Linking by IP Address

[donkeykong2012]

Hello everyone I have just registered so please be nice!

I only have one question and it concerns the linking of EBay & Paypal accounts by IP address ONLY.

I feel I understand the concept of "stealth" reasonably well. I have a legit account and no stealth currently. I do not need one, however I may still be interested in one as a backup.

What puzzles me is that I use a PC, Laptop and Iphone to access my EBay & Paypal accounts by WIFI. I have accessed my accounts around the world, in hotels, bars, etc etc....

Here is the big point.

I gather many users have many Stealth accounts. Surely linking by IP address ONLY is not enough to link us to a banned account or to link us to another seller's limit? If it was, banning would be an epidemic worldwide due to connecting to many WIFI networks that other users have accessed.

I feel this is the only concept I do not fully understand.

Do users with numerous stealth accounts HAVE to use multiple IP addresses, either by changing them every time they log in or by using an independent dongle?

Please also assume a separate Laptop/PC/User Profile is used for each account.

A definitive answer to this would be most welcome.

Thanks.

[dallasreed]

Chances are you would not be banned by same IP unless it is a recurring thing. There are a few posts in the forum about this, and I have done this myself. Usually it is a combination of factors that cause a link. I wouldn't chance it though. I get a new IP every time I log into a different account.

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by donkeykong2012

Please also assume a separate Laptop/PC/User Profile is used for each account.

A definitive answer to this would be most welcome.

Thanks.

Welcome to the forum

Try to avoid having 'assume' anywhere in your mind-set. ebay makes us confuddled & so assumptions we made make trouble.

That brings us to the next part. Definitive answers do not happen.

Only definitive reply is that ebay/paypal throw curved balls. Best to operate in such a way as to avoid being caught out.

See the forum as allowing you to determine how to run an account in such a manner as to have little troubles.
That's my definitive reply.

[yotano211]

omg GB is back!!

[zoneout]

GreenBean sound like grand master from KungFu

I totally agree with the OP. IP cannot be used for linking. Many corporate offices use a single shared IP address on the outbound connections. So you could have thousands of employees going out on a single IP. I know this cause I spent years in IT. If it were the case you would have hundreds of accounts getting linked and taken down due to the knucklehead in the cube next to you.

[donkeykong2012]

^^^^Thanks for that.

I have logged into my legit account round the world on my netbook and from my Iphone EBay app.

Including accessing WIFI networks in the States, and Europe.

There has to be a stronger link overall.

[zoneout]

Probably in the browser cookies as Aspkin says. And of course phone/SSN and to some extent address and other usual suspects.

Probably if you access say a US paypal acct from overseas for an extended period of time it will get flagged for verification.

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by zoneout

GreenBean sound like grand master from KungFu

I totally agree with the OP. IP cannot be used for linking. Many corporate offices use a single shared IP address on the outbound connections. So you could have thousands of employees going out on a single IP. I know this cause I spent years in IT. If it were the case you would have hundreds of accounts getting linked and taken down due to the knucklehead in the cube next to you.

Great majority of accounts are not run from corporate offices.

Your idea of IP linking stands for those circumstances. Even with that there are variations.

Users sharing educational IPs have reported being suspended. (College internet, science labs).

Users have had their family members' accounts suspended because of using the same IP.

These are the known curve balls for IP linking.

Users should be aware of using a strange IP in case ebay/paypal react in a manner to kill the account.

Keep in mind, that if an account gets 'flagged' an IP might be part of the equation to result in a negative outcome.
For every user that has had access overseas with no problems, there are at least two who have been limited.

It's what happens at the ebay/paypal side at a transaction time that determines happiness or sadness.