3 Men Sued by eBay for Alleged 'Cookie Surfing'

SAN JOSE, Calif. — In news of particular interest to adult webmasters, eBay has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against three men for allegedly participating in fraudulent “cookie surfing” schemes on eBay’s site.

Shawn Hogan, Brian Dunning , Todd Dunning and 20 unnamed defendants were named in the lawsuit, which was filed Monday.

Cookie surfing is a practice wherein one party will force placement of a cookie onto a user’s computer, typically without the user knowing that he or she has visited the site that placed the cookie. The suit alleges that DPS and KFC engaged in cookie surfing intended to defraud eBay.

According to the filing, “DPS and KFC each accomplished their cookie surfing through software programs and/or code that, unbeknownst to the user, redirected the user to the eBay website without the user actually clicking on the eBay advertisement link or even becoming aware that they had left the page they were previously viewing.”

The filing goes on to state that the defendants were using the stuffed cookies to receive payment from future visits and purchases users made on eBay that were not a result of the defendants’ placed advertisements for eBay.

The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants “used technological measures to prevent eBay from discovering their wrongdoing.”

eBay contends that the defendants used images placed on their web pages that were too small for the user to detect and JavaScript coding in web pages to enable their cookie surfing. The report sites that the alleged activities took place from December 2003 until June 2007 and that each defendant aggregated more than $5,000 from them.

The company is suing for compensatory, treble, exemplary and punitive damages as well as restitution.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Jamie Young Relaunches Site Through YourPaysitePartner

Creator Jamie Young has relaunched her official website through YourPaysitePartner (YPP).

American Arrested in Indonesia for Producing, Distributing Porn

An American man is being held for allegedly producing and distributing pornographic content in Indonesia via social media, according to Indonesian national news agency Antara and other sources.

Creator of Hentaied, Parasited Launches New Site 'Vampired'

Romero Mr. Alien, the creator of Parasited and Hentaied, has launched Vampired.com as both a stand-alone paysite and part of the Hentaied.Pro streaming platform.

Australian eSafety Commissioner Demands Stricter Child Protection Codes

Australia’s online safety regulator, eSafety, is once again reviewing a “final” draft of industry codes to protect children from pornography and other age-inappropriate content, after eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant rejected the previously announced “final” codes as insufficiently stringent.

Nerdgasm: A Look at the Naughty Side of Pop Culture Geekdom

From “Call of Duty” to cosplay, from tabletop dice rolls to dungeon-inspired dirty talk, the worlds of geek fandom and fantasy are no longer confined to the basement. They’ve kicked down the door, shed the “Firefly” tee and gone full frontal.

Kyrgyzstan Parliament Moves to Outlaw Internet Pornography

A parliamentary committee of the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday approved a measure to outlaw online adult content in the country.

Sweden Bans Purchase of 'Remote' Sexual Services

The Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament, has approved a proposal to criminalize purchasing sexual services performed remotely by streamers and custom content creators.

Asa Akira to Deliver XBIZ Talk at Miami Conference

XBIZ is pleased to announce that decorated performer, Pornhub brand ambassador, and author Asa Akira is set to deliver an exclusive talk at XBIZ Miami.

JustFor.fans Launches 'Fentanyl Test Strip' Initiative

JustFor.fans (JFF) has launched a test strip initiative to combat the nationwide fentanyl crisis.

2025 XBIZ Miami Speaker Lineup Announced

XBIZ is pleased to announce the release of the full speaker lineup for XBIZ Miami, the latest edition of the adult industry’s premier summer conference, set to take place May 19-22 at the Nautilus Sonesta Miami Beach hotel in South Beach.

Show More