Account Protection

Phishing sites have the ability to collect information about you even while you are typing information. That means they can collect information about you, even if you realize it’s a Phishing website and leave without submitting anything. You should assume that any information you may have entered into a Phishing website has been collected to use against you.

Viruses, spyware, and trojans are software programs that install themselves onto your computer for malicious purposes. Viruses are designed to replicate themselves, spreading from computer to computer. Since the Internet is made up of millions of computers connected to each other, viruses thrive in the online world. Identity thieves use viruses to steal passwords and other personal information.

Most viruses require some sort of human action, such as sharing and downloading infected files or opening attachments in emails. The good news is that by taking a few preventative steps, you can help keep your computer secure.

Emails sent to you through the eBay’s member-to-member system like Contact eBay Member and Ask Seller A Question are always copied in My Messages and always include your first and last name in the message of the email. This allows you to confirm that an email you receive from another member was really sent through eBay’s system.

Phishers want to obtain as many email addresses as possible. In fact, a list of email addresses that they know belong to eBay users is even more valuable to them since it’s more likely that they will get responses to the eBay Phishing emails they send.

Good! That's the right answer. It’s easy for identity thieves to make emails look very realistic. They can change the “from address” to say that the email was sent from eBay. They also include pictures or logos that will convince the recipient that the email is real. Don’t be fooled into giving away your personal information or password when an identity thief uses these tricks.

That’s right! Every email from eBay about your account or asking for personal information will also be in My Messages. If you get an email from eBay about your account or asking for personal information and it’s not in My Messages, it’s probably fake and you should delete it.

If you’re still not sure about the legitimacy of an email, you can also forward the email to spoof@ebay.com, and we’ll get back to you within a few minutes. Alerting us to new Phishing scams also helps us protect other eBay members since we can update spoof@ebay.com and the eBay Toolbar to quickly respond to reports about that scam.

Correct! It is important to use a password that contains letters, numbers and characters like “@” or “%”. This makes your password hard for third parties to guess. In addition, it is critical that your password is not something that is easily guessed about you, like your first or last name or your pet’s name.

Finally, be sure that you use different passwords for all of your online accounts so that if someone gains access to one of your accounts they do not automatically have access to all of your other accounts.

That's right! eBay has several tools to help protect your account including spoof@ebay.com, the Security & Resolution Center, and My Messages. When you forward email to spoof@ebay.com we will respond within minutes to tell you if an email is fake. My Messages contains a copy of all emails from eBay that ask about your account or personal information.

You can also protect your account by having a secure password that is not easily guessed. That way, identity thieves are not able to access your account by guessing your password.

Correct! If you realize that you have entered your personal information into a Phishing site, it’s important to take steps to protect yourself:

Change the passwords on all accounts that could now be accessible by the identity thief.
Contact financial institutions that are related to any financial information that may have been given away.
Report the identity theft to either the Federal Trade Commission or your local law enforcement agency.

That's right! Just because John has installed virus protection on his computer doesn’t mean that he is fully protected from viruses, spyware or trojans.

The people who create viruses often take advantage of flaws in Internet browsers to install malicious software on victims’ machines. It is important to regularly check for browser updates. Most browsers are able to automatically check for updates. Your browser’s help section should have information on setting the automatic update feature.

Any computer you use could be infected with a virus. So, be sure to scan all computers you use for viruses and be careful about using public computers to access your online accounts.

That’s right! Identity thieves have been known to imitate eBay’s Contact eBay Member and Ask Seller A Question emails so that unsuspecting members will give away personal information. These emails are often intentionally inflammatory to upset the recipient enough to respond before checking to see if it’s a scam. But be careful, run-of-the-mill emails are also used to trick you.

When Joe responds to the sender through My Messages and hides his email address, the sender would have to reply through the eBay system to continue the conversation. The “hide my email address” feature in eBay’s member-to-member emails allows you to maintain your privacy in email. In addition, emails sent through eBay’s member-to-member system contain a message with your first and last name. If you receive an email that appears to be sent through eBay’s system and it doesn’t contain your first and last name, you know it’s a fake!

That's right! There are many ways that people collect email addresses to use when sending their Phishing emails. Identity thieves look at item, About Me, and other pages on eBay hoping to find eBay members who have listed their email address.

To protect yourself from this, treat your email address as a piece of personal information. Do not include it on any eBay page. Do not list it on public Internet bulletin boards or websites. If you do receive a suspicious email sent through eBay’s email system, respond using My Messages and use the feature that hides your email address.

That's right!

By forwarding the email to us, Sally also helps protect all eBay members. eBay responds quickly when we get reports of Phishing emails. The outgoing message from spoof@ebay.com will be updated so that other members will immediately know that the email is fake. Also, an eBay team will contact the ISP responsible for hosting the Phishing website so that they will take the site down quickly.

That's right! Unfortunately, Judy is not really eligible for the PowerSeller program. Instead, she is the unlucky recipient of a PowerSeller Phishing email. Before clicking on the link, Judy can go to My Messages to verify that the email is really from eBay. All PowerSeller emails will be in My Messages, which lets Judy know that email is fake and should forward it to spoof@ebay.com to alert eBay.

That's right! eBay’s Security & Resolution Center has a page dedicated to recent arrests made of people accused of eBay-related crimes. This includes people who commit identity theft and send Phishing emails. Check this page frequently to see who we’ve tracked down recently!

