Keeping in mind that I'm having issues on Amazon
(never eBay - they are easy and never link accounts), please take a seat and skim through this ridiculous mess of a first post. Amazon has been stepping up their game the last month and I've had a few accounts linked - but one just today that REALLY surprised me
(the 2nd account was linked to the first account, then the 3rd account in this 'set' was just linked today). I still have others, but I'm definitely concerned. Please don't feel inclined to read all this, but before you say I need to do something, just use CTRL+F and make sure I didn't already address it (I'm not new, but I clearly still need to learn if I'm getting linked).
I have 3 accounts that were linked (although not linked to any previous suspended accounts - they were linked to the earliest account of the 3, it's as if from that account on, they noticed a certain trend). Each account was bringing in around $250 profit per week by the time they were suspended, so nothing insane but obviously enough to get the accounts reviewed (which I typically pass... I've just noticed more of my accounts than ever are being linked). The accounts that were linked haven't been suspended - I just had to stop listing on the two others and I'm paid as per my schedule. I'm all legit btw, 100% feedback, 100% delivery etc so it's not a performance issue.
Just so you know, I can't do the router trick because of my living situation (others uses Amazon/eBay extensively) - also I am told Amazon actually tracks if you are coming from a different IP every time and they will review you just for not logging in from the same place each time (so a dongle isn't ideal for Amazon either - so I've heard anyway). The best option I've found is (private) VPNs from different companies on like page 5 of google that I check through RBL databases for abuse (the best I can do to determine if there's a chance Amazon has flagged them before).
Also, I'm definitely new here, but I'm not a noob to stealth. I just bought my first home this year because of stealth (774 credit score FTW!! but that's another topic...) and I make almost 6 figures working part time doing this. I know that's not a ton to a lot of these guys, but since I can barely drink legally and am also studying full time to get my Computer Engineering degree - I'm happier than most of my peers. So it's not like I've never made a successful stealth account lol
Here is my setup for AMAZON:
• Virtual machines for each user so I can run them all at one time
-VPNs from all different companies (I know there can be an issue with bad IPs, but I always check them on RBL lists and request new ones until there aren't any hits - and none of them were linked until about a month in on the first one, and a month and a week on the second so it wouldn't be that others got caught on these IPs)
-As an aside (coming from a Computer Engineer in my last year of school), there is literally NO difference between a VPS and a
VPN. I've read a lot of stuff on here about how "VPNs have been more abused so if you get a solid VPS it's less likely that someone's abused it". The reality is that a VPS may use an IP address that was used by a
VPN the month before. IP address is the only thing Amazon or eBay can see (if you're doing your job right haha), so I see no merit to the VPS vs
VPN debate - it's about whether or not the IP address is clean. A VPS is literally just a virtual machine that basically uses a "
VPN-like system" to access an IP address that was bought by the same company that recycles them for VPN usage. A virtual machine with a VPN is pretty much the same thing as a VPS (if they're both dedicated obviously). I run all my IPs through RBL databases to check for recent abuse (the best I can do since Amazon doesn't post a blacklist xP lol). Even if it were to be the VPN as the culprit, why would it take a month after all 3 accounts are active to link one, and why would it not link them to my other accounts that have been running longer on the same VPN, but instead link it to other accounts on different VPNs? Also, the VPNs are all on different companies (one of which is 24vc here on aspkin), so it's not like they were linked by similar IP pool.
Moving on...
-All Windows 7 (most common OS currently)
-Different fonts installed (since technically they can track them on firefox, who knows if they do, but might as well let them get a "fingerprint" that they think is me)
-Different screen resolutions (who knows if they use it, but they definitely can track it so why not give them a more unique fingerprint)
-All firefox (still a very common browser), and obviously the VPN is system level so it's impossible to detect original IP address or know it's a re-route
So basically, I'm allowing Amazon to create it's own "fingerprint" of each machine with it's own cookies, resolution, and fonts etc
• Two kinds of credit cards (machine 1 and 2 have the same type, although not number obviously, and machine 3 has a different type)
-Vanilla One cards just as many of you use (purchased myself and from 123 here on aspkin - he uses vanilla one)
-***"My Vanilla" DEBIT cards (which can actually be activated as one time use credit cards to a certain zip code by calling in and special requesting - takes about 60 seconds and I bet few people know about this so I bet this card is never abused - it probably just looks like an actual debit card to them since the first 4 numbers often indicate the type of card)
• Different zip codes all with matching actual billing addresses, IP addresses match that zip code, phone numbers in that zip code (one in St Pete FL, one in Miami FL, one in Los Angeles CA). They are all in smaller cities, just stating cities you'd recognize.
