EBay Feedback Scam

How eBay feedback works

Feedback ratings are the backbone of trust on eBay. Every time you buy or sell, the other party can leave a comment and rate the experience as positive, neutral or negative. Over time, these ratings build into a public score that tells other users whether you are reliable.

A high feedback score with mostly positive comments makes buyers and sellers more willing to trade with you. A low score or a string of negatives does the opposite. This system works well most of the time, but some dishonest users have found ways to game it.

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Common ways feedback is manipulated

Fraudsters use several methods to build a false reputation before targeting victims with scams on higher value items.

• Self dealing across multiple accounts: A person creates several eBay accounts and uses them to buy and sell items to themselves. Each fake transaction generates positive feedback, making the accounts look trustworthy to genuine users. This can happen quickly and leaves little obvious trace unless eBay detects the pattern.
• Buying feedback cheaply: Some sellers offer low value items, sometimes under a pound, specifically so buyers can leave positive feedback. The transaction is real, but the purpose is to inflate ratings rather than exchange goods of any value. Variations include guides or ebooks claiming to teach users how to reach high feedback scores within days. eBay has taken steps against this, but listings still appear from time to time.
• Account hijacking: Rather than building a fake reputation from scratch, some fraudsters take over existing accounts that already have strong feedback. They may gain access through phishing emails or by guessing weak passwords. Once in control, they use the stolen reputation to sell items they have no intention of sending, or to scam sellers by claiming goods never arrived.

These tactics often target buyers and sellers of expensive goods, where the potential profit from a single scam is worth the effort of setting up the fraud.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Warning signs to watch for

A seller with hundreds of positive reviews might still be risky if most of those reviews came from tiny transactions. Check what items the feedback relates to. A long history of selling phone cases does not tell you much about whether the same account can be trusted to send a laptop.

Look at the dates as well. A sudden burst of feedback in a short period can suggest the rating was artificially inflated. Genuine trading histories tend to build gradually over months or years.

Be cautious if a seller asks you to complete the transaction outside eBay, perhaps by bank transfer or through a different platform. This removes the buyer protections eBay offers and makes recovery much harder if something goes wrong.

Accounts with very recent registration dates selling high value items should also raise questions. This does not always mean fraud, but it warrants extra caution.

What to do if you suspect a scam

If you believe you have encountered feedback manipulation or been the victim of a scam, report it to eBay through their resolution centre. They have systems in place to investigate suspicious activity and can suspend accounts where necessary.

You can also report the matter to Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. Their website allows you to file reports online, and they pass information to the relevant authorities.

If you paid through PayPal or a credit card, contact your payment provider as soon as possible. You may be able to recover your money through their dispute process or, for credit card payments over £100, through a Section 75 claim.

Keeping records of all messages, payment confirmations and listing details will help if you need to make a formal complaint or pursue a refund.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Scam Detector lets you got a text, call, email or offer that feels off? Paste it in below and we will tell you how scammy it looks, the warning signs to spot, and exactly what to do next. Try it now →