eBay Announces New Proactive Fraud Reduction Measures

New listings of items 'most favored with fraudsters' impacted

In its ongoing efforts to secure the safety of its marketplace, eBay announced today a new policy that will effect the viewing of certain new listings. At the same time, Rob Chestnut, Senior VP in charge of eBay Global Trust & Safety, announced progress with a number of recent security initiatives.

"We're seeing a significant reduction in fake Second Chance offers, for instance, and fewer reports of potential counterfeit listings in the categories most favored by scammers," Chestnut notes on the company General Announcement Board.

Chestnut says that as eBay's security policies evolve, so will the methods of the scammers. "While I'm pleased with our direction and progress, I also want to help the Community understand this is an ongoing effort that requires an aggressive long-term approach."

Part of that new approach is a new plan for viewing auctions of items Chestnut said are popular with crooks.

"Items reportedly most favored by fraudsters may not be viewable for several hours before the listings are indexed into Search results. These new listings are still viewable on the site through My eBay or if you search for the specific item number; however, they are not immediately visible through a keyword search or Browse," he said.

For safety reasons, Chestnut does not detail what items will be impacted by this new policy but notes it will effect "only a fraction of listings."