eBay SCAM ... PLEASE READ!!!

[PRSPlayer]

I recieved an email from eBay stating that "my account may be suspended" and gave a link requiring me to enter my username and password. When I did this, I was automatically logged out and, later found that all of my eBay account information had been STOLEN!

I began recieving constant emails by eBay for auctions I had never placed and it literally was running my ebay account up hundreds of dollars by the minute!

The auctions were for cell phones (in bulk) and other electronic equipment.
The auctions stated that all buyers are to email this person directly, to some "yahoo" account, which I'm sure would make it difficult for anyone to trace him.

I began cancelling auctions but the scumbag that stole my information was placing them quicker than I could cancel them. And the worst part was that it was the weekend and the eBay offices were all closed (this, I'm sure was intentional on the part of the "scumbag"). Anyway ... I was able to find on-line "chat" assistance and the representative was finally able to cancel all auctions, and credit my account. Shew!

I just wanted to warn you all of these emails ...
If you get em, PLEASE don't open them!
I was fortunate and was able to catch all of this within hours of the auctions being placed. I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn't been on my computer at the time all of the the emails started coming in, or even if I were asleep at the time! Pretty scary stuff.

Anyway ... just wanted to warn you guys.

 

[SGMan88]

Man, that sux. Its a good thing that you found this out soon or else it could of gotten a hellofa lot worse.

 

[PRSPlayer]

Yeah, I was extremely lucky. I was on my computer at the time and had Outlook open, so it was only a matter of minutes between when the auctions were being posted and when I recieved the confirmations.

The scary part is that the initial email I recieved stating that my account may be suspended, had an eBay link and all looked legit. Days had passed and it didn't happen until this past weekend. That's why I said that I thought it was intentional for this person to wait until the weekend when they obviously knew that all ebay offices were closed.

What if I hadn't found this online "chat-help"?
What if I didn't check my emails?
What if I were asleep or even away for the weekend?
What if eBay went as far as to deduct all of these fees from my bank account before I had a chance to even know what had happened?

It could have been a disaster.
What really makes me mad is that I doubt that any of these people ever get caught.

 

[dwf1004]

Dino, Dino, Dino....this is what you get for not buying my guitar!

Dude, what a drag that you had to go through that...I actually got those emails as well, and laughed them off as I deleted them. I guess I'm more of one that remembers "little" things more vividly than others (one of my weird traits), and I know that the emails that eBay usually send are almost always HTML, using Times 10 pt font. The email that you received more than likely was with unusual formatting, and using Courier 10 pt font (which was MY tip off at first glance, the request of username and password was second after I started reading...I told you, I'm weird! LOL!)

I actually felt happy that I got those emails; I always got left out of the fun, and to be included in the group made me feel loved.

I also got emails from Citibank (which looked like it was just forwarded out from an original email, no logos, etc.) telling me that I "need to update my checcking acount...and PIN numer" (misspellings intentional), which would have concerned me even more if I actually HAD an account through Citibank! What a joke...

I've always gone by the rule (and I hope that you will too, now that you've learned the hard way ) that if it's questionable, either don't do it (esp. with sensitive info as usernames, passwords, account #'s, PIN #'s, etc.) or follow up with the "company" in question that these folks claim to be sending as. Chances are the ACTUAL company has heard about the scam of the moment, and are well prepared to educate you in the right. You could also touch base with tech support of your Internet provider; us techies are usually up to speed about the scams and the like that are running around, and can give you a good take on this kind of stuff...hell, email me. I'll do the digging for ya.

Start here: http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial/

Be smart and safe, and send ME your CC#...I need a new pair of pants.

 

[NorM]

I like to use the system. (The best way to prove a system doesn't work is to use it) I report these emails to ebay in the mannor they recommend. Then I answer the email with the username fraud_reported_to_ebay and then use an obsenity for a password.

I too wish even attempted internet fraud offenders would be cracked down on harder.

 

[PRSPlayer]

Hey Darrell,

I think it all started when I placed my bid for your guitar.
You wouldn't happen to have any cell phones for sale, would you?

Just kiddin ...

 

[dwf1004]

Nope, just some oceanfront property right outside of Phoenix under your eBay name...hope you don't mind? I'll cut ya in on 10%. LOL!

 

[basspastor]

Yes, and watch out for pay-pal scams also.

 

[Dan@CLIP]

totally sucks ass!

Thanks for the tips!!!

