ebay Customers Beware

BrianH

BrianH

At the Start
Joined
May 3, 2003
Messages
6,108
Location
Banstead, Surrey
A good friend of mine had his ebay account taken over by others unknown to him. He spotted something odd and contacted ebay. He is PC wise and would never have given his details to anyone, even if it appeared to be an authorised person. It's all now sorted out but the following message from ebay makes interested reading. Naturally, I have deleted my friend's user name name and email address.


> Dear xxxxxxxxx,
>
> It appears your account was taken over by a third party, and used to place
several unauthorised listings. Additionally, the email address on your
account may have been tampered with, which is why you may not have received
an email about these listings. We have restored your eBay account at this
time.
>
> Please complete the following instructions to regain control of your
account:
>
> First, please change the password on your EMAIL account to verify that it
is secure and cannot be accessed by anyone other than you.
>
> After you have changed the password on your email account, request a new
password from eBay, using this procedure:
>
> - Click on the "Help" link at the top of most eBay pages and follow the
provided links using the path:
>
> Topics > My Account > My Personal Information > Updating Registration
Information > If You Forget Your Password
>
> - Click on the "online form" link from the "If You Forget Your Password"
page.
> - Enter your User ID. You will then be asked to answer one of a number of
questions to verify your identity.
> - After answering one of the questions, an email will be sent to you that
will allow you to complete your password change.
>
> Note: If you do not receive this password email, check the spam filtering
settings on your email account to see if the filter is preventing receipt of
email from eBay. After you have resolved any issues that may be preventing
you from receiving this email, use the "Send me password instructions" link
and request the instructions again.
>
> Once you've changed your email and eBay passwords, change your Secret
Question and Answer by following these instructions:
>
> 1. Click on the 'site map' link located on top of the navigation bar on
most eBay pages.
> 2. Scroll down the site map until you see the 'My eBay' heading in the
middle column.
> 3. Click on the 'Change my Secret Question and Answer' link located under
the My eBay heading and follow those instructions.
>
> Finally, please verify that the contact information we have on file for
you is correct. If necessary, your contact information may be updated by
following these instructions:
>
> 1. Click on the 'site map' link located on top of the navigation bar on
most eBay pages.
> 2. Scroll down the site map until you see the 'My eBay' heading in the
middle column.
> 3. Click on the 'Change my registration information' link located under
the My eBay heading and follow those instructions.
>
> We were able to end all unauthorised listings on your account without
incident. At the time, the listings were ended and all associated fees were
credited to your account. Concerning your credit card information, we assure
you that this information is stored on a secure server and cannot be viewed
by anyone.
>
> Let me suggest a few ways this take-over could have occurred:
>
> First, there have recently been a number of email messages sent to eBay
members asking for user IDs and passwords. These unsolicited and spoofed
messages appear to come from eBay Support, but in fact are not. eBay would
never ask for sensitive information of this nature via email.
>
> Second, if you use a fairly simple or easy-to-guess password, it's
possible someone could have guessed it after repeated attempts. For this
reason, it's important to use a password that uses a combination of letters
and numbers making it very difficult to guess. The same applies for the
password hint question. It's also important to use different passwords for
the various online accounts you use (email, Billpoint, PayPal, etc).
>
> Last, there are a number of computer viruses in circulation that log and
record keystrokes. It's recommended that computer users keep their virus
alert software up-to-date, and check their system often for problems. A
firewall for high-speed internet users is also highly recommended.
>
> Any inquiries regarding your password, fees or other information about
your account should be directed to the Customer Support webform at:
>
> http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/basics/select-support.html
>
> If you are contacted with questions about the listings that were placed on
your account or other related issues, please have those individuals contact
us through the Rules and Safety webform at:
>
> http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/basics/select-RS.html
>
> Thank you for your patience and understanding regarding this matter.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
> eBay International AG
>
>
 
I tried to contact their support desk recently but found it a nightmare of red tape . I was bidding on some of the Charles /Camilla 8th April stuff and got an unsolicited mail offering to do me a good deal and sell stuff privately to me . I knew exactly what their game was but I thought the ebay reporting system was cumbersome . I gave up in the end .
 
Hmmnnnnn

I had an email as the one above last year. It wasn't from Ebay though !

I checked my accounts,nowt strange happening, changed the passwords, well you never know.

I sent the original to Ebay which confirmed the spoof.
 
Last week it was brought to my notice that my copyright was being infringed by a seller on Ebay who had converted 181 items of mine into xstitch patterns.
I went through the usual channels of notifying them by fax of the 181 x 10 digit registration numbers but instead of their claimed response of 24 to 36 hours, they took 4 days by which time, the auction deadline time had elapsed.

To cap it all they notified me a week later to say that they had not received my fax !

The first notification has to be done by fax and subsequent ones can be done by E mail.
 
Originally posted by Latefortheraces@Apr 26 2005, 11:51 AM
Hmmnnnnn

I had an email as the one above last year. It wasn't from Ebay though !

I checked my accounts,nowt strange happening, changed the passwords, well you never know.

I sent the original to Ebay which confirmed the spoof.
Click to expand...
I had a few of those e-mails as well.
 
The scam e-mails are quite easy to spot, if you hover your cursor over the link, the address of the link to which you are actualy being sent to appears on your bottom tool bar! But maybe safest of all, download the Ebay tool bar, then set up your log in details, once installed every time your on or being directed to a site which isn't a legit ebay or paypal site then a warning box appears which must be actioned to continue!
 
I've had one of those emails too, Brian - what really got me suspiscious though was that I don't have an ebay account! I checked on both Ebay.com & Ebay.co.uk to see whether someone had opened an account with my email address but they hadn't - trying to log in confirmed that I still have no accounts with them!
 
I just got a spoof mail trying to trick me into logging into my Betfair account. First time I've seen one that hasn't been for eBay, PayPal or various banks. Be careful what you click on!
 
The safest thing is to never click the link. If it is a genuine email, just close down and open a new page and navigate to the site in question.
 
The safest thing is to read the guide lines. The rules are the same as with most companies. They never ask you for your username or password through an email. I have been a dealer and a buyer on ebay for two years. I get those spoof emails all the time, sometimes as many as 10 a day!. If ebay really want to contact you they will, by phone, as do Paypal etc.
 
I have to say I am beginning to love Ebay more and more. We were invited to a black tie dinner party for a party for New Years Eve and didn't have a clue of where to get a Tuxedo for the boyfriend at short notice. I found one, that looked the right size on ebay the week before Christmas. I ordered a shirt and a dickie Bow as well. Within 2 days the items arrived beautifully packed and the right size. I purchased a lovely black velvet (looking) long evening dress for £10.50 also brand new, and it fitted perfectly.

The Tuxedo for my fella cost £89.95 plus £23.00 for the shirt and bow tie. I don't know where else (apart from hiring) I could have got the same deal. I was thrilled.

I have had the usual spoof e-mails but I get them from various sources and have done for a while. The advice on here is perfect, ignore them. No bank, or e-bay or paypal are going to send you an e-mail asking you to update the security details as the e-mails to me did.

Ebay, if used properly, is an excellent tool and I will continue to use them.
 
Anyone that agrees to a buyers request for an unsecured money transfer is more or less asking to be ripped off.

I agree it shouldn´t happen, but where there are stupid people, there be conmen...
 
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