Urgent request for Help from MODS and Community Store hacked then closed by eBay

[epowerbargains]

I will try to make this concise.

1)  On 11/10/19, our eBay store was hacked. Total account takeover.  The hackers listed 8 popular high value items we never listed or sold.  I caught it within an hour but by the time I got thru to eBay over 100 people purchased the fraudulent listings and 150 people sent questions.  Over several days and after many phone calls with eBay customer service, eBay began refunding customers and I sent emails to all who sent questions informing them not to make a purchase of the fraudulent listings.  Over 60 cases were opened, refunded by eBay and closed. I was assured that none of this would impact my store in a negative manner. 

2) On or about 11/15/19,  I put the store on vacation to prevent sales as we were going outside the US on vacation for 18 days. Mid-way thru the vacation, eBay send me a notice of store closure due to suspicious activity and deleted all 800 plus of my store listings. My phone blew up with 800 plus item listing deletions. I had spotty phone and internet access so I had to wait to deal with this until we returned to the US. 

3) I called eBay customer special services unit on 12/09/19 and was told to respond to the email notice of account closure and describe what happened and my account would be fully restored in 48 to 72 hours as they could see the audit trail of what happened and it was, " not my fault".  I expressed concern that since it was clear from their records what happened - would a email response from me really resolve this and would it really happen in 72 hours or less? I was told yes. But I remain very worried and concerned. 

4) My invoice/fee records are a mess, my store is wiped clean, and this is the tail end of the holidays and I have customers waiting.  

Has this happened to anyone else - to the mod's is this the correct way of resolving this issue? What can I do to make sure that my store is reactivated as soon as possible.  I have been a seller in good standing with 100% buyer feedback for over 5 years & never violated any eBay policy, procedure or protocol.

Thanking you in advance.  

[epowerbargains]

Yes, on 11/10/19, I pointed out several times that the hacker had opened an anchor store using our store - and I was worried that my account would be charged. I asked 3 times that it be reversed and closed at that time - but was told by eBay customer service that, " hopefully my account would not be charged and that if it was it would be reversed." At the time, I was uncomfortable with this response and to make it even more troublesome, I was told by the eBay representative that the hacker should not have even been able to open an anchor account. So, I was not happy but not surprised to find the charge on my account yesterday.  This is a monumental mess. Our store is still restricted for no reason and now I have to call eBay customer service and explain this all over again. The misery never ends. I am so disappointed and upset about this, I had invested so much effort in making sure I had a honest business with excellent customer service only to be treated worse than I could ever imagine by eBay. 

[epowerbargains]

Can I please get some help with this situation? So far, no response and no assistance. 

[loveyourimagination49]

I can’t help, but maybe you to can share some notes. Here’s another thread. Sorry your dealing with this.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/HACKED-BUYERS-BUYING-SOMETHING-THAT-I-M-NOT-SELLING/td-p/30492...

[epowerbargains]

Thanks - I left a message. 

[brian@ebay]

Can I please get some help with this situation? So far, no response and no assistance. 

Hi @epowerbargains, when did you send your email? That team typically has a 3 business day response time, give or take a day or two. 

[epowerbargains]

Hi - this is day 3 and I am losing holiday sales.................

[nc-daydreamer]

I regret that situation to which you have become involved. Nightmare. Thanks for sharing. 

I do have a question tho - when you were posting listings, did you use a phone or a computer, a mac, or a tablet? Or a mixture of devices? And which browser(s)? I am wondering if there is any pattern or logic to this thief's method of operation  that maybe can help others avoid being victimized too?

Thanks and I wish you all the best and that this gets resolved quickly.

As a second thought, have you seen Jordan's post - and gave comment there or tried to call into Griff's podcast? Have you reported this to the authorities - like the FCC or/and iC3?  Have you notified your ISP or phone carrier? Might not help, but it couldn't hurt so I would think.

[epowerbargains]

Hi - I use a laptop and google chrome.  I only use this device & never use a cell. 

I am not sure what my next step on this odyssey will be but I am very disturbed at the lack of support from eBay and the action taken against my account to restrict it and delete 800 listings is just beyond my ability to understand or accept. In no way have I ever violated any eBay policy or procedure and have always operated under the belief that the customer even when wrong is right - it is a cost of doing business.  For eBay to destroy 5 years of hard work during the holiday sales season is unforgivable.

What is really appalling is that this could happen to anyone and nobody is safe from having this exact same disaster happen to their store/account. 

In my view, eBay owes it to good honest sellers to quickly act to rectify a mess like this fast in order to salvage the stores sales and reputation.  I feel that eBay could care less about what has happened to me as a seller and simply feels no remorse or responsibility.   

[janet9988]

You need to cancel your store subscription as you are being charged but have NO items listed.  Funny how ebay does not mind collecting those fees and just leaves your store open.

So ebay used their power to shut you down under this part of the user agreement...They terminated part of their services to you BUT left your store open so they could still collect fees from you.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behaviour-policies/user-agreement?id=4259

If we believe you are abusing eBay and/or our Services in any way, we may, in our sole discretion and without limiting other remedies, limit, suspend, or terminate your user account(s) and access to our Services, delay or remove hosted content, remove any special status associated with your account(s), remove, not display, and/or demote listings, reduce or eliminate any discounts, and take technical and/or legal steps to prevent you from using our Services.

If we believe you are violating the policy on Offers to buy or sell outside of eBay, you may be subject to a range of actions, including limits on your buying and selling privileges, restrictions on listings and account features, suspension of your account, application of fees, and recovery of expenses for policy monitoring and enforcement. If you are a seller and you offer or reference your contact information or ask a buyer for their contact information in the context of buying or selling outside of eBay, you may be liable to pay a final value fee applicable to that item, even if the item does not sell.

We may cancel unconfirmed accounts or accounts that have been inactive for a long time. Additionally, we reserve the right to refuse, modify, or terminate all or part of our Services to anyone for any reason at our discretion.

[gracieallen01]

Right.  Kinda like, 'if our 'bots and/or AI say you are a bad person, you're toast'.

Hope it gets straightened out sooner, rather than later.

[epowerbargains]

I agree - this situation is ridiculous 

[epowerbargains]

Yes, when a seller goes to eBay jail - your simply guilty....forget facts......

[epowerbargains]

Just following up - DAY 4 and no response to my appeal.  My store is still wiped out and all 800 plus listings deleted.  I am really upset - I did nothing to deserve this at all and really feel like I am being dismissed after paying fees to eBay for over 5 years, being a model seller with 100% buyer feedback. 

Our store was hacked on 11/10/19 and we did everything possible to work with eBay and customers to get it resolved.  Then, 2 weeks later eBay shut down our store with no explanation or logical reason - just a demand to upload a receipt for each of the 800 plus listings we had - most items were actually purchased from eBay for resale, some were gifts and items from our home we no longer needed. 

Now we are missing holiday sales.  I feel like I am being treated like a criminal and cannot describe how upset and distraught I am to be treated so badly - when I have done nothing wrong - and would NEVER even think of doing anything wrong.  Why can't I get any help? Why was the hacker allowed to open an anchor store under out account? and why am I being charged for that fraudulent anchor store? 

Why should an honest seller have to literally beg for help? 

[brian@ebay · Accepted solution]

Hi @epowerbargains, you should have received an email within the last few minutes with an update on your account status, so be sure to check it out! 

[epowerbargains]

Thank you very much for assisting me with getting my account and listings restored. This is a huge relief.