Caught Red Handed

[JHerald]

It looks like I've been attached to a previously restricted and suspended account. I received this email:

Hello *******,
It looks like your account ******** is associated with another account, ******, which is currently restricted on eBay. As a result, we've restricted the ****** account until you can resolve our concerns.

To resolve our concerns, please visit:
******************************

Be sure to log in with your ********. That will make it easier for us to help you out. We hope to hear from you soon.

To learn more about using multiple accounts, go to:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policie...-accounts.html

Thanks,

eBay


I can rule out the following causes:

IP address - no IP's were shared at all with the previous account.

Finance Information - no PayPal or other form of finance data was used that matches the previous account.

Cookies & Browser Data - I have fingerprint protection and all other browser data is cleared per session, so it cannot be that.

Contact Information - The name, address and email was recycled and a brand new identity was used on the new account so it cannot match it.


Anything else is a possibility apart from that. If I could get some causes from people who have experienced this, that'd be great.

Thanks.

[arktech]

have you tried asking ebay text chat please ?

[JHerald]

Originally Posted by arktech

have you tried asking ebay text chat please ?

They can only read what the computer tells them. I've been linked by similar selling behaviors and that's the only specific thing I've been told.

As their system placed it, the agent can't remove or appeal it until the other account is resolved, which also can't be done because its a permanent suspension

I've had 'similar' selling behaviors on about 12 accounts in 365 days and never once been linked. Oh how random eBay can be with their detection.

[Bunneh]

do you have any flash related programs on your computer?

[JHerald]

Originally Posted by Bunneh

do you have any flash related programs on your computer?

Not necessarily. Especially not anything that would be communicate with or send traffic to eBay.

It's odd how I've been selling since April 16 and had numerous accounts with a similar selling behavior but this one seems to have been caught at random. It would make sense if it was a human review but the agent said it was a system ban and can't be removed unless the other account is resolved which they know full well it can't be because it's permanently banned lol

[Ebayorbust]

Cookies & Browser Data - I have fingerprint protection and all other browser data is cleared per session, so it cannot be that.

Do you use user accounts or portable browsers?

Why are you clearing cookies / browser history?

What about emails? How do you access them?

Out of interest, you are currently showing that you are accessing this site on a Romanian IP. Are you using some type of VPN?

[JHerald]

Originally Posted by Ebayorbust

Do you use user accounts or portable browsers?

Why are you clearing cookies / browser history?

What about emails? How do you access them?

Out of interest, you are currently showing that you are accessing this site on a Romanian IP. Are you using some type of VPN?

1. I clear them each time I close my browser. It might increase the risk of losing an account but it's a practice I've taken up habitually.

2. I access emails in a private browsing session and I keep a track of which email belongs with each IP and never use the same email twice on accounts.

3. I use a VPN for everything except stuff like personal banking, card transactions etc. because I did not consent to the government saving my browsing records and data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 and believe in Internet anonymity for all. Can I ask how you are able to see our IPs?

As of writing another account that I no longer use (that wasn't suspended) is now suspended and linked to exact same account.

I think eBay are running a sweep on me to ban all of my accounts. I use a similar listing title, similar item description style and similar photo on all accounts. This is the only cause I can think of but it's never happened before and I've used similar traits of listings. I do not use the same photo with EXIF attached - when I say "similar" I mean wording and style wise, not actual replications.

[Ebayorbust]

Are you accessing all your accounts from the same browser and on the same user account?

The IP location is visible when viewing online members.

[JHerald]

Originally Posted by Ebayorbust

Are you accessing all your accounts from the same browser and on the same user account?

The IP location is visible when viewing online members.

I do indeed. I recently updated my practices through employing the canvas defender which the other thread entails.

I now am building up a picture of how this has come about.

1. All of my accounts, no matter what, start off with around 10 items as a seller allowance upon creation.

2. I have a previously restricted but not suspended (until now, I just checked) that I used to do the "Link an Established account to increase allowances" which, to my avail, worked since December without the new accounts being restricted too once the PIN to increase allowances was done.

3. I just logged into the account that was the reason for my latest account being banned and it turns out they've also restricted this already-suspended account for being linked to the established account that I used to increase the allowances with on all the other accounts.

It's a like a chain. It starts with my original eBay account that I have been using to kick start all new accounts and then all accounts increased have now been traced after months of use and linked + banned.

I also received this email on the account that caused the link for my current one:

"Verification of new account with eBay - credit card on file"

Twice. Received on 24th July which was 6 days before the system chained all the accounts together.

[JHerald]

The only one that had my real name and address on it was the first one which I used to increase allowances on all the rest.

Luckily I changed the name, address and email of it in August last year, so I am hoping that by now they've forgotten the original identity of the account (my home address etc.) and will only use the ⊗⊗⊗⊗ details added almost a year ago if they chase any debts from the other accounts that also use ⊗⊗⊗⊗ details. I know that invoices on the account date back 18 months ago but I doubt eBay can legally come to my address from an old invoice as it isn't set as my present one.

[Ebayorbust]

Well if you used the same established eBay account to raise limit on loads on new accounts then the whole lot would be linked.

It's unlikely they'll come after you for the debts on the stealth accounts due the link. Very unlikely but not impossible if the amounts are significant enough.

Btw, your use of canvas defender is a waste of time based on how you are using it.

If you use separate Windows user accounts, you set one unique canvas on each browser before you set up the eBay account and leave it alone. Constantly changing the canvas fingerprint along with deleting cookies is not a good idea at all.

