What is the Safeguarding Member ID project?
The Safeguarding Member IDs
project is a new approach to auction-style listings that offers more
privacy for our members through changing how bidding information is
displayed. We believe that this change will help to balance the need
for openness and transparency in the marketplace, with the need to
protect our Community of members from the threats that have appeared
as the Internet has flourished. We also believe the Safeguarding
Member IDs project provides the Community with enough information about the bidders involved in an
auction-style listing for them to feel confident in placing a bid --
without revealing actual User IDs. We're implementing this new
system on listings where the high bid is $200 or greater, which is
where we believe it can have the greatest positive impact. The bid
information for listings where the bid is lower than $200 will
display as it does today.
Here's what will change:
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On the bid history page for each listing
we'll replace User IDs with aliases (such as Bidder 1, Bidder 2,
and Bidder 3) in the order that bidders place their first bid. For
each bidder involved in a listing, we'll display the number of
bids that they've placed in unique categories, a range that their
feedback score falls within (i.e. 10-49, for instance), their
percentage of positive feedback, their length of time as an eBay
member, and the number of bids they've placed on the item. At the
end of a listing, the winning bidder's User ID will be displayed
on the item page. Please note: Sellers will
still be able to access bidder information on their listings
through the bid history page and the My eBay selling table.
Sellers will also be able to use Advanced Search to research their
current bidders for a 48 hour period after the bid is placed. In
addition, they will also be able to research the activity of any
member who sends them an Ask Seller a Question email or uses Best
Offer within a 48 hour period of the email/offer being sent.
-
In My eBay, members will no longer have access to the high-bidder column from bid and watch tables.
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On the item
page, you'll only be able to see the high-bidder ID if you are the signed-in seller of the item or the signed-in high bidder.
-
Through the Advanced Search by Bidder
link, we'll only show all the details of that bidder's bidding activity on items below the $200 threshold and completed listings within the last 30 days.
-
If a bidder bids on a listing where the
Reserve price or Buy It Now is above $200, their ID will be
anonymized just as if they had placed a bid over $200. Note that
even if the Buy It Now option disappears, the listing will continue to be anonymized to protect bidders in the early stages of the auction.
-
The IDs of buyers on the Best Offer
history page will no longer be fully displayed to viewers – the
last part of their ID will be hidden by asterisks. However, the
seller of the item will be able to see the ID in full, as before.
Future enhancements are being designed that
will provide even more transaction data about the bidders and seller
involved in a transaction. We'll continue to update the
Community on these changes as these plans become finalized.
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Why is eBay making this change?
Since eBay began in 1995, it's been our job to
balance the need for openness and transparency in the marketplace,
with the need to protect our Community of members from
the threats that have appeared as the internet has flourished. As
the Community has grown from the size of a small town in 1997, to
the size of a large country today, we've had to take measures to
protect our members that also reduce transparency.
From the beginning, any member of the Community
could request the contact details of any other member and the
bidding process was very transparent. As we've grown, we've limited
communication to members involved in transactions with each other.
Additionally in 2003, we eliminated the public display of email
addresses from the site, and therefore, required thousands of people
to set up new User IDs. Naturally, as we've stepped up education and
other efforts to improve safety, the bad guys continued their efforts to try to exploit our
members.
The User IDs of members -- plus their member
information such as feedback and previous bidding and/or buying
activity -- have always been freely available to anyone visiting the
site. Members have been able to access this information from the
item page, bid history page, and Advanced Search by Bidder feature.
Unfortunately -- while bid history and contact information about
trading colleagues is helpful to evaluate a transaction and provides
a level of trust within the transaction – bad guys can use this information for potentially
harmful purposes.
As our Community
knows, the problem of spam, spoof, and fake Second Chance Offer
emails has not gone away. In fact, despite industry leading efforts
to educate the Community about online safety (eBay Toolbar,
tutorials and safety messaging), partnering with law enforcement and
industry groups, and investments in technology that make the site
more safe -- we've seen this problem grow. Increasingly, sellers and
buyers have turned to us for a solution.
We believe the
Safeguarding Member IDs project provides the Community with enough
information about the bidders
involved in an auction-style listing in order for them to feel confident in placing a bid -- without revealing actual User IDs.
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How can I stay safe on the internet?
Remember these important online safety tips:
-
Never pay with Western Union or
MoneyGram -- eBay strongly encourages its members to
avoid using instant cash wire transfer services such as Western
Union or MoneyGram. It's against eBay's Accepted
Payments Policy for a seller to request payment
via these methods as they've proven to be unsafe when paying someone the buyer doesn't know.
-
Check My Messages to verify the
authenticity of eBay emails -- Any email eBay sends you
about your account or requesting personal information will also be
in My Messages. Before responding to an eBay email asking for
information about your account or requesting personal information,
verify it's authentic by checking My Messages. If it's not
in My Messages, it's a fake email. If you receive a
suspicious email that looks like it's from eBay or PayPal, please
forward it to spoof@ebay.com or spoof@paypal.com.
We will respond (usually within minutes) to tell you whether or not the email is authentic.
-
Always Verify Second Chance
Offers – Sending fake Second Chance Offers is a common
trick used by fraudsters. If you receive an email with a Second
Chance Offer for an item you recently bid on, please check your My
Messages inbox (located in My eBay) on the eBay site to make sure
the offer is authentic. If it appears in My Messages with the
title "eBay Second Chance Offer for Item...", it's authentic. If
the Second Chance Offer does not appear in My Messages, or appears
with a different title, it is not legitimate and should be
ignored. Help us fight this, by reporting these fakes to spoof@ebay.com
.
