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Ebay Classifieds: One of the most popular buying and selling apps
Photo: Joko / IMAGO
Do you want to get rid of your old bike or donate your dusty record collection? Millions of people do such business through eBay classifieds. But the platform, where many deals are based on mutual trust, is also attractive for criminals. A popular scam is to take over existing accounts and then, with the good name of the actual account owner in the back, rip off other users. The fraudsters have products paid for in advance that they often do not even have and certainly not send.
At the start of the Advent season, Ebay classified ads are expressly warning of the dangers of an "account takeover". The company reports that the number of user inquiries about unwanted account takeovers has risen by 250 percent within a year. In the past few months, almost half of all customer service inquiries have revolved around this topic. The number of user accounts blocked due to takeovers has also risen by 200 percent within a year, according to Ebay classifieds. The company leaves open what that means in absolute numbers.
"Usually the actual account holder contact us when they notice that things are suddenly being offered via their user account that they have not set themselves," says Jöran Rieß from Ebay Classifieds.
A little later you will find out from other people who have transferred money and have waited in vain for the goods.
So often there are several victims per case of fraud.
Some users have easy-to-guess passwords
According to the assessment of Ebay classifieds, hackers with special IT skills are rarely behind account takeovers.
The perpetrators often get or buy lists of log-in data that fell into the wrong hands on large platforms, for example.
If there were such leaks, there are various ways of attacking an Ebay classifieds account: You can try out whether someone uses their log-in data for a social media service on this portal - which security experts strongly advise against.
If so, access is very easy.
Alternatively, the fraudsters may use data stolen from elsewhere to gain access to the e-mail account of a user who is also active on Ebay classifieds.
The user's password can then be reset using the mail account and the »forgotten password« function.
The attacker may even gain access to the user's addresses or even copies of ID cards via the e-mail and can use them for fraudulent purposes.
Against this background, Ebay classifieds appeals to its users to set a unique, strong password for each service (tips on this can be found here).
Ebay classifieds could do more too
Another common way to protect yourself against account takeovers would be classic two-factor authentication, which requires a confirmation of the login on the mobile device in addition to the password every time a user logs in.
Ebay classified ads has only rudimentarily offered such a feature: The company is using its recently introduced SMS verification against a different background.
At this point, the service itself should also urgently improve.
If you suspect that your account has been accessed by third parties, you can inform Ebay classifieds using an online form.
You can find a link here.
As a user of the platform, you should also beware of phishing attacks.
Time and again, fraudsters try to trick someone into entering their log-in data on simulated websites with fake messages via email, SMS or WhatsApp.
Read more about online shopping fraud here.
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