplish that.

But I do have some more recent suggestions that might help you get around a Captcha problem if you are having one.

Repeated Captcha requests or failures might be a sign that your browser is having problems saving cookies properly, or else a sign of a network issue. Using a VPN or a hotspot, or certain kinds of privacy software might also cause some issues.

Make sure your browser is up-to-date and has JavaScript enabled (and not blocked) and that cookies are not being blocked:

https://www.whatismybrowser.com/

Try using a different browser or a private or incognito browser window and see if you run into the same Captcha issues. If not, try manually erasing just your eBay cookies in your original browser.

Try an alternative link to sign in to rule out an issue with a particular link:

https://signin.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll

Try temporarily disabling your ad blocker to see if that makes a difference.

If you are using a mobile browser, try changing to a different browser mode: mobile, classic or desktop. Try a desktop browser or a mobile browser in desktop mode.

Or try using the eBay app.

If you contact eBay directly, mention ALERT15299 to have your account added to the open ticket.