Hi folks, I just wanted to let you all know about a "new" tactic the fake "Ebay" emailers are using to gather your personal information. I have seen probably hundreds of emails from these people claiming that they're from "ebay" and that my account will be "limited" or "suspended" due to "unauthorized activity" or if I don't "update" my information by clicking on the link in the email I could be permanently suspended....yadda yadda yadda

But, I will say, this one really takes the cake!!

Just recently, I received an email from "ebay" stating that I have received an unpaid item strike. This just floored me, as I had no clue what the heck they were talking about, and being curious, I had to read the email to see what this was about. I knew darn well that I had always paid for every item, so this had to be a mistake. Sure enough, it was for some item that I had not even heard of!!

And then there was the telltale "click on this link" which led to an area where I could enter my user ID and password to view this so-called report. All I can say is, it's a good thing that there is an Account Guard feature on the Ebay toolbar, which notified me immediately that it wasn't a legitimate ebay site, otherwise, I could have been in some real trouble !!

ALSO: I just received a "receipt" from "paypal" for supposedly purchasing an item from a seller that I have never heard of. This one was a little trickier to spot as fake, however, here is what told me it wasn't real:

1. It was a receipt for an item I never purchased
2. The "receipt" did not address me by my real name. Instead, it said "dear ebay member" (PayPal will use your real name)
3. The body of the message contained a link to "dispute" the sale (It opens a window to enter your ID and password!!)
4. The entire body was a gif image (Nice try!!)

As you can see, these scam artists are pretty crafty, and will do just about anything to get your attention.

I wanted to make other members aware that these scam artists are STILL OUT THERE, and **DO NOT**I REPEAT**DO NOT**EVER** give these people your personal information, such as your password, user ID, credit card/bank info, etc.

These people are scam artists and ultimately WILL USE YOUR INFORMATION TO COMMIT IDENTITY THEFT and even EMPTY YOUR BANK ACCOUNT!!!

The reason I can say this for certain is that a couple of years ago, it happened to ME.

Yup, believe it or not, I actually fell for it once, and that's all it takes!!

They stole my identity, and every cent I had in the bank to go with it. You can't even imagine the h*ll I went through, between closing all of my bank accounts, and dealing with the police, who couldn't do anything because it was being done from an offshore account somewhere overseas. Nice, huh?

All I can say is, if in doubt, open a separate window and type in www.ebay.com. Then you can go into your account and check for yourself without worry.

One thing you can always do is to change your ebay & paypal passwords every once in awhile, and for goodness sakes, don't use the same password for both!! A more secure password will contain a combination of letters and numbers. (Just a little tip)

So, to make a long story short: EBAY WILL NEVER ASK YOU FOR YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IN AN EMAIL.

If you receive an email that asks for your personal information, IT IS NOT FROM EBAY.

It is from someone trying to fraudulantly scam you out of your personal information and God knows what else.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!!

I sincerely hope that these people are brought to justice so that we can all trade in peace.

Have a safe & happy holiday season!!