Prevention VII:  Tips against fraud: Safer buying and selling on eBay

Fraud Prevention

 

I was browsing over my listings of stamps and coins two days ago when, horror!, I noticed an addition to the description that I knew I hadn't put there: Some goons had just bursted into my account and were then 'phishing' my potential buyers and bidders:

By adding their own e-mail address and stating to contact them for the 'Buy it Now' option price for that item, it seemed clear they were trying to scam any viewer of my auction into buying an inexistant duplicate of my item for no less than $1000! I contacted the provided address myself and they shamelessly replied with some spoofed eBay form to lure me into a transaction with them- obviously not realising I was the owner of the genuine item. I was completely bewildered and upset as I awoke to the fact that account hijacking and fraud are alive and well and a genuine threat for anyone. One might think it happens only to 'others'...

Fortunately, I caught on to the situation early on and the 'crackers' had only a couple hours to use my listing as their platform. Upon contacting eBay's Trust and Safety dept. through Live Help and chatting with a bevy of nice, helpful and efficient representants, the situation was under control again...

I am basically writing this as a reminder for buyers and sellers to be cautious and aware. I do not believe in being unnecessarily paranoid about eBay or the internet- Fraud happens a lot in the 'physical' world- but there are simple measures to keep in mind to remain as safe as possible and we often overlook or forget them:

TIP 1-  I usually recommend potential buyers or sellers to contact me ONLY THROUGH THE CONTACT SELLER option provided by eBay. I still get a lot of e-mails sent directly to my e-mail address without going through eBay. I understand people might like to feel they are contacting me in a more direct fashion by doing so, but I wish they would understand that this puts them and myself at increased risk for spoofing and phishing.

My advice for buyers is simple: PLEASE contact eBay sellers through the CONTACT SELLER option only: Your message gets sent and duplicated instantly to the seller's e-mail address anyway but that way, you remain within eBay's security system.

TIP 2-  DON'T FOLLOW LINKS sent by other users in messages. For instance, buyer A sends the following question to Seller B:

Are you sure you did not mistakenly list this item twice? I have seen it before: Here is the link http//:...blahblah..item#88811234555....

BEWARE: These types of links could take you to a phishing (fake) sign- in page where your password and ID would be sent directly to people seeking to break into your account instead of eBay (and trust me, these pages can look very real and convincing). Of course, perhaps poor ol' buyer A is completely innocent in thought and deed and seller B ought to verify his statement and respond. The safer way to do it would be to type the item number in eBay's search box instead of clicking on or copying and pasting the link. If the item doesn't show up that way, it was very possibly a fake. Just thank the user for their interest but you don't know what they are talking about...

TIP 3-  CHECK ON YOUR ACOUNT OFTEN. If you are a power seller, like myself, you probably log into your account every single day or at least every second day... This is why my little situation got taken care of so rapidly: I quickly noticed some unusual activity and acted on it. However, even if you are a casual, occasional buyer or seller, your account could still be cracked into and used for fraud purposes. Worst case scenario is, your account could be used fraudulently for a long time without you knowing, PLUS it's your ID and reputation that could get damaged... I'd suggest to check your account at least once a week, even if you are not buying or selling at the moment, in this fashion:

- Check out your buying and selling history: Obviously, if you notice items you've never sold or bought, this is trouble...

- Also CHECK YOUR MESSAGES: Some crackers might not use your account to actively buy and sell, but merely for communicating with other eBay users and sending phishing links like the ones aforementioned. Go in your in-box and check the actual message list: If you see messages there from other members or replies sent that you weren't involved with, yep, somebody's having fun in there...

It's a bit of maintenance, but it can do a world of help for yourself and other eBay users. We can all keep each other safe.

These are just a few tips and I'm sure there are many others that, even after nearly 3 years of being on eBay, I shall find out about the easy or- hopefully not- the hard way...

Best of luck to all buyers and sellers and happy bidding!

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