Applicability of Trust Management Algorithm in C2C services

Abstract: The emergence of Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) platforms has allowed consumers to buy and sell goods directly, but it has also created problems, such as commodity fraud and fake reviews. Trust Management Algorithms (TMAs) are expected to be a countermeasure to detect fraudulent users. However, it is unknown whether TMAs are as effective as reported as they are designed for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) communications between devices on a network. Here we examine the applicability of `EigenTrust', a representative TMA, for the use case of C2C services using an agent-based model. First, we defined the transaction process in C2C services, assumed six types of fraudulent transactions, and then analysed the dynamics of EigenTrust in C2C systems through simulations. We found that EigenTrust could correctly estimate low trust scores for two types of simple frauds. Furthermore, we found the oscillation of trust scores for two types of advanced frauds, which previous research did not address. This suggests that by detecting such oscillations, EigenTrust may be able to detect some (but not all) advanced frauds. Our study helps increase the trustworthiness of transactions in C2C services and provides insights into further technological development for consumer services.