Phishing email: Your question from an eBay member
March 2, 2009
Just a few days after I wrote about eBay scams and scammers, I received an email purportedly from eBay which obviously was a fake email intended on getting my personal information.
How did I know it was fake?
For one, I am currently not selling any products on eBay so it’s impossible to receive a “question from an eBay member” about my product.
Two, the links on the email do NOT lead to the official eBay.com or eBay.ph site but to a suspicious site http://0xc.0×92.0×4a.0×44/custsvc/_include/Function.asp.
Lastly, the email account that received the “eBay” letter is not the account I use in eBay.
Given those things , I was sure right from the time I opened the email that it was a spoof or phishing email.
A phishing email is an email used to direct recipients to a fraudulent website where they are asked to provide personal information which is used for identity theft.
Here is a screenshot of the phishing email I received.
It asks: What’s the final price? If I buy one how can I pick it up? Please respond me now because I’m very interested in your product.
It also includes a link to the supposed profile of felicia9, but if you merely hover your cursor on the link, you will see that it does not direct to the official site but to a different site.
Make sure you don’t fall for these phishing emails. Check our related readings to see how you can protect yourself against these phishing scams.
- What is Phishing? How to check if an email is a phishing email?
- Phishing email: Your eBay account has been suspended
- Other examples of fake or spoof emails
March 2nd, 2009 at %I:%M %p
if you are an ebay member and you want to verify if the email is legit, log on to your ebay account and check your my messages. if it’s there, it’s legit. if it’s not, it’s fake. AND NEVER click any links from that email.
March 2nd, 2009 at %I:%M %p
Wow. I think I’ve just fallen into this. I remember replying to an email confirmation to somewhere, whcih puzzled me at that moment since I can’t remember sending any application like when we create yahoo/gmail accounts. Tsk. I should be careful next time. Very helpful info! thanks!
March 2nd, 2009 at %I:%M %p
@leela, i agree. eBay members should just log on to their accounts to see if they have messages. Unfortunately, there are some who still believe everything they receive on their email and simply click on links they find on a supposed “eBay” letter. I just hope they don’t get scammed afterwards.
@NielMark, be careful next time. Always check first if the email you receive is really from the supposed sender.
March 2nd, 2009 at %I:%M %p
hmmmm… its a treacherous world out there… i just feel sorry for those who use the internet without caution and just fall prey to unscrupulous people… we really need to be careful these days…
the earning student
March 2nd, 2009 at %I:%M %p
sometimes it really boggles me how these people sleep at night knowing they have stolen and scammed people. such is a cruel world. hopefully more people become more knowledgeable and ever vigilant against these threats!