Identity theft on EBay

[jkoehler]

I just thought that I would mention something that I had happen to me recently on EBay.
I was checking my account the other day and noticed that there was an item listed for sale under my account that wasn't mine.
somehow, someone figured out my password or something an listed the item against my account.
I notified EBay and they removed the item and suspended my account.
I am now trying to get my account activated.

So. I just thought that I would bring this to everyones attention so others will be aware and start watching for it.

 

[Ron Mc]

Jeff,
Thanks for the heads up!

 

[JimGo]

Wow, that's amazing Jeff!

 

[alamocdc]

Jeff, if you responded to any email that "appeared" to come from ebay (and it could have been from some time ago), that's how it happened. I get at least one ebay and paypal "spoof" email a month. All official email from them will use your name and ebay ID. If you get a message about suspicious activity, or one saying that your account will be deactivated unless you respond (or even something you aren't sure about), forward it to spoof@ebay.com (for paypal use spoof@paypal.com).

 

[clthayer]

I get 1-3 spoof emails a day, lately they have been from supposed banks and credit companies, though most are either paypal or ebay. I used to forward every one, but it hasn't made a difference in the amount of emails I recieve.

One thing you could do to avoid someone getting your password is to change your password every so often. Write it down if you have a hard time remembering stuff like that. I don't know if it makes a difference, but every time I am ready to leave ebay, paypal, ups, etc. I always log out.

 

[DWK5150]

That actually happened to me a couple months ago as well but they didnt suspend my account though.

 

[rfreeouf]

I don't know if this is the case but did you use the same password for you use for e-mail that you use for your e-bay account. If you do that may be part of the reason why you account was hacked. Usually e-mail passwords are unrestricted. Meaning they do not require alph, numeric and a special character. Usually they can be cracked fairly easily with the right software. If you use the same password for everything chances are if the e-mail gets crack then they can access other accounts you may have.

Here is a few tips that may be helpful:

1) Use complex passwords. (Aplha, Numeric and Special characters.)
2) Make sure that your password has at least 8 characters.
2) Use a different password for your e-bay account, paypal account and e-mail.