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SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Let me start with the fact that I have been doing this for 6 years. I have read the Stealth book 2x (back in the day when it was a pdf and just last year in the new version).

I just received emails for all of my 16 eBay accounts that each is suspended. Message read that recent activity raised serious security concerns. Some accounts have had a lot activity , ones with a bank acct linked. Others, I sold small used household items almost 6 months ago and have occasionally logged in but did not sell anything since.

Each account had different information, separate prepaid t-mobile phone number, all IP's were tracked and never used the same one. I was using the method of a cable modem and separate router, changing MAC to get new IP on xfinity. Each had a separate gmail account. Never any transfers between PayPal etc. Each PayPal had a separate Visa vanilla, address with matching zip codes.

I have no idea why and how each account was suddenly linked and suspended. Did something change in the eBay process? I did not use any third party services for shipping. I had all email addresses on my iPhone with the images disabled.

Any ideas please????

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Comcast does not give you new IP's so there's a very strong possibility you were linked by common IP's. You may have been changing your local IP by messing with your modem but the most public IP's Comcast will give you on a residential connection is 2. 1 for using your modem as a modem only, and another if you're using the modem + router feature.

From my experience with Comcast (spent about 3 terrible years with them) there's no way you were never reusing IP's because they use static IP's.

What method were you using to check your IP before each session?

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

For the longest time Comcast was good for ip pools but I haven't used them in a long time, I just used cell phone tether

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

I was checking my IPs on ipburger.com
I have each IP address noted over the past 6 years in a word document. Sometimes I'd get the same IP as an old account and had to repeat the process of changing the digits in Mac and restarting to router...This was a method in Stealth book. Is the process of checking public vs local IP{ different?

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Can you explain what you mean here,please

ones with bank accounts linked

:spy:

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

What I mean is that only some of the PayPal accounts had an actual bank account linked. I had a larger volume of sales on those eBay accounts.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Could it have been gmail? (I have the email for each account on my iPhone, always have)

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

I am so sorry to hear of this disaster. Sorry for a barrage of questions.
‘

Were the bank accounts from the same bank?

Did you move funds between the accounts?

Are the accounts spread around a location?

:coffee:

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Bank accounts were spread between Suntrust, Chase, and Discover.
I have never moved funds between the accounts.
Addresses were all within 20 miles of each other.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

How about products sold, templates and images?

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Some accounts had similar items sold, although I took different pictures and cleared data on each via exifPurge. That, however, doesn't explain all other accounts that have barely been used and never had anything similar sold.
Process I use for images: take with iPhone > upload to dropbox > download from Dropbox to the corresponding computer user > rename photos > use exifPurge to remove data

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

using window users? VMware?

My guess if all got closed down at the same time, it is a very solid link such as repetitive same IP used or all accounts on one computer user.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

It's a Mac computer. Each account has separate computer user. IP's always tracked.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

shared Icloud account?

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Lots of unanswered questions. You need to really elaborate how you were operating these accounts.

Were you using portable browsers?, I'm assuming you weren't, and were just using browsers within each user account.

Which browser where you using? Safari? Chrome / Firefox?

Did you sign into the browsers (and thus sync browsing data together)?

IP - I strongly advise you to record these within excel. The fact you're using a word document for 6 years make me feel you're not too experienced with IT, and may have made a mistake somewhere, perhaps unknowingly.

Internet - Is anyone else using your internet connection whilst you're using ebay? and perhaps even logging into their own ebay account(s)?

The listings - were you selling same item across accounts? were you using the same images? were you removing exif data from images? did you're listings contain any html content that were the same across all listings?

Did all 16 accounts go down same time, or over some period of time?

So many factors, you really need to break things down for us step by step to see where you went wrong.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

It seems that you have all the foundation covered.

It's also possible that there's a leak somewhere. I don't know where yet, but the members here are asking the right questions.

So i'm rather curious what actually happened.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Question, did you have big IPv6 IP addresses when you were logging?

Very curious to see how this happened, I've started Stealthing the same way and I'm now a bit worried.

Mac user accounts > IP Tracking > Xfinity

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Not really a factor in linking - tons of ppl have banks all over the place, address is irrelevant (banks that is)

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Why did you get suspended in the first place? Were your listings taken down for trademark violations for example? I would really appreciate an elaboration.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

RIP bro, look at your accounts as soldiers. Your Army died. Time to go back and build even a bigger Army. Good luck. The promise is long a gruesome but you seriously need a better plan for your IP's.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Except the OP meant the addresses of the accounts.

::welcome;

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

OP, in your GMAIL accounts. Did you disable IMAGES? if you didnt, and opened an email to read, you basically spread a virus to ALL of your accounts :(

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

All images in Gmail messages are rehosted on Google servers, so you aren't exposing your IP to the sender by viewing Gmail messages with images enabled. Only Google sees your IP.



I really think this is IP related. IPBurger is a valid method of checking/recording your IP. But it's hard to believe you were getting an unlimited pool of IP's from Comcast. Were these IPv4 or IPv6 addresses you were checking? Were you checking to see if both your IPv4 and IPv6 was changing each time?

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

I meant with the beacons that are embedded in certain companies emails. If the OP was reading their emails and the ebay logos/paypal logos pop up/aren't disabled, it can be an account link :spy:

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Years ago, maybe. But not with the way Gmail works now. You can check it yourself in a Gmail account. Right click on the eBay logo in an email from them and look at the properties. When eBay sends the email everything is rehosted by Gmail. Gmail and most other big email clients started doing that so hackers can't sniff out active IP's just by sending emails with images and seeing who opens them.



https://s22.postimg.cc/lggw2ry2p/Untitled.png

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

IP6 or IP4?

