Tom1809 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Hi chaps, I am only posting this here in aid that maybe I can stop someone going through the same as I have. Early hours of Saturday I lost my motocross bike to some theiving scum bags, I had listed it on eBay earlier on the week to sell due to messing myself up on it. I had someone phone me off eBay as I had listed my mobile number on there, something which I will no longer ever do again as Its what caused this all to begins with. I received a PayPal deposit as I requested and gave my PayPal address by text again something I will never do again as it turned out to be a hacked account and no trace to a eBay member. Thirdly I gave out my post code, with my post code the scum was able to use a mapping software be it apples iOS maps or google maps to work out a way to my back garden across 3 fields and 2 ditches. Also be very wary with how you take pictures and what is showing in the back ground, it can give ideas to other things you have or the lay out of your property. I had plenty of security and there is only so much you can do but those three mistakes I made up above led to me losing my motocross bike, I hope others will be wary about how they list items on eBay for sale and giving a telephone number, or even there post code out. I was not the only one in my area to be hit and its not only related to bikes, I would apply it to all items. I just hope someone seeing this can avoid ending up in a similar situation Many thanks Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Sorry to hear that Tom and thanks for the warning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 What a bummer, sorry to hear that mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Smith Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Sorry to hear that, the things thes scum will do to steal something. I wonder if they realise it would actually be easier to just get a job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcock Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 How would a potential buyer contact you to arrange a viewing if you are unwilling to give out a phone number or address? Selling anything can be a hazard but not everyone is out to steal from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2hse Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Sorry to hear that, the things thes scum will do to steal something. I wonder if they realise it would actually be easier to just get a job! Unfortunately, they have a job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom1809 Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 How would a potential buyer contact you to arrange a viewing if you are unwilling to give out a phone number or address? Selling anything can be a hazard but not everyone is out to steal from you. Rather simple if I'm honest, a genuine eBay member will contact you through eBay if they want to get in contact. I can see why people want to put there phone number on a add cause you can open up to a wider audience as in those who don't use eBay, it why it done it, it leaves you completely open to thieves tho. To register with eBay you have to give some sort of phone number, address and the same goes for PayPal. Ok you can have the sceneraio of hacked account etc but the chances are slim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcock Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I agree that people can contact you through ebay but if your advertising for sale through another medium autotrader. gumtree etc. potential buyers will need contact details or you have no chance of selling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=jon= Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Also be very wary with how you take pictures and what is showing in the back ground, it can give ideas to other things you have or the lay out of your property. Also be very careful when taking pics with a phone - most phones nowadays can embed the location the picture was taken in the picture itself (sometimes by default, sometimes via enabling it) - if you use these on ebay anyone can see pretty much exactly where the item for sale is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 The position, time and a load of other info inc the make model and serial number of the camera are stored in what is known as EXIF data within the photo. It's how the police caught someone who took a photo of the cover of one of the Harry Potter books prior to launch. Tracked them down by who had bought that camera. Although it is a bit Big Brother-ish - it can be useful! I looked at the data for some photographs showing how effective some lights were - only to discover the exposure was longer on the ones showing the lights compared to the others! I didn't buy them and made my own instead! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoltan Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 How can you edit the EXIF data to remove the location information? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 How can you edit the EXIF data to remove the location information? If you are a windows user right click on the image file and select properties, then click the details tab. You can now see the exif data, press the 'remove properties and personal information' button and should all be gone .... well in Vista anyway, I didn't check any other version. For more advanced stuff have a read of http://www.labnol.or...-editors/14210/ ( I haven't used these ones but can't remember which ones I did use..... I'm getting old ) As an aside some jpegs also contain a thumbnail version of the picture, this doesn't always get updated when you edit a picture so sometimes you can see a small version of the unedited picture if you use the right software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Best way to avoid location tagging is just to always turn off GPS on your phone. It's good for your battery life too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 sorry to hear that indeed, thanks for the heads up, definately something to think about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UdderlyOffroad Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Sorry to hear about your loss. Surely though the Police have quite a bit to go on if you can get them interested. They should be, especially as he's a prolific offender in your area. Speak to your local beat officer if you can get no joy from the 'official response. (S)He should be keen to deal with something like this as it'll make him look good to his superiors! As for ebay - I use a 'throwaway' mobile number (PAYG sim in an old phone) and list that - stops me being bothered by questions from timewasters and genuine buyers whilst at work. As for piccies, well I guess with vehicles often one doesn't have a choice. Pictures taken, say, in a lay-by somewhere would make me suspicious of a listing. I tend to list 'collection only from XXXX' where XXXX is the first part of my post-code. This is a compromise between the seller knowing how far he has to come / getting a shipping quote for, and giving out my full address. Winning bidder receives this info via ebay correspondence. As for the EXIF data, perhaps someone more in the know can answer this, but surely the ebay photo uploading process will strip out that data? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 ...... As for the EXIF data, perhaps someone more in the know can answer this, but surely the ebay photo uploading process will strip out that data? I just had a quick look and it does seem to, however that assumes you are storing your photos with ebay. There are other ways of hosting your photos for ebay auctions as well as the fact these precautions would also be sensible if selling through forums etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeback Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 I have had the problem of not wanting to give my address out because I don't want anyone to know the location of my defender when selling landy parts, I just gave them the address of the local shops and then said the house is hard to find so I will meet you and show you the way to my house. It's not 100 % but you get an idea of someone before showing them your location . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeback Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 I have had the problem of not wanting to give my address out because I don't want anyone to know the location of my defender when selling landy parts, I just gave them the address of the local shops and then said the house is hard to find so I will meet you and show you the way to my house. It's not 100 % but you get an idea of someone before showing them your location . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 One of my work colleagues always used to get his any motorbike spares that he ordered from breakers delivered to his work address for a similar reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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