14 replies to this topic

[TommyGunner]

Guys,

I just got a spoofed email impersonating ebay. It is an attempt to steal your account information. I received it today and reported it to ebay who almost instantly replyed and said they reported the spoof to the authorities. The email says you must update your account info or be suspended. The email looks authentic but when you click on the link...brings you to ehaythem.com! Don't do it! Please see a copy of the email below and do be careful.

Damon

Dear eBay User,
During our regular update and verification of the accounts, we couldn't verify your current information. Either your information has changed or it is incomplete.
Please update and verify your information by signing in your account below :
If the account information is not updated to current information within 5 days then, your access to bid or buy on eBay will be restricted.
Click here to access your account: http://signin.ebay.c...Name=h:h:sin:US

***Please Do Not Reply To This E-Mail As You Will Not Receive A Response***

Thank you
Accounts Managent


Note : Ignoring this message will cause eBay TKO Suspension notice.
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[Hawkeye_Joe]

The "Paypal" phishing e-mail is even better. If you follow the link you go to a "Paypal website". It copies exacty Paypal's website, you can browse around into different places on it and if you have the legit Paypal up in a seperate window you can't tell the difference. Has the same banners and gifs ... The only thing is when you click on where you are supposed to put your info to send it , even if it is empty (blank spaces).. it will take it and thank you. I mailed one of those to Paypal.

Just remember...NEVER EVER give out the kinda info that they are asking for. Why the hell would ebay or Paypal need to possess my PIN number???

[giantpanda4]

I have got a ton of those both from ebay and paypal. Most all spoofs.

I have a simple rule now - just ignore them. Report them on occassion as well.

I did have a real one - someone stole my userid and password and listed a Ducati bike.
Ebay found it (before I did) and cancelled it and told me my account would be TKO'd. I ignored it, and the account WAS TKO'd (not usable). When I contacted ebay, they had me re-enter my info and my account was good again. They were actually quite helpful in restoring my account, but never let on how it got swiped in the first place.

Anybody want to buy a Ducati??

[ThompsonCrazy]

Somebody "broke" into my account and listed a brand new 4 wheeler with a 24hr auction. A $6000.00 4x4 was going for $1200.00. Scared me to death! I cancelled all of the bids and cancelled the auction. Ebay posted a refund for the false charges. After I pulled the auction some woman emailed me and said that she did not want to pay with Western Union M/O so the fake seller still contacted her to wrap up the deal. I informed her it was fradulent and have not had such bad luck since. TC

[Fencer]

If you watch the lower left window border of your explorer as you cross over the links in the frauds or watch that as you goto them you will generally see ***.ru From Russia with Love indeed.

[Zamm]

Damon,
got a few of these over time.
Contacted Ebay, They said they would Never, repeat, NEVER send an email asking for personal information.
All that is done through the actual accounts section at the Ebay site.
So, beware...
Zamm

[Sgt]

I used to get those all the time and reported them to Ebay. You really have to watch for those scams, as they get slicker everyday. I just got scammed by a company called sportsmaniacs, located supposedly in Canada. I ordered a dvd collection and everything seemed up and up. They had a really nice web page and went to the trouble to include a FAQ antipating any concerns by their customers. You would think all this detail would make it unlikely that they would be a total scam. Wrong! I recently got an email from them saying they can't fill my order or refund my money, because their transaction handler won't give them the money. I filled out some fraud forms on them, but I doubt anything will come of it. I was really surprised just how little recourse you have if you get cheated out of country. Bottom line is be very sure who your dealing with, regardless of how legit the web page looks.

[Nick Iannamico]

As a rule I never buy anything online that I know doesn't have some brick and mortar behind it... I have before but it is very risky and don't do it anymore.

NEVER NEVER give out ANY information that someone is requesting via EMAIL.. NEVER NEVER NEVER. If someone is threating to close your account unless you give up info.. let them close it.

[Grey Crow]

Yep, I've received both e-Bay, and PayPal scam e-mails.
On all cases I sent the links to the proper agencies.

LOL, I've even had on that said it was from my bank, funny thing is that the name of the bank wasn't right. Anymore I just delete them and get on with life. Been shopping on-line for a long time, only been stung once for $25.00. Just needed to hone my skills a little.

Most of my web purchases are with established businesses.

[TommyGunner]

Well I guess I am not alone. This is the first one I have received and frankly, I am suprised that you guys have encountered so many scams of this nature. This one was pretty slick. I like to consider myself somewhat savy and informed but I almost fell for this one. The link in the email was http://www.ebay.com but when you clicked on it the begining of the url changed to http://www.ehaythem.com once you got to the site. This is where I caught it. The site looked just like ebay...even with the proper links to ebay on the page. I wonder how many people are actually going to fall for this one. I have not been scammed so far thank god but it could happen in a click I see. Some good points you guys brought up.

Do business with brick and mortar operations/established business.
When updating an account...go directly to the website to do so.
NEVER NEVER give out ANY information that someone is requesting via EMAIL.. NEVER NEVER NEVER
Perhaps it would also be a good idea to make a credit card or paypal payment where you would have some recourse if you have never done business with a company before...especially if they are out of country.

My partner Tom got taken for $1300 on a really nice guitar he sold on ebay. The buyer was from the philipines(sp) and gave him a credit card. Tom charged the card and sent the guitar out. Well the card ended up being stolen and he got nada...even lost the shipping and had no recourse at all. That had to hurt.

Hopefully this post has helped someone avoid getting taken.

Damon

[catnipman]

The real damage is done when you click on any of the links in the phish-mail. Basically, you should never ever click on any link in any email. If you think you must go to a site mentioned in an email, open a new browser window to access the site.

Also, never ever open an attachment from an unsolicited email. I won't even open an attachment from people I know if they are sending me some non-work related thing. BTW, I'm not really one of those super paranoid types; what I've just outlined passes for ordinary prudence these days.

[Sgt]

Just one added note, from the numbers of repetitive solictiations, like the paypal and ebay scams, it would appear that no one is able or willing to shut them down. That really amazes me! I still get those emails from dignitaries in third world countries, who would love to deposit millions of dollars and all they need is my checking account number. Yeah, right! I just wonder if there are agencies aggressively trying to stop those evil people?

[TommyGunner]

Ralph,

Tell them to paypal it to you! They already have the email address.

Damon

[full auto 45]

I got one of those last week saying it was a relative of mine who had died and had no children to pass it on to, so the did a google search and found me. Give me a freakin' break. Do I look like a rube from Hicksville, USA....Brickyard be quiet. If you try to email back it is a invalid email address. I forwarded mine onto the local Gov. boys who look into this crap.

[Zamm]

Mike,
Would you believe that I live 18 miles from Hicksville, Long Island, NY, USA!!!
Man, I've allways felt bad for the people with that address!

Now about that Goverment representitive on the run from Nigeria who needs to deposit 20 million in your bank account, I'm about to give that one a try...

Oh, and I won the Swedish Internet Lottery ( just give them your account so they can deposit the 1 million winnings)
OIY!

Zamm