Police and eBay link-up

GREATER Manchester Police is working with eBay to help keep people safe online.

Around 120 officers will be trained by the website’s fraud investigations team to improve their understanding of the site.

The training programme includes a detailed look at eBay’s fraud prevention initiatives, including fighting counterfeits and professional fraud, and police will be trained to analyse user profiles and trading history to back-up their investigations.

Nationwide, nearly 2,000 officers have been trained by eBay this year alone.

Det Chief Insp Dean Fraser, of GMP, said: “We need to be as knowledgeable about eBay and the Internet in general as the criminals who use it.”

Steve Edwards, head of law enforcement relations for eBay UK, added: “So far this year we have assisted law enforcement agencies like the police and trading standards in nearly 7,000 investigations and with the arrest or conviction of nearly 200 criminals.

“This has contributed to a 24 per cent reduction in the number of people having a bad experience or being defrauded on eBay in 2008.”