I go to BIN Ebay and it says Attention Buyer......

coinsarefun

What does this mean? Has anyone seen or done this before?
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bolivarshagnasty

Not seen this before.

coinpalice

do you have more then one account?

coinsarefun

@coinpalice said:
do you have more then one account.

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No, I do not have another account and been on eBay since 1999.
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I was trying to purchase a rather good price on some gold. And at first it wasn’t letting me buy from the iPad app.
Then I went to the desktop and that page showed up.

DCW

Weird. I've never seen that before.
As an aside to your story, I tried to join instagram the other day, and they immediately sent a notice that my account was deactivated (before I was given an account) for "violating their terms." I sent a message explaining I dont even have an account yet, and they said if I wanted to proceed I had to:
1. Write the code they gave me on a white sheet of paper.
2. Take a selfie holding the paper up next to my face
3. Send them back the picture of me holding the code and wait for further instructions.
Why would I do that nonsense? Strange

Hemispherical

Snipping?

Edit: Using a bidding program or some such?

coinsarefun

@DCW said:
Weird. I've never seen that before.
As an aside to your story, I tried to join instagram the other day, and they immediately sent a notice that my account was deactivated (before I was given an account) for "violating their terms." I sent a message explaining I dont even have an account yet, and they said if I wanted to proceed I had to:
1. Write the code they gave me on a white sheet of paper.
2. Take a selfie holding the paper up next to my face
3. Send them back the picture of me holding the code and wait for further instructions.
Why would I do that nonsense? Strange

WTH???? Things are getting bizarre

coinsarefun

@Hemispherical said:
Snipping?

Nope, no sniping. Just cruising as I usually do and found a very good buy on gold.
When i first tried to buy it and had problems I though maybe their account was hacked.

Hemispherical

@coinsarefun said:

@Hemispherical said:
Snipping?

Nope, no sniping. Just cruising as I usually do and found a very good buy on gold.
When i first tried to buy it and had problems I though maybe their account was hacked.

It’s automated ID check. Something you did or didn’t do, that was out of the norm, flagged the system to verify ID. It’s flakey.

BillDugan1959

I also believe that I have seen that one before. I believe that I successfully completed that purchase on that occasion. It was an overseas purchase.

Still, eBay is doing some funky stuff recently, maybe attempted hacking. I talked with eBay concierge staffers, and they aren't as up-to-date with what's going on as one might like or might be more comfortable with.

oih82w8

That's a new one. I would be more than a little leery.

selling3

Had this a couple of times. Finally spoke to them and was told it's just another security check to avoid fraud. If you have a seldom used account and suddenly have spike in activity they check. I said thank you very much!

U1chicago

I've had it happen before. It seems to happen whenever I'm bidding or trying to buy something that is more pricey (last time it was a bid on a Platinum Eagle at around $1k-one that I didn't even end up having a high enough bid to outbid the prior bidder).

Place the call and you'll get the pin pretty quickly (if you don't do it, then you might be blocked from bidding until you complete their verification).

It appears that something in the eBay system thinks it's a good idea to protect us when bidding on more expensive items. It might be a decent idea to deal with accounts that are hacked, but it can really hurt when you're not expecting that screen and miss out on a bid or buy-it-now.

coinsarefun

Well, @U1chicago , you were right. I did it and got my gold. I’ve spent way more but
maybe because it’s,often now.......thanks for the help!

U1chicago

@coinsarefun said:
Well, @U1chicago , you were right. I did it and got my gold. I’ve spent way more but
maybe because it’s,often now.......thanks for the help!

Glad you were able to get the gold!

I don't think there is any attention paid to our prior purchase history. I'm almost certain it's something relatively new (last year or so) where someone at eBay thought this would help lower fraudulent purchases.

selling3

@BillDugan1959 said:

Still, eBay is doing some funky stuff recently, maybe attempted hacking. I talked with eBay concierge staffers, and they aren't as up-to-date with what's going on as one might like or might be more comfortable with.

