If you receive an email that appears to be from eBay requesting personal information, be cautious. The email may be a spoof or phishing email. The people who send these fake emails hope that unsuspecting recipients will reply or click on a link in the email and provide personal information including passwords, bank account and credit card numbers.

Legitimate eBay emails

eBay will never ask you to provide account numbers, passwords or other confidential information through email. If eBay does request information from you, a copy of that email will also appear in the My Messages section of My eBay. If you have any doubt that an email is from eBay, open a new browser, type in the address of the site you registered on, and sign in. Any email that mentions a problem with your account or requests personal information, and is not in My Messages, is a phishing (fake) email.

Phishing emails

Phishing emails often include the use of the eBay logo and an eBay address in the "From" line (for example "From: support@ebay.com"). The email may mimic common eBay emails, such as notifications of problems with your account, 'Ask seller a question' emails or offers to become an eBay PowerSeller.

Phishing emails typically have the following characteristics:

• Requests sensitive information (eg Please update your credit card number)

• Starts with a generic greeting (eg Dear eBay member)

• Has an urgent tone for quick action (eg 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 (eg spoof web link: http://signin-ebay.com.au/)

When you receive a suspicious email

• Do not click on any link in the email. The purpose of phishing emails is to lead you to a website in an attempt to collect personal information and commit identity theft or other crimes.

• Report the email by forwarding it to spoof@ebay.com.au or spoof@paypal.com.au. We'll review the email and let you know if it's a legitimate communication from eBay.
  
  Important: So that we may investigate your report, you must forward the email without adding attachments, adding text or altering text.

Take a tutorial on how to spot a spoof (fake) email.