Hostage Crisis on Main St. in eBayville...news at 11:00

I , like most seasoned ebayers, have seen and been victim of the darker side of the otherwise fantastic ebay system.  I've had my share of non paying bidders, items that arrive that look nothing like their description, spoof emails and I have even had my account HI-JACKED.  Today I have experienced the lowest form of petty crime yet. 

I received a ransom note from within the ebay message system.  The Hostage?  My precious 100% feedback rating.  The message read:  Deposit $20.00 in my paypal account or I will leave you a negative feedback!  Better hurry, you don't have much time!

If you are done gasping, I'll try to go on. 

The message was not a spoof  since it came to me from within the ebay platform.  Let me tell you,  NEVER even read your ebay messages from your own email.  I think it's nice that they send them, but there are too many spoofs and frauds out there so I ONLY read my messages from within the ebay frame.  Back to the ransome note.  The message info said it came from a bidder on the item the message was in reference to, but when I checked that item there were no bidders and no retractions.  I still can't figure that one out.  I used the link in the message to report it.  That is all anyone should do,  let ebay security deal with the matter.

It is up to us in the ebay community to help safe harbour and ebay by reporting these types of messages and the scams we run into in the auctions.  Many times it is easier to just move on and delete the message but that is not going to make the problem go away. When someone sends you any message that seems a little odd, just forward it to  spoof @ ebay.com  They will investigate the matter and let you know if the message was genuine or not.   I refuse to be mugged and have my pockets picked just because I take good care of my customers and vendors!  I urge you to do the same.

Thank you for your kind attention.  If you found this guide helpful in any way, or even just a little amusing, please vote yes below. Thanks!