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View Full Version : Is this a Scam??



Lee Schierer
07-31-2003, 10:43 AM
I just got a message supposedly from Ebay wanting all sorts of credit card and personal information. What makes me suspicious is that I use my home email address on ebay, not the one from work.

The want name address & social security number, charge card or debit card number and pin number expiration dates, ebay name and password, date of birth, mothers maiden name etc.

Anyone else get this.

Jackie Outten
07-31-2003, 10:49 AM
I just got a message supposedly from Ebay wanting all sorts of credit card and personal information. What makes me suspicious is that I use my home email address on ebay, not the one from work.

The want name address & social security number, charge card or debit card number and pin number expiration dates, ebay name and password, date of birth, mothers maiden name etc.

Anyone else get this.

Lee,

This definitely has to be a scam. Ebay would never email you to request that information. This email has been the talk of a coupon board that I visit for about the last month.

Mike Schwing
07-31-2003, 10:51 AM
I need that information from you as well. Please cc: me on the response. Thank you.

Paul Kunkel
07-31-2003, 11:00 AM
it is a scam. Forward it to spoof@ebay.com Also, if you get one from paypal-forward that too. There's alot of these running around now!

Mark Patoka
07-31-2003, 11:37 AM
I received the exact same message from PayPal. As soon as I saw the credit card info and PIN number being requested I stopped. PayPal did put up some security bulletin on their site warning of the fake emails even though the casual or novice user might not know otherwise.

Kevin Post
07-31-2003, 1:49 PM
Good for you guys!

This most definitely is a scam...

I know someone who fell for it. If you think about, you should be able to protect yourself from similar scams by applying this simple rule:

No merchant should ever ask for this type of information unless you have initiated the contact.

For example: You log into eBay or PayPal successfully. After logging in, you could be prompted for information if your credit card had expired or something like that. This would be OK.

You are on Amazon.com and are buying a new *blurfle*. You go to check out and you are prompted to provide credit card information in order to complete the transaction because the card you have on file with them has expired. Another example of OK.

Example of actual scam scenario:
You get an e-mail from fill in merchant here stating your credit card/bank account/social security/password needs to be verified or updated. They include a link for you that you click to get to a form that asks you for all of this information. The catch is the link takes you to the scammer's site not affiliated with any legitimate business where they ask you to give them all of this information. Ask yourself WHY any merchant would do this instead of waiting until the next time you contact them to transact business with them.

ANSWER: There is no good reason for a merchant to do this...

You'll contact a merchant if your order doesn't arrive and learn that your credit card or other information was not complete.
You'll provide the information to eBay next time you try to list an auction.
Next time you try to send money via PayPal, the transaction will not be completed because they need you to update it.


Another scammer representing themselves as the fraud department at Best Buy:
You get an e-mail from Best Buy telling you that someone has used your credit card to place an order. The order detail is provided for some peice of electronic gear that you know you didn't order. The e-mail asks you to go to their 'fraud investigation web site' by clicking a link they've provided in the e-mail. The catch is the link doesn't direct you to any site affiliated with Best Buy. It is a server they've set up to look like Best Buy to con you into providing credit card and other personal information. The key is to ask yourself WHY any merchant would do this.

ANSWER: No merchant would ever do this...

If they have already detected the fraud, there is no reason to investigate further. They have already prevented any loss from occurring.
They would report the attempted fraud to the bank.
The bank would not provide any information about you to the merchant.
The bank may contact you but they would not ask you for personal information because they already have it. They might ask you one question to confirm your identity if they contacted you by phone.
Most bankcard companies don't even have your e-mail address and would not rely on it as a means of contacting you. It is not secure...


I think most people who fall for this get taken because they don't stop long enough to think about what they are doing or why. I'm pretty suspicious by nature and ask a ton of questions and read contracts before I sign them. My wife gives me grief about it but I've saved us more than once by digging beyond the surface.

-Kevin

Steve Clardy
07-31-2003, 2:04 PM
I know someone that almost got hooked. ME.
They did not do any damage, but took over my account listings, adding their own. They started selling $3000.00 TV's for $999.99.
This happened about a year ago before I knew anything about the scams. They took my account over, changed my password, which locked me out. I reported to Ebay and they shut my account to get it stopped.
I suggest you immediately change your user name, and DO NOT use your email address as your user name. Thats how they harvest the names to send out the scam emails.
When you change it you will have the icon showing you have changed your user name, it shows for thirty days. It will take a while for them to stop sending these to you. And as said above, forward each one to Ebay.
Steve

Hal Flynt
07-31-2003, 3:45 PM
SCAM

http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBScams.shtml#ebayscam

http://theregister.co.uk/content/55/28279.html

Never give out or email credit info.

Lee Schierer
07-31-2003, 4:22 PM
I called the FBI and they wanted the web address. These guys may be getting a none too friendly visit soon!

Book em Dano......

Phil Phelps
07-31-2003, 4:56 PM
No body gets my SS #. I know it by heart and can lie on demand.

Jim DeLaney
07-31-2003, 5:27 PM
Anyone else get this.

Yeah, I've gotten one from "Ebay" and one from "PayPal" in the past week. Reported both of them, and have gotte Thank You/"Warning, we don't do this" responses from both of them.

This morning, I got another interesting one... "Joe Smith (a name I'd never heard of) has just sent you a $165.00 payment. Click on (website link) to claim your money. I'm assuming that, if I went to this website, I'd be asked for either credit card or banking information so they could "give" me the money. No thanks! I dumped that one, too.