Ebay allows Theft through internal communications and does not care!

[majicpark]

I listed a Gift Card for sale. Something I have never done before because there was no retail location where I recently moved as retired on a fixed income.  A day or so later someone asks me through the message system for the card number (minus pin) to check the balance.  I thought it was my current bidder and when I realized it was not suspicions began. When I doubled checked the balance of $50.00 days later near auction end the money was all gone. I know this is my fault for giving out the information but Ebay does not seem to care at all even though I still have the member ID and message in question and provided all the details to them. This person is free and clear to do the same to others so I post this Warning! 

[buyselljack2016]

What info/instructions/recourse has the credit card issuer phone # on the back of the card provided you with?

By double checked the balance I take that to mean that you had at least before seen that there was $50 there.

[dentalsales4u]

The last 4 digits of the card number can be used as the pin number.

[theteamsetguy]

@majicpark ,

Like most website sites these days, buyers don't have to register to make a purchase. Buyers can purchase as a guest. Even if the scammer registered for an account most likely they did it fake information. Ebay will have a userid but the contact information I'm sure would be fake. No way for ebay or law enforcement to find the scammer.

[bonjourami]

Ebays bottom line has always been that sellers must learn how to protect themselves, Ebay will not hold their hand. With over thirty million sellers here,thats understandable. As the other poster mentioned, that was probably a guest account, and there is no way to track them.Since you voluntarily turned over the numbers, Ebay doesnt see that as a crime,hence their 'casual' attitude..

[gone.c-33]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@soh.maryl wrote:

Sorry this happened to you.  Just curious:  How could eBay have prevented you from giving those numbers to that person? 

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As for me, I'm wondering how the scammer can empty the balance of the card without knowing the PIN, which the OP says he did not provide...?

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Brute force. There are only 10 000 combinations for a 4-digit PIN. Piece of cake for a computer program.

[rugerskick]

Sorry to hear you were scammed.  They come up with new ways everyday.  Always err on the side of caution.  Don't ever rush to do a reply.  Sometimes letting it sit a bit, doing research, mulling it around in your head, asking a buddy about it, can make a huge difference in outcome.

[mam98031]

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@majicpark wrote:

I fully admit this was my communications mistake but I have the ID of the person who did it and still have the internal message on my account. Nobody else had access to the card number and the money was there until I gave that out under false pretenses.  This information was provided to Ebay and they did nothing. 

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If you are looking or expecting Ebay to contact you and tell you what they found or how they may have sanctioned the other member, that will never happen.  We all have right to our account privacy and Ebay has no right to share such information with you.

If you are so sure, file a police report.  Let the police handle it.  It is theft after all.

But above all REMEMBER "I gave that out under false pretenses", Ebay didn't give the info to them, you did.  Yet you want Ebay to be responsible for your actions.  

We ALL make mistakes.  Every single one of us.  The important thing to do is OWN them, LEARN from them and MOVE on.

[mam98031]

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@dentalsales4u wrote:

The last 4 digits of the card number can be used as the pin number.

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Well that would just be crazy.  IDK of any card that does that, however I certainly don't have personal knowledge of all the ones available.  But that just sounds like a set up for easy stealing.  If I got a card like that, I'd be looking back to the issuer of the card for restitution as this is just crazy.

[mam98031]

That is a GREAT point.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

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@dentalsales4u wrote:

The last 4 digits of the card number can be used as the pin number.

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Really? Well that's a stupid idea if I ever heard one.

[soh.maryl]

If that's the case, then why do card issuers bother to even have a PIN #? 

And is that common knowledge?

[a_c_green]

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@gone.c-33 wrote:

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@a_c_green wrote:As for me, I'm wondering how the scammer can empty the balance of the card without knowing the PIN, which the OP says he did not provide...?

 Brute force. There are only 10 000 combinations for a 4-digit PIN. Piece of cake for a computer program.

I assure you it's not THAT easy. Validation routines have had safeguards against dictionary attacks since the early 1990s if not earlier. Three flubbed PIN attempts and you get a timeout. Keep guessing wrong and the door eventually gets slammed on you.

[majicpark]

No I did not expect Ebay to inform me about any investigation or possible action against another member.  I simply wanted a problem as I saw it to be acknowledged that they would look into it and might do something rather than be blown off as some kind of nuisance. 

[majicpark]

Thanks to those who genuinely tried to inform and assist in this dialogue. For those more interested in personal insults and foolish assumptions without reading my complaint carefully I say how typical of open forums. 

[dubsteesllc]

I've read some pretty interesting things on the internet lately. Even though I dislike Ebay's policies and absolute lack of customer service, to accuse them of allowing theft via messaging is wholly inaccurate.