intending to win. Shill bidding is also one of the most difficult types of fraud to detect, since it is usually conducted by the seller of the auction in collusion with one or more bidders in the auction. Alternatively, the seller may create multiple shill bids on the account they used to submit the bogus bid. Therefore, a detection mechanism is proposed at the end of the auction. However, if Shill fails to detect bidders during the auction, innocent bidders may fall for it at the end of the auction. In 2011, a member of eBay became the first individual to be convicted of shill bidding on an auction. By taking part in the process, an individual is breaking the European Union fair trading rules which carries out a fine of up to £5,000 in the United Kingdom. Shield bidding Shield bidding is a technique involving a buyer using another account (called a "shield") to discourage other competitors from bidding by artificially increasing the price and then at the last moment withdrawing their bid to allow the actual buyer to win the auction with a lower price. Most online auction sites don't allow withdrawing bids, therefore making this technique impossible to perform. This technique can still be taken advantage of on sites where this rule is not implemented. Spotting Shills and Shields It is difficult to spot a dirty technique being used by an anonymous or pseudonymous person in online auctions, but it is certainly doable. It can be revealed by examining a seller’s auction history and looking for an account which has bid on every or almost every auction of that seller. If there is someone who meets those characteristics, it is most likely a shill using that account to increase the price. A shield can be spotted similarly to a shill. By doing a search of a person's won auctions, it can be found out whether or not there is another account participating in the same auctions without ever winning anything. If there is, it is possible that the person is using a shield to help them become successful in auctions. Fraud The increasing popularity of using online auctions has led to an increase in fraudulent activity. This is usually performed on an auction website by creating a very appetizing auction, such as a low starting amount. Once a buyer wins an auction and pays for it, the