[JHerald]

Originally Posted by Ebayorbust

Well if you used the same established eBay account to raise limit on loads on new accounts then the whole lot would be linked.

It's unlikely they'll come after you for the debts on the stealth accounts due the link. Very unlikely but not impossible if the amounts are significant enough.

Btw, your use of canvas defender is a waste of time based on how you are using it.

If you use separate Windows user accounts, you set one unique canvas on each browser before you set up the eBay account and leave it alone. Constantly changing the canvas fingerprint along with deleting cookies is not a good idea at all.

One debt is around £170.00 - that's a stealth - never had my real information but has been linked to the established account which used to have my real info (until I changed all the registration details early last year).

As far as I know, unless they retain all changes on an internal list, my real name and address is only on old invoices which is only a couple, the rest of the invoices use anonymous details on them.

I admit I'm going to have to change my approach. I now know it's definitely the seller allowance link that has caused it, since all the accounts related to it have gone down consecutively and it's the only linking factor.

I don't care about the account loss, I am used to it, but I am concerned about whether they'll retain all the invoices on my established account for more than 18 months and use my real name and address from an old invoice to match up the debt and send collectors after me. It's worth noting that the established account that used to have my real info has NO debt, it's paid up and hasn't been used for almost a year now.

It probably won't happen as their computer isn't smart enough to pull info from old invoices - I assume debt collectors are only passed the name and address on your current registration details.

[Ebayorbust]

Debt collection agencies will have access to the credit bureaus. It doesn't take genius to work out the valid addresses from the bogus ones.

Like I said it is unlikely to happen. Chances are a few letters will get fired to the stealth addresses and then it will be dropped when they get no response.

[arktech]

Originally Posted by JHerald

It probably won't happen as their computer isn't smart enough to pull info from old invoices - I assume debt collectors are only passed the name and address on your current registration details.

Hmm do not underestimate the initiative of debt collectors and eBay Paypal.

which unsmart computer did they use to suspend your accounts ?

[JHerald]

Originally Posted by Ebayorbust

Debt collection agencies will have access to the credit bureaus. It doesn't take genius to work out the valid addresses from the bogus ones.

Like I said it is unlikely to happen. Chances are a few letters will get fired to the stealth addresses and then it will be dropped when they get no response.

If anything, eBay will only be concerned about the invoice relating to the debt itself - which is on the account that is fully stealth and never had my info.

Apart from that, I can't see the collection process being manual. It must be a computer which sends it off after a certain amount of time trying to make the use pay through eBay's system.

As long as no further action is taken from eBay regarding these accounts, which I doubt so, then it's all good. I only need to revise my stealth practices from now on as it's getting to the point where I'm using a new account each month - which is mounts up when they become all linked together and I become profiled and prolific to eBay

[JHerald]

Originally Posted by arktech

Hmm do not underestimate the initiative of debt collectors and eBay Paypal.

which unsmart computer did they use to suspend your accounts ?

It didn't take a genius to see that all those accounts routed from the same established eBay account. Now I can see the cause, it sounds simple, but unsure of how they've taken all this time to do it.

I don't underestimate them but my real info on the established account is buried in old invoices - plus the debt collectors only act on what eBay give them, so I can't see my real info being dug up unless there was a full review into my established account that investigated all the invoices and past records.

[sibnuts]

It could possibly selling similar items, same listing format, and same background in pictures.

[JHerald]

One of my accounts that didn't use the established account has now also been restricted and linked but not suspended. It's the only one out of all of them that isn't suspended.

This means that something else has triggered it. I can't think of what, but it's a complex data trail and I am surprised their system has managed to link every account I own.

[James Brown]

Originally Posted by JHerald

The only one that had my real name and address on it was the first one which I used to increase allowances on all the rest.

Luckily I changed the name, address and email of it in August last year, so I am hoping that by now they've forgotten the original identity of the account (my home address etc.) and will only use the ⊗⊗⊗⊗ details added almost a year ago if they chase any debts from the other accounts that also use ⊗⊗⊗⊗ details. I know that invoices on the account date back 18 months ago but I doubt eBay can legally come to my address from an old invoice as it isn't set as my present one.

From this it seems pretty obvious how they linked all the accounts Lol. Why on earth did you use the same account to increase allowances on all the others. I'm amazed you got away with it for so long to be honest.

[JHerald]

Originally Posted by James Brown

From this it seems pretty obvious how they linked all the accounts Lol. Why on earth did you use the same account to increase allowances on all the others. I'm amazed you got away with it for so long to be honest.

You are correct, but there is one account that wasn't increased with it and was still linked to one of the stealth accounts. I reckon it is a combination of the established account linking and other analytical data.

You hit the nail right on the head. I originally did the established link as a disposable test, since the established account was selling restricted forever regardless, but when it worked with no comeback I did it for real on all my newer stealth accounts to boost straight to 30 items / £1000 allowance.

This is the first (and the last) time I am being bent over by eBay UK and banned on over 4 accounts at once. I've learned my lesson and have adapted my practices to avoid linking of such nature and severity. I was hit hard.

[arktech]

Have you contacted eBay about this please ?

[JHerald]

Originally Posted by arktech

Have you contacted eBay about this please ?

I have contacted them numerous times for each account I've had linked but their Trust and Safety team have informed me that it was their automated system which placed the suspension and is therefore permanent.

They also said that there is sufficient evidence to link the accounts together and due to this, no second review will be taking place.