 

[AxisSSdude]

My mother is a power seller on ebay, she gets fake emails asking for ids and passwords at least once every other week. The majority of them are so sad that its funny. There will be typos, unproffesional language ect. She actually got one today that was almost believable, but it said, "someone has been using your acount to make fake bids" . What the hell is a fake bid! There is no such thing. Anyway, she sends every one she gets to ebays authorities, and they always tell her that they " will never ever ask for ids or passwords through an email" So if an email ever looks like its from ebay and asks for info on your id or password, it is definately fake. Last week I sold a Gibson Howard Roberts guitar on ebay, two days ago I got an email from the second to highest bidder asking me why I wont accept paypal payments. What the hell is this guy talking about? I wondered, the guitar was already sold. It turns out someone emailed him pretending to be me, saying that the highest bidder didnt want to pay and told him to send a money order to some other persons address, and that he would send out the guitar....there are all sorts of scams out there! It's scary

 

[Rayan]

! HoHum !

Sorry Kats,
~
I guess I'm just an old krock ... actually, A) I've been tripping cyberspace since mid 80s ... yeah, Pre-WWW ... corporate WAN systems with "command line interface" ... "WOW" you say ... an aktual dinosaur plays musik ???, ... and B) I have a good friend (another dinosaur) who is aktually a worldclass systems security guru ...

Point? You kats want to hang your rumps over fences like the way you do, don't be too surprised when some negative force takes a good whack at you ...

EBay & all the other *Kool* stuff on the net is a *loooong* way from anything called *secure* ... were not talking encryption or any other kind of "tool" here ... we're talking about *people* and how they will inevitably skrew each other blind ...

Forewarned is Forearmed ...

Shop 'til Ya Drop & Boogie 'til Ya Puke !!!

goferit / Rayan

 

[PRSPlayer]

Originally posted by Rayan: "You kats want to hang your rumps over fences like the way you do, don't be too surprised when some negative force takes a good whack at you"[/QUOTE]

I don't necessarily think of it as "hanging my rump over a fence".
More like "live and learn" and hopefully this posting will alert others from making the same mistake I made.

I only wish the "system" worked more in favor of those who get scamed.
I'm going through more problems now with some eBay transactions that didn't go too well. Items paid for, but never shipped ... no refund.

Unfortunately, the items bought were parts and peices for a guitar project so individually, they don't amount to much. But they add up! And unfortunately, my only option is to involve a "mediator" (which in some cases, costs more than my purchase), or take the hit and leave negative feedback which will inevitably result in the same in return.

There's got to be a better way.

If only these people lived closer ...

 

[jongitarz]

Wow...An "old krock" that spells like the kids!

 

[Rayan]

~ Living & Learning ~

Hey jongitarz,
~
Don't get me started OK? ... I'm trying hard to *not* get banned my first day in here ... )
My misspellings are part of a very seerius "kontinuous *un*learning" program aimed at remaining "youthful" to societee :-}} (oopsie ... banalertbanalertbanalert) ...
Phew ... *That* was klose !!!
~

Hey PRSPlayer,
~
I hope I didn't mess your head ... my intent was to raise the point that "riderz" of *early acceptance waves* (sorry - my sociology education hangups) have to understand at the outset that "innovative" methods and mechanisms are inherently rich in perilous "living & learning" opportuniteez ...

One of *my* harder & earlier lessons helped me understand that *I* personally don't always "need2bleed" in order to deepen my appreciation for the "cutting" ability of knives and other "edgy" artifacts, and trinkets domestique ...

Sorry *you* lost some "redpop" this time ... thanx for helping *me* preserve *mine* ...

Alas, had we been earlier acquainted and I *alerted* you about the dangers of "believing Email content" from *unknown factorz* ... would you have believed me ???
~

Subnote: I'm "happily single" and free to play music in my old age because I promised myself I'd never again make the mistake of marrying "for wrong reasons" ... I durnnear blueit ... but I kaught myself in the "nick_of_time" ... Phew Again !!!
~

Keep Smilin',

open E / Rayan

 

[Rayan]

~ Just Talkin' 2 Myself ~

hmmmm ... with all this about ebay ... I wonder where my TransPurp&Hdstk / Maple / WhPrloid SR5/piezo landed after she was ripped off last August

I'm too nervous to search the forum & c if the serial# shows up ...

hmmmm ... and I wonder if anyone cares that ebay along with CashConverterz etc makes things nice & ezy for dumping stolen gear into the market ...