That's right! eBay gives you several tools to protect yourself from Phishing emails. It’s important to be aware of anything that looks suspicious. If you come across something that seems strange, please use eBay’s tools to make sure that your identity and privacy are protected. We want you to have safe and enjoyable online experiences!

Unfortunately, it’s very easy for identity thieves to make an email look like it’s really from eBay. You can’t trust the “from address” in an email (identity thieves can change this to whatever they want) or the logos or text. Phishers are very good at making emails look like they are really from eBay.

Don’t be fooled just because an email looks professional. Be sure to use other methods for verifying the email’s authenticity, like forwarding it to spoof@ebay.com, before you give away personal information.

You should be careful whenever you receive an email that asks for personal information. All emails from eBay that are about your account or request personal information are copied in the My Messages section of My eBay.

You may think that replying to the email to ask why eBay needs this information would be the right thing to do. Unfortunately, this only confirms for the identity thief that your email address is valid.

If you’re not sure whether an email is real, you can always forward it to spoof@ebay.com. Our staff will respond to you, usually within minutes, to let you know whether or not the email is real. Alerting us to new Phishing scams also helps us protect other eBay members since we can update spoof@ebay.com and the eBay Toolbar to quickly respond to reports about that scam.

If you use a password like your first or last name, a pet’s name, or something that is easily guessed, identity thieves could find out that information about you and use it to access your online accounts. Also, it’s important that you use different passwords for each of your online accounts so that someone who guesses or obtains the password for one of your accounts doesn’t have access to all of your accounts.

When choosing a password, try to use as many of the following as possible:

Letters
Numbers
Characters like “!”, “?”, “&”, etc.

There are many ways you can protect yourself from Phishing emails and identity theft.

Forward suspicious emails to spoof@ebay.com. We usually respond within minutes to tell you whether or not the email is fake.
Have a secure password to make it more difficult for identity thieves to guess your password.
My Messages has a copy of every email sent by eBay about your account or personal information. If a copy of an email is in My Messages, you know it is real.

It is a good idea to regularly use these tools to help protect your account.

Giving away your personal information to a Phishing website can result in personal or financial loss. It’s important to take steps to protect yourself as soon as you realize that your information may have been compromised. Here are the steps to take in this case:

Change the passwords on all accounts that could now be accessible by the identity thief.
Contact financial institutions that are related to any financial information that may have been given away.
Report the identity theft to either the Federal Trade Commission or your local law enforcement agency.

Taking these steps immediately may prevent the personal or financial loss that comes with identity theft.

Installing virus protection is a good start, but it’s not enough to keep your computer free from viruses. It’s important to make sure that your virus software is up to date and to scan your computer often to make sure that your computer hasn’t been infected with any malicious code.

Viruses, spyware, and trojans often take advantage of flaws in Internet browsers to install malicious software on your computer, so it’s important to make sure that you have the most recent version of your Internet browser installed. Many Internet browsers are able to automatically download updates on a regular basis. Check the help section of your Internet browser for more information.

Remember that any computer you use could be infected with a virus. So, be sure to scan all computers you use for viruses and be careful about using public computers to access your online accounts.

It’s important to use caution when someone is trying to get you to respond quickly. Internet criminals use different kinds of tricks to get you to respond before you think about whether or not it is a scam. By responding through your email client, you could confirm your email address to the identity thieves.

In these types of situations it is important to take precautions. Seeing the email in My Messages will prove that it was sent through eBay. If it’s not in My Messages, you should forward it to spoof@ebay.com instead of replying. If it is in My Messages, you should reply using eBay’s contact forms and hide your email address so identity thieves won’t be able to confirm that your email address belongs to an eBay user. Also, be sure to check for your first and last name in an email. If you receive one of these emails and it doesn’t have your first and last name in the header, you know that it’s fake!

Unfortunately, there are many ways that identity thieves collect email addresses to use for both spam and Phishing. They scan the Internet web pages like eBay’s item, About Me, and other content pages, looking for people who have made their email addresses public.

Protect your email address just like any other piece of personal information. Do not post it in a public place. And if you receive a suspicious email through eBay’s member-to-member email systems, use My Messages to respond, making sure you also hide your email address. This will help protect you from receiving spam and Phishing emails.

When Sally forwards the email to spoof@ebay.com several processes are set in motion to protect other eBay members. eBay will use Sally’s report to update spoof@ebay.com so that the next person who reports the email will be notified immediately that the email is fake. Also, eBay immediately contacts the Internet service provider that hosts the Phishing Website to get it taken down.

By reporting this Phishing email to us, Sally did her part in protecting the eBay Community from identity theft.

Don’t let these tricky emails fool you. It is unlikely that Judy became a PowerSeller so quickly. If you receive an email like this, check in My Messages to make sure you can find a copy there. All PowerSeller emails will be copied in My Messages so that you know they are really from eBay. If you don’t find a copy of the email in My Messages, forward it to spoof@ebay.com so we can protect others from this scam.

eBay has a page that shows the most recent arrests related to eBay crimes. Just go to the Security and Resolution Center from the link at the bottom of most eBay pages. From there, click on the Law Enforcement section to see which identity thieves are now serving time thanks to eBay and our ever-vigilant Community.

Phishers are constantly changing their tactics, so it’s important to always be on the lookout for emails that may be suspicious. Use eBay’s tools to help you verify any email that seems strange. Be cautious about anything that seems even slightly dubious and know that eBay is always here to help!

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