Now e-Bay wants my SSN and bank account info . . .???

[drj52]

Check with EBay. The last four SSN digits are often used to verify identity for access to personal accounts. I would not give those out. Sounds bogus!

As already discussed extensively in this thread, it’s not bogus.

[pjd]

Ebay has in effect become a financial institution. They have shown PayPal the door. And they now collect funds from sales directly, then remove all fees and finally distribute proceeds to the sellers.

If I recall correctly, Carl Icahn got shareholders to push eBay into selling off Paypal - maybe against the wishes of eBay management at the time. He later on sold off his shares. I expect eBay has been struggling to make up the lost revenue from Paypal ever since.

https://www.americanbanker.com/payme...umps-his-stake

I'm not defending eBay, just pointing out some details. I sold about 10 things on eBay and gave up as a seller once I found how big a cut they took - and that was about 15 years ago.

[Two23]

I find that more and more I'm buying/selling on camera websites such as this one.


Kent in SD

[Drew Bedo]

Thanks everyone.

Not an e-mail or text. This presented as a message from e-Bay itself. Looked complertly legit visually. The only red flag for me was when they asked for my partial SSN and bank info.

Like many here, I feel more comfortable using PayPal even with its faults.

[uphereinmytree]

I received a similar e-mail from ebay. I had to register for ebay managed payments or be excluded from selling.
Worst part is that ebay holds my money longer than paypal and makes money on it while they do. Best part is there are no more paypal fees.
Final value fees on camera gear have gone up so I'm not really saving on paypal fees.

[Paul Ron]

Notify flea bay concerning the message... it sounds like someone is phishing for info.

[Jody_S]

People who browse fleabay for intersting lenses and such may note that the total volume of items for sale is down by perhaps 90%. They have systematically driven out most small sellers. People will only put up with so much bullshit to sell a handful of collectible items, and that was their primary clientele before they decided to be cheaper Amazon for crap from China.

Never give eBay your primary bank account. They favor the buyer in 99.9% of all claims regardless of the facts, even for known scams. The only dispute I ever won was when a buyer opened simultaneous 'item not received' and 'item not as described' claims (with photographic evidence). And if I hadn't spent 45m on the phone with them, I would have lost that one too.

[HMG]

I've been getting the same message, too.
I plan on ending all open sales on May 31.
It won't stop me from buying off eBay, just not going to sell there any more.

I did not sign up for their new plan (and don't intend to) but did had an item that had been listed for a while. It sold and proceeds went to paypal. So you don't need to end your open listings - unless of course you want to.

eBay has become the venue for commercial sellers. Overall, we "private sellers" are just a holdover from the past.

[jp]

Aside from one incident in 2014 that did not involve any financial/credit card info, I’m not aware of any other hacks. When did these alleged breaking happen?

BTW, suggesting that people give fake identification is an incredibly bad idea.

You appear correct that their breakins... I think it's a big target though nonetheless and would not volunteer unnecessary personal information. Many businesses that ask for SSN's are also fine with another unique ID if a customer has a problem.

I'm not a criminal but don't mind using fake names and fake info for ease of mail sorting or to save a couple $... I used to not want to pay extra for unlisted phone numbers at work (and the risk of the phone book publishing wrong phone numbers for the business) so I had phone lines in the name of Henry David Thoreau and John Lennon. Saved me a ton of fees. It's since been made illegal, but I don't have traditional phone lines anymore anyways.

Ebay seems to have gone the way to aliexpress for the US market; light ecommerce for business sellers.

[drj52]

You appear correct that their breakins... I think it's a big target though nonetheless and would not volunteer unnecessary personal information. Many businesses that ask for SSN's are also fine with another unique ID if a customer has a problem.

I'm not a criminal but don't mind using fake names and fake info for ease of mail sorting or to save a couple $... I used to not want to pay extra for unlisted phone numbers at work (and the risk of the phone book publishing wrong phone numbers for the business) so I had phone lines in the name of Henry David Thoreau and John Lennon. Saved me a ton of fees. It's since been made illegal, but I don't have traditional phone lines anymore anyways.

Ebay seems to have gone the way to aliexpress for the US market; light ecommerce for business sellers.

I use throwaway email addresses for some things, but giving a fake SSN to an entity that will be providing it to the IRS? That probably breaks one or more Federal laws.