[PREVIEW] #54: A Small Newsletter and a Multimillion-Dollar Cyberstalking Scandal

For two decades, Ina and David Steiner reported on eBay, Amazon, and the changing world of online commerce through their independent publication, EcommerceBytes. Their work was often critical, but nothing prepared them for the anonymous message that appeared in August 2019 asking, “What’s your problem with eBay?”Within days, threatening messages were followed by unwanted subscriptions, disturbing deliveries, and strangers arriving at the couple’s home in Natick, Massachusetts. Whoever was responsible knew where the Steiners lived, understood their routines, and seemed determined to force them into silence. But what had two small-business journalists published to provoke such an elaborate campaign? Who possessed the resources to carry it beyond the internet, and what did the harassers ultimately want from them?This episode examines the case that became known as the eBay cyberstalking scandal, tracing how routine reporting became the apparent catalyst for a campaign involving anonymous accounts, corporate power, physical surveillance, and a plan far more calculated than its targets could have imagined.