On eBay, as in all walks of life, there are crooks and villains sneaking around trying to make money using fraudulent means and generally doing no good. Although the vast majority of eBay members are never ripped off or scammed, if you are using eBay full-time to make your living, then you stand a higher chance of being targeted by a scam artist at some point.

But don’t worry — if you’re vigilant, it’s easy to differentiate the good eBayers from the bad. There are three main types of scammers lurking on eBay. You need t be aware of the tactics they use so you don’t fall victim to their schemes when buying and selling goods on eBay. They are…

1. Those out to steal the account and credit card information of eBay members
2. Those targeting buyers on eBay
3. Those targeting sellers on eBay

We’ll cover sellers in PowerSeller Secret #14, but let’s look at the first two now, starting with “phishing” scams…

How to avoid having your account information stolen

The process of obtaining other people’s personal and financial informatin by pretending to be another person or organization is known as “Phishing.” Scammers use this technique to try to gain access to users’ eBay or PayPal account information through fake e-mails purporting to be from eBay or PayPal.

These e-mails often appear credible enough to fool unsuspecting recipients into clicking through to a fake web site and entering their log in details. The scammers can then access that person’s account and use it to set up fake auctions or just empty if of any funds. Sometimes clicking on the link also releases a virus designed to obtain other personal information from a user’s PC. The e-mails themselves look and sound quite believable but you can spot them by looking for the following telltale signs:

* The e-mail doesn’t address you by name. All communication from eBay and PayPal should address you by your first name.

* The URL looks unusual. The URL that shows up in your browser window when you click on a link ina fake e-mail will not be a standard eBay URL. For example, it could contain a long string of different numbers and letters.

* A copy of the e-mail doesn’t show up in your My eBay account “My Messages” inbox. All e-mails that eBay sends to you should go to your own e-mail address AND your “My Messages” inbox.

* If yo install the eBay toolbar (http://pages.ebay.com/ebay_toolbar) and it turns red, that means you are on a potential fake site. A verified eBay or PayPal site will show up as green in the toolbar.

The best policy is…if in doubt, don’t click on a link in a suspicious e-mail. This way you should hav no worries about falling victim to any phishing scams.

Another great tip (as recommended by a reader)is to forward suspicious email to spoof@ebay.com.

To learn how to avoid fraudsters when Buying on eBay, check out Brandon’s system, Click Here.
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Copyright 2006, The Internet Markeing Center
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