A newsletter criticised eBay. Then came dead insects, sinister messages, fake accounts and masked surveillance outside a couple’s home.

The eBay Stalking Scandal is one of the strangest true crime stories to come out of Silicon Valley: a corporate harassment campaign aimed at Ina and David Steiner, the married couple behind EcommerceBytes, after their reporting angered powerful people inside eBay. What began as online retaliation became a bizarre campaign involving eBay cyberstalking, disturbing deliveries, private dossiers, threatening messages, covert travel and a Global Security team that seemed to confuse criticism with a threat.

This episode explains the eBay Stalking Scandal from the EcommerceBytes articles that sparked the obsession to the FBI investigation that traced the harassment back through corporate security, executive pressure and internal paranoia. Along the way, we look at James Baugh, Devin Wenig, Steve Wymer, the “Threat Matrix”, DOJ charges and the deferred prosecution agreement that followed.

For fans of a true crime podcast, documentary podcast stories, internet scandals and corporate scandals, the eBay Stalking Scandal is a strange true story about what really happened when a tech giant’s culture of loyalty curdled into intimidation. It is corporate misconduct as dark comedy, bizarre crimes as boardroom crisis, and one of the more unsettling reminders that online harassment can begin very far from the internet.

Topics include

• EcommerceBytes, Ina and David Steiner, and the criticism eBay could not ignore
• eBay cyberstalking tactics, fake accounts, and a harassment campaign gone rogue
• Threat Matrix, private dossiers, and what Global Security thought it was doing
• How the FBI traced the stalking back to eBay executives and DOJ charges

Resources and Further Reading

• eBay stalking scandal - Wikipedia
• Take her down - Boston Magazine
• Execs Made Life Hell for Critics - Wired
• USA vs. eBay - Defered Prosecution Agreement

Host & Show Info

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland

Community & Calls to Action

• Review & follow on: Spotify & Apple Podcasts
• Instagram: @theCompendiumPodcast
• Website: thecompendiumpodcast.com
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