These fake sign-in pages ARE IN AUCTIONS AFTER YOU HAVE ALREADY SIGNED INTO EBAY, and is what makes these so tricky and more dangerous than the fraudulent emails that get sent out.  Almost all of this guide, is referring to the fake sign-in pages ON EBAY, rather than fake emails you will receive that then give you a fake sign-in page!

There is a scam on Ebay now that essentially involves a fake sign-in page coming up and when you enter your information, it's stolen.  Then expensive items are listed using your id and sold, but the thief keeps the momey.  They also can buy other auctions from other sellers with your id. 

I recently found out about this scam from a Paypal supervisor who had this happen to him (on his Ebay account).  Once your account info is stolen, they will change your password (and possibly other information).  So when you try to log-in the next time, you will not be able to - since the password has been changed.  You may also start getting auction listing confirmation emails (unless the thief is able to change the email address on your account also).

HOW TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING TO YOU:  If you get a fake sign-in page, it will be when trying to view, put a watch on or bid on an auction AFTER you have already signed-in.  Once you sign-in to your account, you will only be asked to sign-in again, if changing your information, filing a complaint, or performing other Ebay functions (other than viewing, watching, or bidding on auctions).  Even if you just reduce or hide your Ebay window (and do not close it totally), you can still come back to Ebay through that link WITHOUT having to sign-in again (unless performing certain Ebay functions), EVEN IF IT HAS BEEN A COUPLE OF HOURS!  Those of us who have got this sign-in page when viewing, watching, or bidding on an auction, after we have already signed-in sometime earlier, have thought that our computer or the page/link had just timed-out (this does happen frequently on Paypal but NOT on Ebay).   You can also go to Ebay and view auctions without signing-in at all (so beware of a sign-in page if you are just trying to view an auction), but will have to sign-in to put a watch or bid on an auction - but again, if you have already signed-in once and have not closed that Ebay link - you should NEVER have to sign-in again, just to view, watch, or bid on an auction because the Ebay link will not time-out!  Alot of people have gotten these several times, and were thinking that Ebay was just being extra careful (or that their link was timing out like they DO on Paypal)!

The user id's that are being stolen are usually the ones that rarely get used.  The user doesn't buy or sell very often at all (so they don't log into their acct. very often and won't know their account has been hijacked).

EBAY TOOLBAR:  To protect your account, go to the Ebay home page.  Click on the Ebay Toolbar at the bottom of the page.  This is a free download and contains an ACCOUNT GUARD, that will tell you if you are NOT on an Ebay site - so you will know if the sign-in page is not authentic, and many other features.  This is THE best way to protect your Ebay account.  Ebay IS a great place to get bargains and/or to find items no longer available in the retail market, so by being careful, you can continue to save money and/or find those rare items!

You can also protect yourself by changing your passowrd frequently!!!!

There is a new Ebayer who has written a guide about this scam (and I am sure there are others), however they are NOT providing correct information at all!  They give you several examples of how to tell if an account has been hijacked or is fake, and they are not true!  One warning they give you is that the bidders list, will be private.  THIS IS NOT TRUE.  Ebay provides this function for sellers to use for many very good reasons.  The most important one is to protect the identity of the person bidding (some people don't want everyone knowing what they are buying).  Another important reason for making the bidders id's private is because some buyers will not bid against people they know or are friends with.  Many sellers of large wholesale lots, will frequently make the bidders id's private because if they didn't, there would be alot of potential bidders who will not bid if they see that a friend or someone they know is bidding and the seller would end up losing money on that lot!!  Hiding the bidders ids', would be of NO benefit to a hijacked account.  The person giving these warnings, just doesn't understand what all of the Ebay options available, are really for.  This person has also listed MANY high dollar items and basically said that all auctions for these items are fraudulent accounts - AND THIS ISN'T TRUE!   If you are new to Ebay, you will be afraid to bid on Ebay at all by the time you get done reading that guide because of all of the false information provided (believe me, I not only sell alot on Ebay every week, I also buy ALOT every week) and it is perfectly safe as long as you read the warnings that Ebay and Paypal give you (read all of the new information you get when you sign up) and by using some common sense.  Always email or phone Ebay if you have questions you can not find the answers to in the help pages!!!  There is alot of false information given out by people who either have had one bad experience or have just simply heard rumors, and they are passing them along.

This latest scam with the fake sign-in page, I must admit IS enough to worry anyone, but again, remember that if you get a sign-in page WHEN VIEWING, WATCHING OR BIDDING ON AN AUCTION AFTER YOU HAVE ALREADY SIGNED-IN EARLIER AND HAVE NOT TOTALLY CLOSED THAT EBAY LINK, then it IS A FAKE SIGN-IN PAGE (something has been inserted into that auction, like a type of virus, that makes the fake sign-in page come up) - SO DO NOT SIGN-IN AGAIN!   If you think your Ebay link might have been totally closed or if you are just not sure, simply hit your back button (it won't let you if you are no longer signed in), go look at another auction (NOT FROM THE SAME SELLER), and see if you are able to put a watch on that auction without signing-in again.  If you don't get the sign-in page, then you'll know for sure that the previous auction is from a thief trying to steal your id and password.  PLEASE REPORT THESE AUCTIONS TO EBAY SO WE CAN GET THESE THIEVES OFF OF EBAY!!  Remember:  if you use your Ebay account frequently, you could still run across one of these fake sign-in pages, but chances are that your account won't be hijacked, since you would be alerted to a problem the next time you tried to sign-in (they change the password immediately).  These thieves will also BUY AUCTIONS WITH YOUR ID!!  So be careful, remember that Ebay links do not time-out like Paypal's does, and change your password at least monthly.

LASTLY, most people already know about these next scams so this is probably for more for all of you new Ebayers.  There are MANY fake emails being sent that appear to be coming from either Ebay or Paypal (complete with logo's and exact wording).  Most will say things that make you WANT to immediately click on the link provided, so you can go to your account.  They may even tell you that your account has been accessed illegally, etc.  DO NOT, EVER, CLICK ON ANY LINKS IN THESE EMAILS!!!   EVEN IF THE EMAIL ADDRESSES YOU BY YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME!!!  Paypal still tells us that THEIR emails (authentic) will always address you by your first and last name rather than by Dear valued customer or other, but some of these fake emails are now addressing us by our first and last names.  If you need to go to your account to see if the email information is true, OPEN A NEW LINK (NOT THE LINK IN THE EMAIL), then go to Ebay or Paypal and check!  You can, and should, also FORWARD the email to spoofatEbay(or Paypal).com (use the at symbol - I couldn't use it in this review) and they will email you back within a matter of minutes, and tell you if it is real or not!   Many of the fakes will look like payment notifications from Paypal, for a high dollar item (then you are told to click on the link provided if you didn't authorize this purchase).  If you do click on the links in these emails, the thief will have your id and password, and then will either buy things with your Ebay id (or misuse it in other ways), or with Paypal, they can drain your bank account, etc.  So NEVER CLICK ON A LINK IN ANY EMAIL THAT APPEARS TO BE FROM EBAY OR PAYPAL - then your accounts will be safe!

By following the safety rules, you really don't have to worry about your accounts being accessed - and please do not believe everything you read in some of these guides!  I see many that are just a buyer complaining about a seller and feedback is available for this purpose (you can also report the seller to Ebay and/or Paypal) - this is not what the guides and reviews are for.  In addition, most of these types of complaints aren't even true - it's just someone getting revenge when THEY are the one's who did something wrong and got caught.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact Ebay or Paypal and ask them.  I hope you found this information helpful.  I wrote this to alert as many people as possible to this new scam.

wc-racer

See my other guides on how to spot fake MAC cosmetics and one on why some MAC prices on Ebay are retail price or higher.