EBay users watch out! There is a brand new phishing email circulating the internet. And this email is targeting EBay users. The email looks like a normal confirmation message that tells the user $249.20 has been sent to an AOL email address. The email looks legit and even gives a transaction ID number to fool the victim.
But whatever you do - don't click the links in the email! The site itself even looks real and captures all of your account and/or bank account information. Once the thief has this info - he can use it immediately to wipe out your bank account. In today's age this can now happen in just a few seconds.
Yes, there is new technology that allows a criminal to see your personal information in "real time" and use it instantly. They can capture your Social Security Number, Date of Birth, passwords and other confidential information without you realizing it. If you get this email delete it immediately. Don't even think about opening it up and looking at it!
It's real easy for a criminal to fool newbie EBay users. I was a victim to a criminal back in 2002 when I first signed up with EBay and PayPal. There was an email in my inbox that said my PayPal account had been suspended. Being brand new to EBay and PayPal, I didn't know anything about Phishing emails.
The email looked completely "real". Even the website looked perfect, like a real PayPal site. I entered my bank account and PayPal password information. Little did I realize, that I was handing over all my personal information to a hacker!
Luckily PayPal caught the criminal before the ruined my credit and took all of the money out of my bank account. It still turned out to be a nightmare, though. My paypal account was "frozen" for weeks after the incident. This virtually shut my EBay business down as I could not accept any PayPal payments.
Please be very cautious about any email that asks personal information from you. EBay and PayPal never ask you for this. They already have it in your account so why would they need to ask for it again? Another big giveaway is the website link in your browser. You can usually tell a fake website from a real one. There are usually "weird" letters or numbers in the wrong places in the web link.
If you get an email stating $249.20 is waiting for you and you need to enter your personal information, it's probably the new EBay phishing scam. Watch out and always protect your personal information online.
-----------------------------------------------
Obvious solution; Don't use ebaY. If you do, NEVER open any mail claiming to be from them.
I wonder why ebaY just does not simply do away with html based emails, by default, for all IT's users?
I would not be surprised if somehow they profit from the phish... Because if they did not, they would have changed it by now.