# Ebay: FYI: New hidden Bidder ID format hacked already !



## TOMLESCOEQUIP

*Just a heads up*: I sold an item on Ebay that ended Sunday nite. It was
for less than 2K, but over the threshold where Ebay starts hiding
bidder ID's. I had a contact phone # in the auction ad in case anyone
had questions or wanted to view the item locally. I get a call this AM
from one of the back bidders (kind of in the middle of the pack, not
2nd place, but not last either) who said they already received a 2nd
chance offer & wanted to see if it was legit & if it wasn't, to give me
a heads up about what was happening. The wonderful folks at Ebay who
just hid the bidder Id's within the last week or so have had their new
security feature hacked already !!   Probably on the inside ?  Who knows for sure ?
 So............  Be careful out there !  Tom


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## bczoom

In the bid history section:
"In certain cases, some bidders will no longer be able to view Bidder User IDs on the Bid History page."
I wonder what "certain cases" and "some bidders" really mean.  Some can and some can't????

What's the threshold where they start hiding the bidder list?  I wonder if the scammer kept a window open of bidders before that particular auction went into its hide bidder name flow.


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## TOMLESCOEQUIP

bczoom said:
			
		

> What's the threshold where they start hiding the bidder list?  I wonder if the scammer kept a window open of bidders before that particular auction went into its hide bidder name flow.


Brian........
According to the message ebay sent me at the start of the auction regarding the hiding of bidder ID's, it's after the bid goes over or starts at $200. Message from ebay:                                                                                           
January 08, 2007 | 10:04AM PST/PT

Rob Chesnut
A couple of months ago, I told you about an important new initiative called Safeguarding Member IDs (read my announcement from November 2, 2006). Safeguarding Member IDs (SMI) is a significant step forward in protecting eBay's bidders, who have increasingly become targets for unwanted commercial and malicious spam, such as phishing, spoof, and fake Second Chance Offers.

SMI adds a new layer of privacy by replacing specific User IDs with aliases (bidder 1, bidder 2, bidder 3, etc.). To ensure buyers continue to feel trust in the bidding process, SMI also provides an updated Bid History page with aggregate information about the bidders involved in a given listing, as well as their other recent activity with the listing's seller.

Coming this week: eBay.com and eBay Canada to Launch SMI
Following SMI's introduction last fall on eBay Motors, our eBay sites in the United Kingdom and Australia also made the decision to launch SMI. The results we're seeing for all three launches indicate that these changes are having the impact we are striving for – in short, a reduction in unwanted commercial and malicious spam (including Fake Second Chance Offers) to bidders on higher-priced auction-style listings.

As a result eBay.com and eBay.ca will be launching SMI later this week. SMI will impact listings on eBay.com that start at or reach a bid level of $200 or greater. On eBay Canada, it will impact listings above the C$220 level. Please read our Safeguarding Member IDs Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Community Concerns
I'd like to acknowledge the concerns we've heard from some members who believe these changes may encourage shill bidding (the act of using friends or alias User IDs to bid on a seller's own listing to artificially increase the bidding level.) First, let me make it very clear that shill bidding is not tolerated on eBay. Not only is this activity prohibited by our policies (read our shill bidding policy), it is also a crime in many states.

In addition to the Bid History changes I've described above which are designed to give buyers the information they need to feel confident, it's important to know that over the years, eBay has invested heavily in shill detection systems. We can proactively detect and investigate possible shill bidding scenarios with a higher rate of accuracy than ever before. These 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.

Be assured that we will continue to monitor the sites where SMI has launched to ensure that increased shill bidding does not become an unintended consequence of SMI.

I want to thank the Community for the support you've shown for these changes thus far. While reducing transparency on the site is understandably controversial, I believe these changes strike the right balance between the need for openness and the need to protect our members from online threats.

Sincerely,

Rob Chesnut
Senior Vice President, eBay Global Trust & Safety The thing about it is, the bidder who called me was in the $6-800.00 range.........long after the bidder ID's were supposed to be hidden.........& I checked the history & he didn't bid when the price was less than $200, so according to Ebay's new system, his ID should not have been visable to anyone but myself & Ebay.


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## JimR

I don't like the hidden bidder crap.  This gives sellers an easy way to have friends bid up their auctions without being able to be caught by smart bidders.  All bidders should have to list the town and sate where they are from.  Ebay has really gone the other way lately.


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