Major privacy and security issue with eBay

[sodium419]

Here's how eBay could be used right now for criminals to find homes with known expensive items and break in and steal those items.

Starting many years ago, eBay started showing the title of all items you sold on your feedback page.  The feedback is very useful for buyers, but showing the items sold is a huge privacy and security concern, which I'll explain how it can be used against you.

Let's say you're fairly well off and collect expensive jewelry.  You like to buy new jewelry and sell jewelry on eBay you no longer wear.  Sounds harmless.  But the problem is a criminal can use this information against you.

A criminal lists a bunch of items for sale on eBay at cost.  You (and many others) buy something from him.  He now has your address.  He then creates a list of addresses and uses your selling history to compile a list of homes and probable items that could be in each home.  You filter to the top of his list as you're only 60 miles away, it shows you've been selling expensive jewelry for years, and you happen to have an $15,000 piece being sold right now (so he knows it's in your possession).   He scopes out your home and breaks in, stealing not only the $15,000 piece that was for sale, but the rest of your collection.  This can be made far worse if there's a criminal network setup across the country doing this, as it maximizes the chances of finding someone local and easier to target.

I know you can hide ALL your feedback, which also includes hiding items sold.  But you really need to be showing feedback if you're selling something (it may even be required).  What I suggest is eBay add a new feature to hide all items sold but still show feedback.  I've had an eBay account for 24 years and have 100% positive feedback.  I never want to hide my feedback.  But hiding the items I've sold is a huge security and privacy concern of mine.  As shown above, this could easily be used to target eBay members.  And a network of criminals could really create a nationwide (or even worldwide) problem.

I currently turn off displaying feedback when I'm not selling something, then turn it back on just for when I have something for sale, then turn it back off.  That only minimizes my chances.  The only current way to totally prevent this is to turn off all feedback forever and only use eBay for buying.  Probably not what eBay wants.

So, eBay, please add a feature to hide items sold.  I see it as a major security and privacy issue.

[sodium419]

Sorry, I mean eBay, they were the same company for so long the lines are blurred for me (as being an eBay user for 24 years).

[sodium419]

Instead of a billion people being required to get a PO box, eBay could just add the proposed feature.  PO boxes can be a major inconvenience, and there's also disabled people (even bigger targets) where a PO box is all but impossible.

[sodium419]

Not looking to convince you or anyone else.  It's very suspicious that you and so many other people object so much to an OPTIONAL feature to increase security and privacy.  If the feature was implemented and you did nothing, everything would be exactly the way it is now, so why are you wasting so much of your time, unless you have a different motive.  I'm just getting the word out, so it becomes a problem for eBay, and it forces their hand to fix it.  For that, I thank you for posting.

And I believe I'm the most experienced seller here, having 24 years experience.

I guess you don't know how security bugs get fixed in operating systems.  I'm just using that technique.

[maxine*j]

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@varebelrose wrote:

Just curious what index you are looking at? You made me curious, Googling turns up the FBI index which says the US average in 2019 was at 366.7 per 100k. I ask because I would like to look up the number for my locality and compare to previous years.

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You can look up your city on this website, which uses the crime index I mentioned:

http://www.city-data.com/

Usually the data for each city is very recent, but sometimes it's two or three years old.

=

[maxine*j]

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@sodium419 wrote:

...  I guess you don't know how security bugs get fixed in operating systems.  I'm just using that technique.

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I guess I know a bit, since I've been using these infernal computin' machines since Trash-80 days and my late husband was a programmer.   When vulnerabilities are found by white hats, they do not make them public, for every bad actor to see. 

=

[d-k_treasures]

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@pikabo-icu wrote:

One never knows what awaits them when they try robbing a house..

I know for me in my house, not only do we serve the Lord, we actively support 2A.

Stealing from people is not a career I would want nor would I feel badly about ending the career of a home invasion robber.

/just sayin.. 

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Exactly. It would not end well for the would-be criminal. But it would mess up the walls ........

[d-k_treasures]

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@sodium419 wrote:

Home security only slows a criminal down, it doesn't prevent it.

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Depends on the caliber or gauge of your home security.

[d-k_treasures]

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@sodium419 wrote:

You're mistaken, I'm not worried in the slightest, I just believe it's a privacy/security issue that eBay needs to patch because some people would not use eBay if they knew this was possible (and probably happening already).

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But they show what you have listed, so what good is blocking out completed listings? As said before, you don't have those anymore. But you DO have what you have listed now ........

[sodium419]

Higher-end security just slows a determined criminal down further.  Even the highest end safes only rate how long it takes a skilled criminal to drill through, which is in the 15-30 minute range.  Slows them down, but if they're skilled and have the right equipment, it's just a delay.

[sodium419]

As I've stated ad nauseam, 10 years of history selling expensive items shows you're a collector.  The criminal could then wait for you to have something for sale so it's known you have a single item, but it's also likely you have many other items of similar value.  I say this because this is the case for me, which is why I'm requesting this OPTIONAL security feature.  If you don't like it, simply don't check the box, it's not on by default, so it doesn't harm you in the slightest.  But, for those who care about privacy and security, they could allow buyers to see feedback but just hide what they've been selling for many years.

Buyers are already protected in this area, I'm just suggesting eBay does the same for sellers.

[d-k_treasures]

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@sodium419 wrote:

Higher-end security just slows a determined criminal down further.  Even the highest end safes only rate how long it takes a skilled criminal to drill through, which is in the 15-30 minute range.  Slows them down, but if they're skilled and have the right equipment, it's just a delay.

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IF they can find the safe in the house .. and IF there is only 1 ... and IF you keep valuable stuff in a safe that sticks out like a sort thumb .......

It would take months of someone searching my house for any silver or gold. 

[sodium419]

A safe only slows down a determined criminal.  And if they know there's a huge score in the safe, they'll come prepared.  This isn't "Ocean's 11" type of crime, it happens all the time.  I'm sure it's not that hard to find your safe, check every closet and turn every picture frame and 99% of the time the safe is found.  If not, it's in the basement or garage.  You may still be the exception, but in almost all cases that's where they're located.  And if it's known you have 6 figure items in your home, it will be found for sure.

I will say, having a decoy safe is a great idea.  I have a decoy safe in a closet that an intruder would probably find first.  It's not tool-resistant like the real vault, but still would take some time to break in as it's a real safe that's wedged into the closet making it very challenging to get leverage on the door (which is the typical entry method).  I also have a webcam on this safe that records to the cloud.  So it would be quite enjoyable to watch 10 minutes of someone struggling to get into this safe, only to find out I only keep documents (mostly replaceable) like home/auto loans, marriage/birth certificates, some old photos, etc. (I really have it for fire/flood protection).

[mtgraves7984]

Why wouldn't a seller with such pricey items not hold them in a bank's lock box? 3-Day Handling (max); the seller's good.

[certifiedcitynet]

Any seller who advertises expensive items anywhere is subjecting himself to a potential robbery or burglary. Even cheap items do not provide immunity, as several $1 stores were violently looted during the George Floyd riots. 

Our firm avoids such thefts by storing all valuables in bank vaults and displaying security cameras/signs around our offices and homes. Plus, we are legally armed to the hilt. 

Our cameras record directly to security websites, so the videos cannot be destroyed by criminals. 

[sodium419]

First off, a bank lock-box provides no insurance for theft, fire, water.  You need to insure it as well, so you may as well just keep it in your home.

Secondly, most collectors use the items.  You're thinking of more of a professional seller.  I'm talking about people with expensive collections who also sell those items from time to time.  With some collections, it's very common to buy/sell $10k-100k weekly.