eBay is a great place to find bargains and to sell unwanted goods, but it’s also one of the most dangerous places in the internet. Not only are fraudsters on ebay who want to sell you fake or even non-existant goods, or who want to trick you into you sending them your good for free, there are also professional criminals who want get your username and password. Hundreds of millions of users use eBay so it can be done safely if you are careful.
Always use the eBay Login Page
The most common ebay scam is to send fake or phishing emails that look like they come from eBay, asking you to go the eBay Login page to login. Unfortunately the eBay Login page they are sending you to is fake, and it’s designed to capture your ebay id and password. Some will even try to go even further and try to get your credit card details via eBay.
Some of the fake eBay emails trying to get you to go to the ebay login page look realistic and can catch even professionals out. The best way to ensure you are not a victim is to ignore the links in emails, open a new browser window or tab and go directly to the eBay login page. If there really are any notices from ebay asking you to check your account details then you will find them here.
Similarly, if you get an email from ebay saying you’ve received a paypal payment, again go directly to the paypal login page and log in that way – do not follow any links in an email if you are not sure.
Other ways you can keep your ebay account secure and spot phising emails trying to get you to login:
- Test 1: if the email isn’t addressed to you and uses a generic salutation e.g. “Dear eBay user” then it might be fake. Most emails will be addressed to you by name
- Test 2: If you get an email asking you to verify your details and the html link has lots of funny characters it’s going to be suspect
- Test 3: If an email says from say ‘support@ebay.com’, but when you check the ‘Full Message Header’ it shows something different then it will be fake
For more ways to spot fake ebay emails click here
