Aug
16
Phishing emails are fake emails that appear to be from a legitimate corporation with an online presence. They normally look quire authentic and urge you to visit a counterfeit site whereupon you are lured (via a fake login screen) into providing your username, password and possibly some other sensitive personal information. This allows the fraudsters who collect this data to hijack your account or steal your identity.
eBay users are often the target of these “phishing expeditions.” The senders hope to takeover your eBay account in order to pose as you as either a buyer or a seller in order to commit eBay fraud and bilk some other auction user out of their money or goods. I receive dozens of these fake eBay emails per week. I need to remind myself to be especially vigilant against this form of eBay fraud if I’ve got several active auctions running and am expecting emails from the auction site. But lately I’ve noticed a way to easily differentiate the spoof emails from the real ones. Read more
Aug
14
Vigilante Justice Against eBay Fraud
Filed Under eBay Fraud | Leave a Comment
The P-P-P-Powerbook is an amusing story about one man’s successful vigilante fight against eBay fraud. When it became apparent to the seller of a Mac Powerbook that the bidder was using a fraudulent, fly-by-night escrow service to bilk him out of $2,000, our hero devised a scheme to keep his computer, make the fraudster pay a hefty import duty and delight and amuse and international audience as it went down.
This is a couple of years old - but new to me.
Aug
7
5 Steps to Prevent eBay Fraud
Filed Under eBay Fraud | Leave a Comment
A recent article by Consumer Reports magazine discussed several simple steps auction buyers can take to protect themselves from fraud on eBay. Read more
Jul
31
Don’t Let a Seller String You Along
Filed Under eBay Fraud | Leave a Comment
An article added recently posted to the eBay corporate blog discusses the increasing prevalence of sellers stringing along buyers they intend to defraud by not sending the goods after payment has been made. Read more