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Does eBay care about online crime?

By , About.com Guide

Question: Does eBay care about online crime?
With any marketplace as large as eBay, there are bound to be unsatisfied buyers and sellers—and yes—even a few instances of fraud or other types of crime or illegal behavior. In the case of eBay, however, these sins are sometimes seen as less forgivable, and every now and then from one quarter or another you'll hear the assertion that “eBay doesn't care about online crime” or that “eBay doesn't care about fraud.” Are such assertions true or false? Does eBay care about online crime?
Answer: The answer, in fact, is yes—eBay has a strong interest in protecting its brand and in protecting the notion that eBay is a safe forum in which to buy and sell. To fail to demonstrate active concern would be to put themselves effectively out of business. After all, eBay relies on buying and selling activity for its income. Should the public lose confidence, this buying and selling activity would disappear in favor of other e-commerce venues. So what is eBay doing about online crime, especially on its own website?

Consumer Education

Both the eBay and PayPal websites offer extensive consumer education areas to promote safe online buying practices and to help consumers to protect themselves. These website areas should be considered required reading for all online shoppers, whether shopping exclusively at eBay using PayPal or shopping elsewhere around the web as well.

Buyer and Seller Protection Policies

eBay and PayPal also offer strong buyer protection policies to ensure that buyers and sellers are covered in cases of fraud or other types of nefarious activity. Unfortunately, many traders are unaware of these programs and therefore fail to take advantage of them in rare cases in which a problem or criminal activity occurs. If you're a regular eBay or PayPal buyer and/or seller, take the time to read through the details of these programs and the criteria that you must meet in order to be eligible for various forms of protection—tiny differences in your online trading practices can mean the difference between suffering a serious loss and being fully covered by eBay and/or PayPal.

Law Enforcement Cooperation and Alliances

In addition to the information and protection programs offered directly to buyers and sellers above, eBay also makes every attempt to streamline cooperation with law enforcement and investigation agencies in order to help take a bite out of online crime and civil violations of various kinds. Both eBay and PayPal employ teams that maintain relationships with law enforcement agencies.

Whether you're affiliated with law enforcement agency or merely buy and sell regularly on eBay, it can pay to understand more about the ways in which eBay cooperates with law enforcement and the steps necessary for getting eBay to do so.

Don't Be Passive

If you feel as though you've been the victim of an online scam, online fraud, or other form of online crime, don't passively complain about the “danger” of eBay as a trading environment, and don't simply write to the eBay (or PayPal) customer service agents, who are there to help you to trade on eBay.

Instead, use the links above to make your case to the teams at eBay, PayPal, and other organizations who deal with these sorts of issues on a daily basis. Also remember to contact your local law enforcement agency immediately if you believe that a crime has occurred—and don't hesitate to send them directly to eBay's Law Enforcement Center and to work proactively to bring them up to speed if they seem unclear on how to go about fighting cybercrime.

After all, even an online community is stronger with active, engaged citizens who know their rights and are vigilant in fighting crime.

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