Pierluigi Paganini November 11, 2015

The increasing phenomenon of triangulation fraud on eBay has led to a published analysis on behalf of the company, as to how buyers should get informed and what they should pay attention to.

Over the past few months, a new phenomenon has risen and its proportions have been growing exponentially. It seems that, even if you have ordered something on eBay from a legitimate seller, you can never be sure of having avoided fraud altogether. To be more specific, with the help of the triangulation fraud, somebody might be taking advantage of you and your desire to purchase something via this platform.

If you are not familiar with the exact process that takes place in the triangulation fraud, think of it like that:

• You, as a carefree customer, order something and pay for it to be shipped to you
• The seller uses stolen credit card data, in order to purchase what you have been searching for in the first place
• He sends it to you, after having bought it from a legitimate e-Commerce site
• You are happy, since you’ve got what you have ordered
• The e-Commerce site is happy, because they have sold their goods
• The seller is happy, as they have scammed everyone
• The only one who’s left unhappy is the person, whose credit card data has been stolen

So, you get the picture! This is why most of the times there is no dispute filed as to any parties that are left discontent – in fact, they aren’t!

Elaborating more on that, eBay has published an analysis on triangulation fraud and the extent that it can take.  Indeed, there may be more than a few scammers. In other words, the seller might employ someone to do all the hard work for them and ship the goods, so as not to raise any suspicions.

According to Ebay, the seller is normally an individual engaged in a “work at home” job, in some cases he doesn’t realize he is involved in a fraud scheme, and some do have a respectable selling history.

“Postings for seller positions are easily found on the web, and typically advertise the seller keeps a significant percentage of the sale − typically 30%.” states the analysis.

According to Ryan Moore, senior manager of global corporate affairs for eBay, working together is the key preventing such a mess.

“We believe collaboration and cooperation is the best way to combat fraud and organized retail crime of this nature, working in partnership with retailers and law enforcement”, he has stated. As he has added, this type of online crime “relies heavily on the tools that merchants use themselves, which includes understanding their customers and implementing the correct credit card authorization protocols”. explained Moore.

It is important to highlight just how crucial it can be for potential buyers to evaluate the offers on eBay and other platforms, prior to completing their order. If something sounds too good to be true moneywise, then it most probably is!

Author Bio:
Ali Qamar is an Internet security research enthusiast who enjoys “deep” research to dig out modern discoveries in the security industry. He is the founder and chief editor at Security Gladiators, an ultimate source for cyber security. To be frank and honest, Ali started working online as a freelancer and still shares the knowledge for a living. He is passionate about sharing the knowledge with people, and always try to give only the best. Follow Ali on Twitter @AliQammar57

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – Fraud, ebay)