Savvy Ebay shoppers look at a seller’s satisfaction rating, but it takes more than a glance.

Auction criminals are using bots to boost these rankings. The scammers establish an array of fake accounts and buy and sell 1 or 2 cent “virtual” items, like wallpaper and ebooks, to each other.

Each bot praises the other bot.

Reader Phil always checks out a seller by reading the satisfaction posts. “If there are a lot posted on or around the same date, or if the satisfaction posts show the purchases were sold at a very low price (1 or 2 cent sales) then the seller is most likely a scammer,” he says.

Apparently, bots are easily pleased.

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