Is Fraud Inflating eBay’s Numbers?

Ebay Inc’s (NASDAQ:EBAY) listing numbers have demonstrated dramatic volatility during the ‘Vladuz’ security scare. Some Ebay users have suggested that the millions of fraudulent listings are significantly inflating Ebay’s listing numbers. In response, an Ebay spokesperson claims: “there just isn’t enough information there to tie the swings in listings that they show to any one cause”. They declined to comment as to the number of accounts that may have been compromised. It is also suggested that Medved’s calculations for Ebay’s total of listing numbers are overestimated too. As the Ebay spokesperson confirms, the Medved statistics used to quantify Ebay’s listing numbers “far exceed our real activity in this area”.

Are Ebay’s Listing Numbers Inflated by Fraud?