For those of you who may not be aware of the term, shill bidding is when someone places a bid with no real intent to buy, only to push the price up. Sometimes that looks like a seller bidding on their own item. Other times, it’s a friend, employee, or mod bidding on their behalf. Either way, it's a bid that isn't real, and it chips away at trust for everyone else.

At Whatnot, we’re always working hard to keep the platform a fun and trustworthy place. So today, we want to provide you with an update on how we’re tackling scams on Whatnot: detecting bad actors more quickly, shutting down their accounts, and preventing them from coming back.

While Whatnot was built to create a safe, welcoming space for people to share their passions with others, a few years ago we recognized that the Sports Card community presented unique trust and safety challenges that needed solving.

Whatnot is one of the fastest-growing marketplaces in the world, and with that growth comes increased responsibility to ensure safety at every stage of the buying and selling experience.

The Whatnot Trust & Safety team plays a critical role in identifying issues and enforcing policies to help keep our community safe. Today, we’ll dig a bit deeper into how we evaluate, investigate, and take action on cases involving fraud, behavioral or logistical issues.