-
Download the eBay Toolbar and the
PayPal SafetyBar – The eBay
Toolbar includes Account Guard
which indicates when you are on a legitimate eBay or PayPal site,
and alerts you when you are on a known fraudulent site. PayPal's
SafetyBar
detects fraudulent emails in your email program and puts them in the spam folder.
-
Monitor your account regularly
for suspicious activity – Prevent problems by staying
alert and catching any suspicious activity early. We recommend
that you log into your eBay and PayPal accounts frequently to
ensure that all the transactions listed are legitimate. Be
suspicious of any email that requests personal information – Be
cautious of other emails that request you to click a link and
submit your financial or personal information. If in doubt, call
or contact the institution first to verify the authenticity of the
email. Many of these emails will impart a sense of urgency and
require you to do something. For example, your account has been
suspended, click here to learn more. Do not click on any links in
this type of email if you can not verify it is authentic. Only
enter your financial information on secure websites. Check that a
website is secure by looking for the closed lock symbol near the
bottom of your browser window. And, of course, use a payment
method such as PayPal, which lets you pay without sharing your
financial information with the person receiving
your
money. PayPal also covers you 100% against unauthorized money sent from your
accountes. Any new listing is immediately viewable through My eBay, or by searching by item number.
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Will eBay lose trust of buyers by hiding bidder
information?
It's very important that
eBay buyers trust our buying process. That's why we are developing
an approach that will give members information about relevant
transaction activity for the members involved in an auction-style
listing without revealing specific User
IDs.
We
will launch the first phase of Safeguarding Member IDs on eBay
Motors. Future enhancements are being designed that will provide
even more transaction data about the bidders and seller involved in
a transaction. We'll continue to update the Community on these changes as these plans
become finalized.
While we believe
Safeguarding Member IDs is the right thing to do for the Community,
we're taking a cautious approach to implementation to avoid any
disruption to
the marketplace. We'll be monitoring the impact of these changes carefully, and we'll continue to listen to our Community's input.
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After the changes to bid history are launched,
how will eBay detect shill bidding?
First, eBay is committed to prevent shill
bidding from occurring on our site. It's important to remember that,
while the public will not have access to User IDs under the
Safeguarding Bidder ID site changes, eBay will continue to have the
same access to information that we have today.
eBay takes the issue
of shill bidding (the use of a secondary bidding account to increase
the level of bidding and the apparent value of an item) very
seriously. Shill bidding is a violation that, when detected, leads
to an immediate suspension or sanction. In addition, shill bidding
is a crime in many states.
In the last several years, we've invested
heavily in shill detection systems that enable us to proactively
detect and investigate possible shill bidding scenarios with a
higher rate of accuracy than ever before. Our backend systems
collect more information on selling and bidding activity than our
Community has access to, so we can detect patterns and ascertain
identities much more accurately.
With the information provided as part of the
Safeguarding Member ID project, we believe that members will still
be able to detect and report suspicious activity.While we
proactively search the site for shill bidding,
we do
appreciate the reports from the Community of suspicious activity and will continue to investigate them and take action where appropriate.
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If I can't see the User ID of the member who
outbid me, how do I know that the bid was legitimate?
We've spent a lot of time analyzing how our
members use the bidding information today. The Safeguarding Member
ID project was developed based on many conversations with members.
They told us their needs during the bidding process, as well as
their concerns about safety.
While specific User IDs will not be visible,
individual bidders will be identified by an alias (such as bidder1,
bidder2, etc.). For each bidder involved in a listing, we'll display
the number of bids that they've placed in unique categories, a range
that their feedback score falls within (i.e. 10- 49, for instance),
their percentage of positive feedback, their length of time as an eBay member, and the number of
bids they've placed on the item.
Future enhancements
are being designed that will provide even more transaction data
about the bidders and seller involved in a transaction. We'll continue to update the
Community on these changes as these plans become finalized.
Naturally, if you ever suspect any
suspicious activity, you can report it as you do today through the eBay Toolbar or through Help on the site.
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If I'm a seller, can I see the bid history on
my own listings?
Yes, if you are the
seller you will continue to have access to the User IDs for the
bidders on your active listing through the bid history page and the
My eBay selling table. Sellers will also be able to use Advanced
Search to conduct full research on their current bidders for a 48
hour period after the bid is placed. In addition, they will also be
able to research the activity of any
member who sends them an Ask Seller a Question email or uses Best Offer within a 48 hour period of the email/offer being sent.
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What will be the impact on 3rd party tools?
Some
3rd party tool providers will need to make adjustments. Please work directly with these service providers for more details.
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How will members spot malicious bidding or
attempts by others to interfere with the site?
Malicious bidding is an action perpetrated
against a seller. In this case, the logged in seller will still be
able to see the member User IDs on the bid history page. A seller
can also click through to a bidder's eBay My World page to view
their
feedback. Through the feedback pages, a seller will be able to see a bidder's most recent items where there has been feedback exchanged.
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Can members search for one another using the
"Items by Bidder" option under Advanced Search?
A member can search for another member using Advanced Search, "Items by Bidder"; however, only completed items won and the details of that bidder's bidding activity on items below the $200 threshold in the last 30 days will be displayed.
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I use Advanced Search "Items by Bidder" to find
other sellers with listings I might want to bid on. Will I still be
able todo this?
You will now be able to see all
the details of that bidder's bidding activity on items below the
$200 threshold. In addition, we have added the ability to see a list
of sellers selling similar items by clicking on the "View sellers of
similar items" link on the Bid History page.
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