With Ebay Classifieds, users are no longer just placing ads about products. Tutoring or a pet sitter can also be found via our online classifieds portal. But how do users know the ad is serious – and whether the applicant is really serious about the job offer? Ebay Classifieds offers SMS Verification for protection. Therefore it is necessary to provide a valid phone number.
Eligible phone number in five categories
Currently, users voluntarily provide a phone number to verify their account. However, in the coming weeks, information should be mandatory to place an ad or make a connection into five initially defined categories. These include “babysitting and childcare,” “small and part-time jobs,” “animal care and training,” “teaching” and “training.” After entering the phone number, an SMS message arrives with a six-digit code, with which the user confirms the phone number. Don’t worry, by the way: According to Ebay Classifieds, you can still decide if others should see your private phone number.
Activation via mobile or landline
Confirmation should work both with a mobile phone and over a land line connection. It is important that the end device can receive and display SMS. “For us, SMS verification is an additional measure to increase the security of our users on Ebay classifieds,” explains Paul Heimann, Managing Director of Ebay Classifieds. “We hope this will also have a positive impact on the problem of sexual harassment. Last but not least, we are also targeting those users who, under the guise of anonymity, sexually harass children, adolescents and young women in particular,” Heimann continued. So far, about 250,000 users have used SMS verification. In the future, all user accounts (including existing ones) should identify themselves in this way.
