What step(s) is Ebay making in reducing fraud accounts?

[robbypoison]

First off how is there not a general "fraud/security" forum topic...?!

I'm very curious what steps Ebay is making/plans to make in regards to reducing the amount of fraud accounts, especially after selling an item & getting bogus phishing messages to ship to a new address...this has been happening multiples times over this last year & doesn't seem to be getting any better...

Does anyone else have this same issue...?

[lakefor94]

If the seller has the "provide RMA number" option on in return settings, they can choose to have eBay provide a label, provide their own label or select, label already sent.

Certain sellers like to choose, label already sent when they have not sent squat.  

This screws the buyer around and the clock is still ticking on the total time allowed for the buyer to send the item back.  The buyer has to contact eBay to get things rolling and eBay then gives the seller 5 more days to provide the label or provide the buyer with money to purchase the label.  Makes the buyer jump thru hoops to send an item back.

In the meantime the seller's are also telling other lies to the buyer like, "You have to close the return in order for me to refund you".   This is after they have already tried to get them to agree to a partial refund, yada, yada, yada.

It is just an all around Very poor eBay experience for a ton of buyers. I would not come back if I was a novice eBay buyer.

These scams are rampant. 

[robbie31415]

I want to clarify that having RMA doesn't start the clock to return the item.

The clock starts once the seller has accepted and provided a label. Unless buyer is responsible then the timer starts once accepted.

The only timer having RMA required starts is the 3 business days to ask ebay to step in.

[lakefor94]

Having RMA allows the seller to make his choice. If the seller selects "label already sent", (even though a label has not been sent) the buyer will never see the, "ask eBay to step in" option after 3 days.

[reallynicestamps]

how is there not a general "fraud/security" forum

Some frauds are perpetrated by sellers and some by buyers.

I suppose it makes sense to separate them.

And sometimes what seems like a simple question is exposed as a fraud.

The whole eBay Finance for cars for example. (Which doesn't exist).

reducing the amount of fraud accounts,

The introduction of Managed Accounts which demands SSN and a checking account in the USA for new and returning sellers  is much stronger than anything I had to do setting up my original account in 1998 or my Paypal account circa 2005.

getting bogus phishing messages to ship to a new address...

EBay masked buyer IDs many years ago with the idea of stopping fake Second Chance Offers.

And eBay strongly discourages shipping to any address other than that on the original order and payment.

this has been happening multiples times over this last year
I have never literally never had this happen, over 20+ years and seven accounts. I know others have reported this scam.

Usually the victim is new to selling online.

Using the discounted shipping labels eBay sells is some protection.

Sell your items at a fixed buy it now price, immediate payment required and NO best offers.

This is excellent advice

Although Best Offers are a useful sales tool best to avoid them until you have more Selling Feedback.

[reallynicestamps]

The fake tracking scams run amuck with NO help for buyers other than the buyer having to do all the foot work with the carriers in order to appeal.

Perhaps this is off topic but a lot of the reason that this scam works is the out of date and inaccurate zipcode system used by USPS and by couriers.

It was introduced very early, one of the first postal systems to do so, and the numeric system was almost immediately shown to be inadequate.

Thus the four digit extension being added soonish after.

And I notice that when I print up a label for a US customer, the extension is always there.

Zipcodes are huge, from my viewpoint here in Canada. My own (alpha-numeric) postal code is less than one suburban block. The apartment block across the street, some 20 apartments, has two postal codes.  (Google V8R 5G8  and 02876 to compare).

How much closer does the four digit extension get your zipcode to your address?

[stainlessenginecovers]

Simply NOT feasible to 'figure out' who is a fraudulent account and who is not. Thousands of NEW ACCOUNTS every day.