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There's a scam going around... well, this isn't new, it just has resurgances every now and then.

It LOOKS almost real... but you have to check the links!


Subject: Your Final Warning From eBay
From: "aw-confirm @ ebay.com" <aw-confirm @ ebay.com>  
   
Update Your Account Information Within 24 Hours


Valued eBay Member,
According to our site policy you will have to confirm that you are the real owner of the eBay account by completing the following form or else your account will be suspended within 24 hours for investigations.

Never share your eBay password to anyone!

Establish your proof of identity with ID Verify (free of charge) - an easy way to help others trust you as their trading partner. The process takes about 5 minutes to complete and involves updating your eBay information. When you're successfully verified, you will receive an ID Verify icon  in your feedback profile. Currently, the service is only available to residents of the United States and U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and Guam.)


To update your eBay records >> Click here << [color=deepskyblue](the click here has THIS url:
http:// 220.82.250.50/ icons/ . signin.ebay.com /ws/eBayISAPIdllSignIn.php ((EDIT)) [i]DO NOT TRY TO GO TO THIS LIKE... VIRUS ON SITE!!! (Thanks Allstar!)) ((end edit))


We appreciate your support and understanding, as we work together to keep eBay a safe place to trade.
Thank you for your patience in this matter.

Trust and Safety Department
eBay Inc.

Please do not reply to this e-mail as this is only a notification. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.

Note : Ignoring this message will cause the Suspension of your account . To reactivate it you will have to pay a fee of 350 $ .

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So it LOOKS legit... but Ebay doesn't charge a single dime for membership. and the url I quoted up there is NOT a real ebay url.

As with all things, always be careful on WHAT you click... if you have any questions... please don't hesitate to email Ebay or the company in question.

I have posted SEVERAL of these warnings on their site, and I always get the same response...  basically "yeah, we know... please be careful on that stuff."

Matt

Hi Matt,

well, usually when you find an "or else" word combination in e-mail like that, you can almost 100% say that it's fake. The legit notifications always ask to login first and do the changes / updates while logged in. And there are no url's. This is what I've learned.

Thanks for the warning!

jee  

yeah Jee... you and I know that, but it's amazing the people that they'll dupe into it. I just wanted to help spread the word... and to show HOW to find out it's fake... and what to do about it.

Yup Knightshow same goes for the similar letter about paypal....
I thought it was valid but I went directly to paypal.com and logged in then went to account.. Nothing there about verifying  It would be like your bank sending you a letter asking you who you are Ive got 136 pos feedbacks no negs ever on Ebay and I would tend to email them and say if I'm not verified by now then bye...  :wave:

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

For sure a good thing to do Matt!

Those fake-junk-e-mails really get on nerves sometimes... in Finland there are a couple of those cases where an unfortunate person has paid an "expense fee" in order to get a "transfer commission" of a big treasure to be exported from Africa... and someone else has paid an "expense fee" in order to receive funds from a lottery in Netherlands in which they never took part... of course in both cases no money was ever seen nor existed.

Personally I rarely react to an e-mail unless I knew for sure where it came from.

jee

TYVM for that information Matt. It is amazing how many people still get caught in the web of those bastards.

Just a warning though, if you do follow the link Matt provided, you get an instantaneous virus, the VBS.Redlof.A virus. Here's a description:

VBS.Redlof is an encrypted, polymorphic virus, that has the ability to attach itself to outgoing e-mail sent by Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express.

Redlof infects blank.htm in the "Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery\" directory or creates this file if it does not exist.

Here a detailed description
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/viru ... x?ID=11877

Please make sure you have the latest Microsoft security features.

wow tony... I didn't even click the link, so I had NO idea... I'll edit that sucker outta there. THANKS!

i actually got that email...i too only change things concerning ebay and paltalk once i am already logged in...that url clicking doesnt quite fancy me...thanxs for posting maybe some people did not know about it...

It's just an electronic version of the "Bank Inspector" scam.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

Geeesh... thanks for the info Matt!! Seems we gotta build a frickin' fortress around ourselfs anymore...

It is not just an electronic version of the "Bank Inspector" scam, timberlea, it is a way of cheating innocent people out of their money, and should be taken very seriously.

When did I say not to take it seriously.  It's an old con game, what surprises me is that people still fall for it.  Right now it's just a new spin on an old game.  With all the warnings out there, it shouldn't happen but what makes it work so well is one thing - PEOPLES GREED.  The Nigerian e-mail (we give you a cheque for  hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to cash for us and you get to keep a percentage) con is just another spin on the "Bank Inspector" routine.  Remember you don't get something for nothing.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

Strange enough, just the past Sunday, I was reading the Readers Digest in which they had a whole article about that. I could not believe my eyes as I was reading that people actually fall for that. And Yes, timberlea, you hit the nail on the head, it is the greedy nature of people that make them fall for these scams. Unfortunately it happens with the people that can really not afford the financial losses.

thanks for the heads up

Some basic tips...

1. If an email request that you forward it don't - it's the online equivilent of a chain leter.
2. If an email request personal information or passwords it's not true - it's something called phishing.  The online equivilent of scamming and thievery.
3. Never give any personal information or click a link in an email that isn't from someone you know AND you verify that the request is valid.

There are a number of vulnerabilities that makes the link say paypal.com, yourbank.com, ebay.com, etc and it will go to the phishing site instead.

Insure you use a spyware removal tool regularly AND that it's up to date - I recommend Ad-Aware but even Microsoft is producing a spyware removal tool now - it's in beta testing.
Insure you are using an up to date Anti-virus tool.  There is a reason to update these things.  New virii and spyware is being released all the time and if you don't update you're not protected.  I tend to update at least every 2 days.  Yes, 2 days and sometimes every day.

If you just can't justify the cost of Norton's, McAffee, or other costly antivirus and protection programs I recommend you check out AVG Anti-virus.  It's free for personal use, and one of top anti-virus programs in Europe.  Ad-aware is also free for personal use and widely used.

BTW, I also recommend you shred any personal iformation you throw away in the trash since credit card numbers and other personal information is easily obtained this way.  If you're a little more paranoid I recommend a cross-cut shredder over the strip shredders.  They're marginally more expensive but much more thorough and the resulting output takes less room.