EBay seller of coral AI image incident — Oct 2026

An eBay seller specializing in coral recently encountered a sophisticated fraud attempt where a buyer used AI-generated imagery to falsely claim that delivered items were damaged or incorrect. The seller, who typically ships anemones in sealed, water-filled bags secured with steel crimps, became suspicious when the buyer provided inconsistent photographic evidence of the shipment.

What happened

The buyer attempted to initiate a fraudulent claim by submitting photos that purportedly showed the coral packaging in a damaged state. The seller noted several discrepancies in the images: the bags appeared to be floating in water, despite the seller's specific shipping method—which involves no air and results in the bags sinking—and the amount of air inside the bags changed inconsistently between the two photos provided. Furthermore, the buyer delayed providing additional requested photos, offering excuses about their lighting setup, which the seller interpreted as an attempt to buy time to generate more realistic AI imagery.

To verify their suspicions, the seller uploaded the buyer's photos to an AI detection tool. The analysis determined with 99.9% and 99.4% certainty that the images were AI-generated, even identifying the specific creation tool used. Upon being confronted with this evidence and informed that the seller was escalating the matter to eBay, the buyer ceased the attempt. The seller reported the incident to eBay, and a representative advised them to block the user. Despite the buyer having a history of successful transactions with other sellers in the community, this specific interaction relied on the fabrication of visual evidence to manipulate the platform's dispute resolution process.