Other than that as SaiJin mentioned it sounds like you did everything right based on what you mentioned so far...

Are you positive EXIF data is purged? Did you use the same item descriptions? Any similar wording? Or was it all unique? That can easily link you.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

One upset buyer buy from multiple accounts and make a formal complaint?

What are you doing for return addresses?

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

To answer all of the above:

Q: IP6 or IP4? Question, did you have big IPv6 IP addresses when you were logging?
A: I always used ipburger to check ips, hence recording IP4. In a previous post I inquired about the difference and which one is ‘seen’ by ebay. When I tried tethering via my phone (t-mobile), ipburger showed me the IP6 and I couold only see IP4 on whatmyip.com. Either way, I never used this method (tethering).

Q: IP - I strongly advise you to record these within excel. The fact you're using a word document for 6 years make me feel you're not too experienced with IT, and may have made a mistake somewhere, perhaps unknowingly
A: I highly doubt that, as long as tracking IP4 only (not IP6) is ok. I use a mac computer and Word has a lot less glitches than Excel for MAC, and does not crash as much. In my word document I have each account listed with a list of ips and a date each ip was used for the past 6 years. Using the CMD+F (command find) option I can wuickly scan the whole document for repeat ip’s. Very rarely do I get the same ip’s ac from several years ago, more often I get repeat ip’s from the same day or few days prior. Of course I don’t log in on those, I repeat the process of mac change and router reset.


Q: Are you positive EXIF data is purged? Did you use the same item descriptions? Any similar wording? Or was it all unique? That can easily link you.
A: Again, yes. And even if some descriptions etc were similar to other accounts, at least 7 accounts did not have any images, items, categories or descriptions in common with other accounts and yet were suspended as well (all at the same time).

Q: One upset buyer buy from multiple accounts and make a formal complaint?
A: Yes, there was an upset buyer but again, 7 of the accounts had no similarities in items sold etc.

Q: What are you doing for return addresses?
A: I have had all accounts suspended 2 years ago for having the same return address so I learned that lesson. This time around, only few of the accounts had a return and on those I sent the customers a PDF file of return label via email from the USPS website.

Q: shared Icloud account?
A: No iCloud. I did use the same dropbox account for all, but the images were cleaned via exifPurge.

Q:Were you using portable browsers?, I'm assuming you weren't, and were just using browsers within each user account. Which browser where you using? Safari? Chrome / Firefox? Did you sign into the browsers (and thus sync browsing data together)?
A: I used Safari within each user account. I’m not sure what you mean by signing into the browser? I had the same gmail account signed into from the browser on each user.

.

Q: Internet - Is anyone else using your internet connection whilst you're using ebay? and perhaps even logging into their own ebay account(s)?
A: No.

Q: The listings - were you selling same item across accounts? were you using the same images? were you removing exif data from images? did you're listings contain any html content that were the same across all listings?
A: As explained above. I’m not sure what the html content is but I hope the exifPurge took care of those?

Q: Did all 16 accounts go down same time, or over some period of time?
A: Yes, down to the minute according to the timestamp on the email messages.

Q: OP, in your GMAIL accounts. Did you disable IMAGES? if you didnt, and opened an email to read, you basically spread a virus to ALL of your accounts :(
A: Yes, images were disabled.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

phaz0rz: No, I only checked what was provided by I-burger, which is the ipv4.

I only realized there is something called ipv6 when I tried tethering via my t-mobile phone and I-burger showed the ipv6 instead. IPV6 was changing but IPV4 remained the same. I couldn't find an answer/explanation on here so I never used the method.

Now I'm curious, if my ipv4 changes, does that mean ipv6 can still remain the same? Do both need to be tracked??

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Can you explain the local vs public ip? Is that related to the ipv4 vs. ipv6?

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Local IP is the IP assigned by your router to your computer through DHCP request when you connect to the network. (no one outside your network can see this.) even if they did it wouldnt matter... Local IP is almost always in the rang of 192.168.0.2 through 192.168.20... Your router is 192.168.0.1 and every network adapter you connect after that gets a consecutive number...


The only IP you have to worry about is you public IPv4 and IPv6. Now days unless you disable IPv6... You have one...

You might not see it on ip check sites... but thats only because they arent configured to check for both at the same time... and some sites arent even configured for it at all...

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

I would put money on it being the IP issue.

Switch to mobile hotspot and kiss those issues goodbye

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

You still need to disable IPv6... Unless you know someone that 100% for-sure logged both IPv4 and IPv6 for at least a year and never had a duplicate cross between protocols.

I personally doubt anyone has tested... since it's 1000x easier to disable it... but I've been wrong before...

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Sorry to hear this, stories like this make my stomach turn.

For 16 accounts to go down at the same time means there is a solid link.

"Message read that recent activity raised serious security concerns" On 16 accounts I personally think that suggests an automated link detected somehow.

Either the BOTS have flagged it (or flagged it first), or it has been through human examination.

Was there an issue on one account, or any warning on any one account?

Are you 100% certain there has been no IP overlapping?

I have many accounts, some active and some dormant. So do many others on here.

Every now and again someone appears on these forums with a horror story like this. The fact that it is only now and then does suggest you have been very unlucky, or you have made a critical error at some stage.

I hope you figure it out.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

If Amazon can link accounts through Hardware, then why can't eBay as well?! I am suspecting that's the case with OP accounts.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

did you ever funnel money between the accounts

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

could it be because of the vanilla visa? my friend told me that those weren't good for paypal anymore

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

I had all email addresses on my iPhone with the images disabled.

It appears the images were disabled.

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Vanilla Visa still works

Re: SHOCKED. How did my accounts get linked?? Experienced user
 

Was you removing the meta data from the pics you was using in your listings ?