hmmmm ... and I wonder if people realize the connections between "deals" and "steals", and that under the heading "what goes around ...", sooner or later somebody has to get ripped off for someone else to get a Real Steal of a Deal, and in accordance with the Law of Musical Chairs, everyone who *buys* into the stolen gear market gets their own chance to discover what *paying into it* feels like ...
~

Q. for anyone(s) in larger, more densely populated, higher-energy urban centres ... does it hurt when *you* get ripped off ??? or do you just get toughened and accept the ripoff as part of the beauty of living in the big, fast city ... and I'm just a whiner !?
~

open E / Rayan

 

[dwf1004]

My misspellings are part of a very seerius "kontinuous *un*learning" program aimed at remaining "youthful" to societee :-}}

Well, I read this, and then I read the letter that you sent to Beth re: Ernie Ball, and I was trying to figure you out...like multiple personalities, or something.

Welcome to the boards, bro!

 

[PRSPlayer]

[/QUOTE]Originally posted by Rayan: "Alas, had we been earlier acquainted and I *alerted* you about the dangers of "believing Email content" from *unknown factorz* ... would you have believed me ???"


It was a careless mistake on my part and yeah ... I feel pretty stupid.
And yes ... I've heard of these sort of scams. The scary thing is that this email "appeared" so convincing that I saw no reason to be skeptacle.

As far as "believing" someone who has taken the time to caution me on such emails? ... you bet!

 

[Rayan]

Nice Music Nasty World

Hey PRSPlayer,

I know from where you speak ... I was really scratching my head one night over an Email *apparently* from my own ISP about a serious usage / shutdown matter ... not asking me for my username and password, but to merely click on a "URL looking" link below ...

there were some really interesting clues that this was *not* a legitimate msg, but for the overly-enthusiastic "clicker", the object was actually a viral payload all ready to run/ruin the client ... I did my research which took about 1/2 hour and after "selecting, cutting, and pasting" key characters and strings as evidence, I just deleted the entire message ... then I sent msgs to my "guru" friend and phoned tech support at my ISP to confirm that I had received a known Email bomb from an unknown source ...

as it turned out, my investigations were accurate and I was able to identify the source (relay) as a particular professional acquaintance who had been so badly infected over the previous few weeks that her system was triggering cascading Email bombs all over creation ...

what kept me out of trouble basically was a simple but logical and consistent "personal security policy" = "never open unknown attachments" = ("never click on unknown URLs") ... there can and must be exceptions at times but these are handled by another set of rules and procedures ...

and Yes, I agree ... it sure would be nice if the promoters of modern conveniences were to be more "visibly" active in the establishment of "safe" practices and environments ...
~

but I guess it's like when I managed a really tough shoplifting problem in a known tough urban mall environment and realized I was getting abandoned by mall security who always seemed to show up just after the event was over and the goods were long_gone with the badguyz ...

it turns out that "mall security's" mandate is to create the "illusion" of safety and security toward the "protection" of *consumer confidence* ... the more I beefed up my own in-store security the more nervous mall management became because I was "scaring" the customers ...

I was seen to be the villain ... *I* and *not* the criminals, was being blamed for the mall's overall and known bad reputation ...
~

knowing this is a bit of a long post, my aim is to share some experiences which assist others in their understanding of invisible forces and the development of their own personal security policies and procedures
~

open A / Rayan

 

[Rayan]

Katfood

Hi Darrell,
~
Tnx for the welcome mat ... yeah ... multiple mentalities in shifting sandz )

Down at the factory office, Beth knows me as someone else ... I "met" Beth over a weird circumstance involving a lost SR5 order which eventually was filled and then became the ripped off TransPurp ... and then Beth patched me back together with a BlackCherryBurst SR5 ...

I had in mind to celebrate the life and passing of Ernie Ball by placing an order ... L&M is researching an Envy Green Bongo 5 HHP ... but I think I'm getting disillusioned ...
~

I promised to try and behave myself - but something ... something is ... well we're not sure
~
open D / Rayan

 

[Rayan]

there IS a P in cornflakes

Hey Darrell,
~ I've been catching up on EBMM news and realized I'm behind the curve ... it seems eBay *is* an important part of corporate strategy and culture, and we're not doing any good here by probing too deeply into the minor inconveniences & aggravations ...
since I've already ruffled feathers in a neighbouring henhouse with my irreverance, wha'd'ya'think ? ... should I head for the bus station now or wait for security to show me the door ?
~
/ Rayan