eBay spoofs
 

This will probably be old hat to some people, but in the last couple of
days I've had several spoof e-mails purporting to be from eBay. The spoofers
are getting better at the game, so people new to this may be fooled. This is
the text of one of the spoofs I received, accompanied with the eBay logos:

__________________________________________________ _____________
Dear eBay user,
As part of our continuing commitment to protect your account and to reduce
the instance of fraud on our website, we are undertaking a period review of
our member accounts.
You are requested to visit our site by following the link given below
http://www.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI...n/%?7088080019
Please fill in the required information.
This is required for us to continue to offer you a safe and risk free
environment to run your auctions, and maintain the eBay Experience.
Thank you
Accounts Management
As outlined in our User Agreement, eBay will periodically send you
information about site changes and enhancements. Visit our Privacy Policy
and *User Agreement* if you have any questions.
Copyright 2002 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective
owners.
eBay and the eBay logo are trademarks of eBay Inc

*Announcements* |* Register* | *SafeHarbor (Rules & Safety)* | *Feedback
Forum* | *About eBay*
Copyright ｩ 1995-2001 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective
owners.
Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay *User*
__________________________________________________ _____________

Right-clicking on the link as it appears in the original e-mail shows that
it has been encoded so as to direct victims to quite a different website,
where they will then be asked to provide sensitive information. The words
I've put inside *asterisks* link to bona fide pages on the eBay site, which
adds to the plausibility of the spoof.

Some tips for the uninitiated (these are things I've gleaned; if anyone has
any additions/amendments please post them!):

1. Never click on a link; copy the link and paste it into the address box of
your browser.
2. If you suspect the link may be falsely encoded, right-click on it and
check the properties of the link; if it gives a different URL, it is likely
to be a spoof.
3. Before giving sensitive information online, check the URL very carefully;
it should generally begin "https://..."
4. Any request for PIN numbers is automatically fraud.
5. Report eBay spoofs (or anything you think may be a spoof) to
.
6. Go to http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidenc...eft-spoof.html
and http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidenc...eft-spoof.html for
further details.

--
John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com