How do I know that an email is really from eBay?

The best advice is to always be cautious, especially when you get a request for personal information. The email is probably a fake, a “spoof”, or “phishing” email, and the people who send these types of emails hope you will reply or click on a link contained in the email and then provide them your personal information including social security numbers, credit card numbers, and passwords.

Spoof emails most often include the eBay logo and an eBay address in the “From” line, such as support@ebay.com, and it will mimic common eBay email subjects like notifications of problems with your account, or offers of various kinds.

Spoof emails typically have the following characteristics.

• Requests sensitive information. (Example: Please update your credit card number.)
• Starts with a generic greeting. (Example: Dear eBay member)
• Has an urgent tone for quick action. (Example: “Ignoring this message will result in a suspension of your account within 24 hours”.)
• Contains links to Web pages that resemble the eBay sign-in page. (Example spoof Web link: http://signin-ebay.com/)

When you receive a suspicious email

• Do not click on any link in the email. The purpose of spoof email is to lead you to a Web site and attempt to collect personal information and commit identity theft or other crimes.
• Report the email by forwarding it to spoof@ebay.com, and eBay will review the email and let you know if it was legitimately sent by eBay.

Important: In order for eBay to investigate your report, you must forward the email without adding attachments, adding text or altering text.

eBay will never ask you to provide account numbers, passwords or other sensitive information through email. If eBay does request information from you, a copy of that email will be in the My Messages box in My eBay. If you have any doubt that an email really is from eBay, open a new browser window, type www.ebay.com, and sign in. Any email that looks as if it is from eBay, mentions a problem with your account or requests personal information, and is not in My Messages in My eBay, is a spoof (fake) email.