We are writing to clarify the recent incident involving the Snype data breach and the subsequent reporting by Darren Rovell (CLLCT) and other outlets.
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Background
Probstein was accused of using shill‑bidding accounts on Snype.
In response, we sent an email to Darren Rovell weeks ago after he defended Probstein’s actions with a “terms of service” argument. We explained that the terms did not absolve Mastro from legal liability. -
Data Sent to Rovell
- His contact information
- His home address
- A record of bids he placed and Probstein’s shill accounts interacting with the same listings
Rovell received this data directly via his @cllct.com email.
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Journalistic Integrity Issue
Despite having access to the breach details, Rovell then published an article that omitted mention of the data he had received and pursued a blanket criticism of the practice. As a journalist, he should have disclosed that he verified his own email address during Snype registration and that shill accounts would likewise require that same step or admin approval. His failure to do so raises questions about transparency. -
Additional Findings
Since our last report, we identified several other scammers in the dataset—individuals known to collaborate with Kevin Burge and his partner. These “Super Bidders” were actively placing bids on their own and others’ items.
We are issuing this statement to bring attention to Rovell’s omission and to urge more rigorous reporting standards from journalists covering cybersecurity incidents.
We bring this latest update in better English with the translation by LLM.