Buyer behaviour impact from the password change?

[ricarmic]

I wonder what effect it will have on buyers behaviour?

By this I mean will folks avoid using eBay for a while because of their concerns about eBay's overall security, regardless of how small an impact it likely had? (Kind of a Target breach scenario down in the US?)

[pierrelebel]

"I wonder what effect it will have on buyers behaviour?"

I suspect a slowdown, more so with older users (my customers).  And it will not be short lived.

The fact the breach took place in February/March and eBay only advised members in late May does not instill confidence.

[rose-dee]

I was thinking precisely the same thing yesterday. 

Mind you, it seems just about every major internet site has its breach/hacking problems these days, despite all the so-called firewalls.  Pierre is probably right that younger people are more apt to shrug it off, having been plugged into this technology since birth.

[bb_cool_stuff]

I just shake my head gang.

I equate this to A Tornado Touching Down, Destroying Half A Town & Then Have EMS Request We Retreat To Our Basements As A Tornado Is Approaching.

The information is probably already in the hands of unscrupulous individuals, but what can we do.

I cannot live my life on " What Ifs ? "

Of course I'm not saying anyone else is.

[vintagenorth]

I did change my password but still not sure if it was needed. What can a hacker find, just allows them access to my ebay listings and my email and shipping address. They can get that info pretty easily without hacking into my account. Just buy an item from me, you have the info. Even if they got to my Paypal acct. it wouldn't help them much. All that would give them is the little bit of money I keep there for fees, etc. and never any money for more than a few hours in the bank acct. I send my profits to. Well, better to be safe than sorry I guess. I sure hope that buyers don't get in a panic about this. It happened 2 months ago, by now its really too late to do anything about it.

[bcwet]

Three people in my circle told me they closed there accounts. I think the long wait to disclose the problem left buyers perceiving ebay didn't care and with so many other places to shop online now I guess that they didn't think it was worth the risk. Ebay said they didn't get financial information but as sellers we have credit cards on ebay in our account info so im not entirely sure they are being honest with us? I read this morning that over 280 million accounts were breached, sounds like the way it was done was similar to how they hacked into the target stores system.

I am really disappointed in ebay, I feel let down. EBAY THIS IS A HUGE  DEFECT!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

There is way too much conspiracy at eBay which is nothing new and not surprising.  In fact we had to learn about it on CNN or other TV stations before eBay informed us to change our passwords, that show how uncaring eBay is with us which is a tragedy.

Why they took so long since February is beyond me and that shows how incomptent they are which is nothing new as usual that including way too many so-called glitches.

I suspected that it is one of their "fired" staff from eBay that caused as they do know how to access to eBay. 

eBay needs to wise up and put out more $$$ to have better security, no more "saving $$ or to cut expenses" for that purpose anymore.

It doesn't pay to do it just to save a few bucks like eBay always do.

In fact, I felt that they owe us 3-4 months of free listings!!!

[cumos55]

Hackers are getting better with each passing day.

Buyers as well as sellers understand that hacking is a reality, and we cannot hide from such a reality.

We are all being watched... we are all being probed....  many are looking  for those weak points that can be exploited

Some people will hide, while others will move to the next level of security.

Think about the following.

How many times  has a government said... "We were hacked"... National security.

Then... How many times have companies indicated there was a problem?   and the companies that are not involved with monetary matters...

What each person who uses the internet must do is ... Be vigilant and do the basics....

Constantly changing passwords....  Anti-virus security.....

We cannot hide from hackers... but we can be prepared.

[sweet.things.4u]

Pierre you are right. My husband who is an avid ebay purchaser for his hobby material and my son (25) who is a computer net worker had a complete different reaction to this last nignt. My son simply changed his password and went on to purchasing something he needed. My husband on the other hand was on another site looking for his item. I questioned both and son said..."Mom happens alot these days, don't panic"....my husbands said " Want to know more before I continue on Ebay site"  Sigh have a feeling this is not going to go away so quickly with the older folks. : (

[i*m-still-here]

The vast majority of eBayers won't even notice.

[pierrelebel]

"majority of eBayers won't even notice"

???

"Though the effects of this breach may be superficial, eBay is choosing a conservative tact, forcing all members to update their current password. In the coming days, eBay will be sending emails to all users; once received, your account will be frozen until the password is updated. It is important to note that while your account is frozen, all snipe bids connected to that eBay account WILL NOT be placed.

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y14/m05/i22/s01

Risk of Identity Theft

Experts are advising eBay users to be extremely wary of emails appearing to come from the company but actually originating from fraudsters, known as phishing emails. eBay compounds this problem by how it has historically communicated with users. For example, regular emails eBay sends to the author contains a message at the top, "eBay sent this message to Ina Steiner (user name). Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay."

