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Alembic Club » Swap Shop and Wish Lists » Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere » Archive 2006 » Archive through March 12, 2006 » Archive: 2005 » Archive through November 21, 2005 » Watch Out For EBAY Scam « Previous Next »

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kmh364
Senior Member
Username: kmh364

Post Number: 1097
Registered: 9-2003
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 6:13 am:   Edit Post

BEWARE!

I just got an email from EBAY, linking me to the "EBAY site with the official header and everything, demanding that I update my account status or be suspended. "FINAL NOTICE!" it said. The offical looking screen wanted all my credit card info INCLUDING my debit card PIN!!! No way this can be legit...We all are forced to use PayPal for EBAY purchases and I don't remember giving any such infor to EBAY directly. Regardless, I'm not giving anybody my PIN number.

Anybody else get that email? I deleted it immediately.
keith_h
Advanced Member
Username: keith_h

Post Number: 207
Registered: 2-2005
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 6:43 am:   Edit Post

It's called Phishing. I have never gotten one from ebay but I do occasionally get them from a fake Citibank (I don't even do business with the real one). The email spoofs a real Citibank address and directs me to a web page that was setup to look like a legitimate site.

I always throw away any email that asks me to update my account. No legitimate compamy will send an unsolicited request asking you to update personal or financial information via the web.

Keith
kmh364
Senior Member
Username: kmh364

Post Number: 1099
Registered: 9-2003
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 7:21 am:   Edit Post

Understood. It really looked legit, right up until they asked for my debit card PIN. I deleted it so fast, I couldn't recover it to link it so Alembicians could see it and so that EBAY could see it as well. My bad.
chuckc
Junior
Username: chuckc

Post Number: 22
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 7:25 am:   Edit Post

I have recieved those "phishing" emails several times from Ebay and reported them directly to Ebay Security, not that there is alot they can do about them. I also get the Citi Bank requests. If they weren't so insidious I would have to laugh due to the fact I don't even have a Citi Bank account.

The safe thing to do if you are curious about your account and the validity of the email DON'T use the link on the email, open a seperate browser and log in from there and check your account. That way you avoid the hidden links and accompanying spyware that usually is associated with them.
dnburgess
Senior Member
Username: dnburgess

Post Number: 448
Registered: 1-2003
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 2:04 pm:   Edit Post

You can help ebay and paypal stop the phishers by forwarding such emails to spoof@ebay.com or spoof@paypal.com before deleting them.

David B.
pmoran
Intermediate Member
Username: pmoran

Post Number: 105
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 3:50 pm:   Edit Post

i reported this scam about 2 weeks ago under the forum thread, "ebay horror story still in progress." i almost fell for it too. i was about to enter my paypal account info after i hit the button option to pay my seller's account balance w/my paypal account when all of a sudden it dawned on me i have auto debit to pay my account balances, etc. the scam invitation looks just like everything you get from ebay when you're notified of some update or need for feedback or any of the other myriad things you ACTUALLY get from ebay. i guess you have to assume anything you receive from ebay, unsolicited, you should delete; log into your ebay account and see if you have anything under "new messages" that legitimately comes from ebay INTERNALLY. again, log into your ebay account and move around inside the actual ebay site you know is real. don't hit links in emails which purport to come from ebay.
beelee
Intermediate Member
Username: beelee

Post Number: 108
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 6:00 pm:   Edit Post

I've received emails like that posing as Ebay and PayPal, I knew they had to be SCAMS cause I did nothing that would cause either of my accounts to be suspended and I went directly to my accounts ( not using their links) and checked them and saw everything was in order.

I also reported/fowarded them to Ebay and Paypal.

about a month or so ago I got a phony Ebay notice and reported/fowarded it again, then I went to the scammers phony link and gave the jack_$$ some phony information just for a laugh.

Fake name, address, phone, credit card # etc. etc.

answered every question with phony info......i'd love to have seen their face when they tried to use Michael Hunt from 1313 Mockingbird Lane's credit card, bank account, passwords etc.

LOL

(Message edited by beelee on October 12, 2005)

(Message edited by beelee on October 12, 2005)
j_gary
Intermediate Member
Username: j_gary

Post Number: 110
Registered: 6-2005
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 7:01 pm:   Edit Post

I was advised by ebay that they do not send unsolicited mail via a members personal email. They only use the message center which displays when you sign in. I would be suspicious of anything from ebay, unless requested, that came to my own email.

I wish these dopes would just get a dang job. Then when someone steals from them, I'd pose the question,HAPPY NOW???!!!
pmoran
Intermediate Member
Username: pmoran

Post Number: 106
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 7:47 pm:   Edit Post

beelee, when we were kids in odessa, texas, we used to call the safeway supermarket and ask the manager to please page, over the store intercom speakers, john hunt. when no one answered the page and he told us there was no one in the store answering the page, we asked if he could page john's brother, mike. amazing how people in those days just did what they were told. we'd have friends inside the store shopping w/their moms who said they heard the pages, then we'd tell them we were the ones who did it. those were simple times, and we were simple minded kids. but it worked and it was way funnier than asking them if they had prince albert in the can. if you did that now, no one would know what you're talking about. we also had one where we pretended to be from the phone company and asked them to unscrew the mouthpiece cover of their phone. then we'd ask them if they could see the disk w/the speaker in it. when they said they could, we'd ask them to remove it but to tell us when they were about to take it out. they'd tell us, then we'd wait and ask them if it was out. when they didn't answer, because duhhhhhh they couldn't speak into the phone w/that removed, we'd call them all kinds of names. or, a variation, we'd tell them there was a lineman on the line behind their house and he would be electrocuted if they answered their phone in the next 3 minutes. we'd ask them to hang up and not answer their phone for at least 3 minutes while repairs were made. then we'd start calling at almost 3 minutes and keep calling until they answered the phone. the second they picked up the phone we'd scream a blood curdling scream. we did this to neighbors and we'd have kids looking over their backfences. it was hilarious to have the other kids we played with tell us about how the homeowners came running into their backyards and out into the alleys afraid they'd just electrocuted a telephone company lineman. as i said, those were simple times.
jahnahisti
Junior
Username: jahnahisti

Post Number: 13
Registered: 9-2005
Posted on Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 9:16 am:   Edit Post

A real easy way to tell if you're being scammed is to place your mouse over the link that accompanies the email. Most times you don't have to click it to see where it leads. Instead of www.ebay.com they will usually say numbers like 211.238.41.58:81.
http://211.238.41.58:81/www.paypal.com/webscr.php?cmd=LogIn
This one here looks so real, but don't give them your info or you'll be broken quicker than you can say olympic.

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