eBay Account Verification Scam

Audri actually received one of these emails, supposedly from eBay, the other day. It's another variation on the 'verify your account information' online scam.

The email included the eBay logo, and links to the actual eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy. Seems like scammers are getting even more bold these days.

The text of the email explains that eBay is "undertaking a period review of our member accounts," and that as a result, you have to go to their Web site and fill out the required information.

Needless to say, the visible Web site URL, which does look somewhat official http://arribba.cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?UpdateInformationConfirm&bpuser=1 takes you to the scammer's Web site linked with a hidden URL, using the same techniques described above in the Best Buy scam.

As always, you should be *very* suspicious of any email asking you to verify your account information, no matter how official it looks.

You should see a big red flag if the URL you're being asked to visit starts with 'http://' rather than 'https://'. The extra 's' stands for secure, which means your information will be transmitted through a secure connection. That was one of the tip-offs that this was a scam.

Second, if you need to access your account, go to the Web site directly without using any link from the email (for example, type http://www.ebay.com in a Web browser window). Then, when you log on to your account, you can be sure you're using the official site.

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