Now that cyber criminals have accessed eBay's database that contained their names and email addresses, it will be easier to trick users into thinking the emails are genuine and containing links to spoof websites that ask them to log in, thus capturing their passwords.

[i*m-still-here]

Changing passwords is something that is recommended on an ongoing basis.

Most won't take note of it as anything too much out of the ordinary and concern will be for a fleeting moment which will pass quickly.

It will be viewed as a small nuisance to contend with before they keep on eBaying as usual.

In other words: The average eBayer will do what is necessary to keep on eBaying and forget about it as quick as a click.

[cumos55]

Phishing emails with my name showed up many months ago...over a year ago

That is when I started to respond to questions,and  did NOT place my name at the end of the answer..  I used to do this

Now it is eBay ID... only....  and the sender of the email  can go phishing....elsewhere.

All one needs is your full name  and much can be found after a comprehensive search on the internet...

How many people use social networks... and how many times  does your name show up there... Facebook and more...

If one is not careful one can be found most anywhere on the internet.... Hacker not needed.

The saying for people who live in Manitoba......You are one person away from knowing everyone who lives in Manitoba.

What is our internet relationship?  The internet  has made our world very small... Social networking....and more 

An example of today's reality ---

Russian propaganda in relation to the situation in  Ukraine, and  provided by the government of Russia, is being spread through social networking....  

[pierrelebel]

I took a quick look at my traffic report.

Since the hacking problem was reported two days ago, the traffic in my store is down substantially. And yes, the majority of my customers are "mature" (I would guess their average age at 60 and over).

The number of hits on listings is down

The number of visitors (in the store for 30 minutes without leaving) is down

The number of viewers of my store homepage is down.

Sales are ... oh well, there is always hope for next week.

[i*m-still-here]

Just because two events occur around the same time there is no valid reason to conclude that there is a causal relationship.

[raanana]

"An example of today's reality ---

Russian propaganda in relation to the situation in  Ukraine, and  provided by the government of Russia, is being spread through social networking."

Not really related to topic,as well as not a good example.What we have in our  media is  not Russian propaganda,but  Anti-Russian propaganda .

You may get  information only from one side  this is why you have such example.

 Myinformation is based not just on news from both sides,but also on conversation with friend and realtives all over Ukraine.let me assure you that a lot of what you read or listen  hers is not true(to say polite).

Anyway this is not related to password change on ebay and lets stick to ebay behavior on last issue instead of digging into politics.

[cumos55]

We are talking about internet safety of personal information.

Each of us has our name on the internet somewhere.... However, there is no link to our eBay account....

and not  Paypal,  and then not personal banking.

What our eBay password does is take us to our eBay account.... which is linked to Paypal, which is linked to our personal account  which is linked to credit card account..

There is a possibility of a problem on eBay... we change our passwords.

but... what most people do not realize is that there is a lot going on on the internet.....behind the scenes.....What are those hidden realities doing.

We hear about the Chinese government searching for information... confidential information.... 

There is a lot of information on the internet.... some correct... some misinformation..

Who are we to believe.... Is there a real problem with personal data... or is it possible with one click to be able access everything available on the internet.... and nothing is hidden.

Did those non-eBay sources tell us there was a problem... and why so long after the problem was first discovered... Who told them... or was it there just to scare someone.... to scare us  not to buy off eBay....

[petitecroissant550]

Internet attacks, stolen information etc  from using the web are no different than talking a walk out on the sidewalk - there's always a chance of danger. Your information was never private, and never will be. Privacy is a bubble-idea that is artificial.

[femmefan1946]

I'd be interested in knowing the ages of those who think it will be a problem in terms of buyer confidence and those who don't .

I know pierre thinks it will be a problem with his customers,who like him are over 60.

Brandeentertainment- you're 30-something(?) and you have a younger customer base, what's your opinion?

For the record, I'm 67, but I don't think most people will think twice about it.

BTW, is this a different hack than the 'heartbeat' one that allowed me to pay my income tax late? That was a bonus for me!

[petitecroissant550]

The Heartbleed exploit was due to the Heartbeat function in Open SSL. This eBay exploit could be for any number of reasons, but would have nothing to do with heartbleed.

Whether or not it affects buyer confidence has nothing to do with age, but rather self confidence and knowledge of the computer world. And while that age may correlate (younger generation is born into the PC world), it would be unfair to say that older people are less confident in online usage when many are very good at adapting to technology.