• These 3 all use virtual forwarding numbers - two of which show as bandwith.com on a registration check (so it didn't surprise me they were linked), but the 3rd number (Los Angeles area) is a local business California carrier originally (I do phone number searches to look up the registration, just as Amazon can do - they have the same information we have for this)
• One uses gmail, the other 2 use outlook (including the CA one)
--These all forward to my gmail account along with tons of other seller accounts
--Images blocked, but as you know, gmail saves them on their own servers and forwards to prevent image becaon spying whatever you want to call it
--I do respond via gmail, but it uses smtp for the outlook ones and gmail's server is the same for ALL email accounts so it isn't linking through that
• The 3 accounts were created about a week apart each, give or take a few days. The second account was caught a month in, the 3rd less than a week after.
• Only one of these accounts has had a return, so it isn't matching return addresses (although actually, what I've done for years is send them prepaid return labels as images which Amazon doesn't OCR - gets me good feedback and keeps me from having to deal with freaking PO boxes and UPS ⊗⊗⊗⊗ return addresses in different states than my billing address - but as I said, only one account had a return regardless).
• All of these accounts use Chase FL as the routing number with (obviously) different bank account numbers. I also have Bank of America and will be using that shortly as I now have all 9 free accounts with chase I can use. Interestingly enough, my 3rd account that was linked HAS NO BANK account information yet!
Now, the only similarities I can think of that MAY be (really advanced) links.
1) The timing that I log in. I don't always log in at the same time, but I sometimes log in to one account within 5 minutes of another. I keep them all open at times, close some of them. It's relatively random but you could definitely establish a link IFFF you had enough OTHER reasons to think they were related. Out of thousands of seller accounts, there has to be another link other than "they all logged in during the same hour of the day".
2) The tracking information. My software uses Amazon's shipping system and has the return address as the original billing address. However, it changes the return address on each label before it's printed, so while a label printed in CA is shipped from FL, my actual address is superimposed on top of the stealth one. USPS doesn't care because it's all flat rate anyway. The tracking, however, does still show that it's all coming from the same city which is NOT the originating city of the seller - and probably shows that it was picked up at the same time too. But don't plenty of people use drop shipping or sell from various warehouses? Again, it seems like there must be another link because this might be a 'nail in the coffin' but not enough to awaken the automated Amazon monster.
3) I use a program I designed that downloads the person's order into my database, sends them a message with the estimated delivery based on their location, shipping etc... this program is client side so Amazon sees nothing other than the fact that the orders are processed really f*cking fast. It saves the order page as a text file and interprets the orders, then fills form data using the URL to send them all messages, then downloads their shipping labels through Amazon (obviously the return address is the same as stealth billing address - but on my client machine the program actually overwrites the address to my actual address before it prints it). Each message is unique as it includes different names (buyer and seller), different shipping speeds, different shipping estimates etc but is probably still 80% similar due to the template nature.
4) If there is a way to determine that they are all in virtual machines (I have searched extensively for this and on Firefox, there do not seem to be ANY leaks that would allow this exploit that I am aware of since it would be a security concern and malware could keep itself from activating to prevent companies from finding it easier - firefox prevents this type of check).
5) Inventory is ALL textbooks (I have like $20k of inventory because I've found a lot of original sources, buy in bulk etc - tons of different inventory and I get new inventory in addition to the old whenever I create a new account). The textbooks themselves could be linked to previous accounts since SOME items are similar, but the 3rd account (the one I'm so surprised was linked) is actually selling ALL new items. So there was some other link. I made a bunch of money in sales one summer (sold alarms door to door... no lie) made like $40k and got my online business really going after that so I have plenty of inventory and lots of variance among the items (although they're all the same category).
What am I missing here? I'm still getting half of my accounts caught when I create them, and NONE of them are getting traced to my old suspended accounts - just some active accounts get linked together for no obvious reason. Not a huge deal since the money isn't held (not suspended, just 'warning'), but still annoying as hell and takes a bit of time and money to set up each account.
Feel free to scold me if anything I said was just totally off - I'm going off personal experience and my knowledge of computers and the internet. If you guys know that one of my assumptions is wrong for some reason, I'm definitely more than willing to learn
Now, I could, lol I could literally go one by one and test each thing over the course of the next year (since they never catch them immediately). I could create a new account with Windows XP, new fonts, internet explorer, a new VPN, not use any of my programming, make it from my original city, get a cricket (AT&T) phone so they see major carrier, and then see if I still have issues (meaning it's either VPN somehow or Virtual Machine). But I'd rather see if you guys full of wisdom have any thoughts for someone who has read almost every post here and has never actually posted... until now -__-
Thanks guys, sorry for the long post, I just didn't want to have someone say "well did you change the billing address"?
4 Years Stealth - 6 Figures Annually - Still Getting Linked 
Re: 4 Years Stealth - 6 Figures Annually - Still Getting Linked 
