An auction on EBay that offered to reveal the identity of the elusive British street artist known as Banksy to the highest bidder has been removed from the website just one day before it was scheduled to close. But was the whole thing just a hoax? Knowing how Banksy operates, the answer is a definite maybe.

As of Monday night, a number of people had placed bids, with the highest coming in at just under $1 million. The seller claimed to have written proof of Bansky's identity based on tax records from art sales. On Tuesday, however, the auction had been deleted from EBay, with the site saying: "This listing ... has been removed, or this item is not available."

Banksy is famous for his stenciled graffiti work that has popped up on outdoor walls and buildings throughout the world. Despite his anonymous persona, the artist has apparently given interviews to reporters, though his exact identity remains a secret.

Given the artist's penchant for pulling fast ones on the public, the recently deleted EBay auction was widely suspected of being a prank, possibly by Banksy himself. Meanwhile, similar auctions claiming to have the identity of the artist have been popping up on EBay, though it remains unclear if the sellers are connected.

Circumstantial evidence suggests that the deleted auction was an elaborate prank executed in the name of publicity. Consider, if you will, the following: