On February 5, several officers from Humberside will be trained by eBay's Law Enforcement Relations Team to improve their understanding of the site.

The training programme includes a detailed look at eBay's fraud prevention initiatives, including fighting counterfeits and professional fraud, and police will be trained in how to analyse user profiles and trading history to support their investigations.

The comprehensive programme is offered across the UK and in 2008 over 2,000 police and trading standards officers were trained by eBay.

Detective Inspector Paul Welton of Humberside Police said: "We are committed to tackling all forms of online crime, and need to be as knowledgeable about eBay, and the internet in general, as the criminals who use it to defraud innocent people.

"This training session will enhance our ability to track down offenders, and we will continue to update our knowledge of new technology in the fight against crime."

Steve Edwards, Head of Law Enforcement Relations for eBay UK, added: "Trust is the engine of eBay, and with 15 million people in the UK visiting our site each month we have a duty to make it as safe and secure as possible.

"We do this by working closely with law enforcement agencies like the police and trading standards, and in 2008 we assisted them in over 7,500 investigations and with the arrest or conviction of nearly 200 criminals.

"This collaborative approach has contributed to over a 20 per cent reduction in the number of people having a bad experience or being defrauded on eBay in 2008, sending a clear signal to criminals that they won't get away with illegal activity on our site."