Attempted hacking is constant. I have one account that came up in Spanish when I signed in, called and froze the account. Turned out an IP address in Puerto Rico was the problem--not mine

BillDugan1959

This last week, on the big scroll across the eBay home page, I have been prompted to supply my "new" e-mail address because eBay can't reach me.

Well, I do believe that I have had fewer e-mails from eBay compared to the recent past, but my e-mail address has been the same for very many years. So I ended up talking to eBay concierge and they got that message to stop for a while, but it has since returned. The eBay concierge person thought it was an attempted hack, but couldn't add more detail.

sparky64

A little late but I got that same message when I bout my first coin on eBay a few months ago.
I reluctantly followed the instructions and it went smoothly and I haven't gotten it again.

1Mike1

Woo hoo waiting for pics of that new gold.

coinsarefun

@1Mike1 said:
Woo hoo waiting for pics of that new gold.

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I was hoping someone would ask. Not your normal gold but from the 2014 ANA
I’m a big fan of John Landis work.
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davewesen

were you viewing eBay from a different ip than usual?

coinsarefun

@davewesen said:
were you viewing eBay from a different ip than usual?

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No, nothing was different.

amwldcoin

I had this happen to me several times in a week a few months ago. I thought it was strange also. I also thought it might be a seller's preference as they were from sellers I hadn't purchased from before.

My account is well used, same IP addy, computer etc.

zas107

I had several bids blocked last night by ebay from a seller that I have bought tens of thousands of dollars worth of items from. I was very very unhappy about it. It was too late by the time I got it resolved.

Jetstream

This has also happened to me. Once last month and again this past week.
The representative I spoke with told me that the “block” is removed for 30 days and if I purchase something costing over $1,000 after that I will experience the same hold requiring making a call to confirm my identity. I’ve been on eBay since 1998 and have purchased countless items over that threshold in the past. The most recent blocks were both for the same seller and both over $1,000.

ricko

I have not encountered that issue.... yet... and if I do, I will simply not make the purchase. I have had it with bureaucracy.....Am I grumpy today?? Yep... Cheers, RickO

BStrauss3

The "traditional" 2FA (Two Factor Authentication) used a token you physically had to have in your hand + a secret pin. That proved inconvenient and so versions of 2FA that use apps on your phone, SMS messages, phone calls, etc. have come about.

The 2FAs which are phone-based are better than nothing, but easy to compromise if the target is worth it. Even the Google authenticator and Microsoft & Apple's equivalent aren't great - if I can get into the phone, I can see those codes.

This is why you are seeing a lot of experimentation to find a robust 2FA that isn't a pain for the consumer to use (because anything causing you pain tends to be bypassed).

The recent spike in cell phone takeovers is occurring because of this. Once you control the cell phone, you can do password recovery on the email and then leverage that to own somebodies entire digital identity.

I had to do this recently (white hat) when my FIL passed. Controlling his former cell phone and email account I was able to get into everything - his entire digital identity - except for maybe 2 accounts. Those I couldn't get into had secret questions I just couldn't guess the answers to. I was able to get into email accounts that he hadn't used in a decade (I do wonder if the $5 Best Buy coupon is still good).

Coinstartled

Ebay was once a simple place to buy and sell coins. Didn't even need an image at first.

The rules, requirements, carrots and sticks are excessive and have become an obstacle rather than a benefit. Add to that the tangle of new taxes and Ebay will soon be a fond but turbulent memory.

doubledragon

Buying from Ebay can sometimes feel like.....

BillDugan1959

Companies that don't evolve soon die.

Unsuccessful sellers who absolutely refuse to change their product offerings wallow in despair and clutch at straws to excuse their failures.

dpoole

Hacking has become an international pastime, and increasingly sophisticated. I'm glad to see Ebay (presumably) taking some steps to guard against it.

It's a different world.

Namvet69

Somebody wrote a goofy algorithm and put it into play. How annoying. Peace Roy

Stork

I got that recently (in the last month). I assumed it was the seller who wanted 'extra protection' as it was a BIN on a bulk bullion coin. It would maybe reduce the likelihood the buyer was a scammer gearing up to buy bunch and making a claim later.