This past year I have won $93,000 in the Canadian Lottery and sold a $210.00 dollar dog bed for $1000.00 I have spent $319.00 on Itunes music and bought a $264.00 watch for shopus4watches.com, Opened a web account at PC Hiway Dorking LTD for $102.00  and have 100's of questions from possible buyers of my products.  all Scams. I am so fed up with these people trying to get my hard earned money.  I know many people out there have been scammed and probable lost 100's if not 1000's of dollars. It makes me sick the stories I have heard about the scams and how we the working people of this country get the shaft.  I could explain the stories behind everyone of these scams but I am sure you all have been through them too.  We just need somewhere to vent and share our stories, So others will be aware of the recent and not so recent scams plaguing ebay and the internet today. 

Here are just few I have encountered

EBay Billing Scam - An individual receives an email that claims to be from EBay (or sometimes a bank). The email tells you there is a problem with your information. They ask you to go to their website to re-enter your name, credit card, social security, phone, address or other information. When you go to the site it looks like the real EBay (or a legitimate bank). If you submitted the information you should notify your credit card company, the Social Security Administration and any other agencies that you gave information for.

Money Order Scam - Similar to the Cashier's Check Scam listed below. You meet someone in a chat room. They seem very nice. They tell you they are an American living overseas (usually Nigeria). After they get to know you they say they are having trouble cashing some money orders and ask if you could do it for them. You have them mailed to you and you cash them and send the cash back the person. All is fine until a while later the bank contacts you to let you know the money order was a counterfeit and you are responsible for all the funds.

Cashier's Check Scam - You are trying to sell an item on the Internet. You get an offer from someone from a foreign country to buy your item. He/she tells you that someone in the US owes him money which is more than what you are asking for your item. He offers to have that person send you a cashier's check for the amount owed to him. You should then deposit the check, arrange for delivery of the item you are selling and mail him a personal check for the balance (because he/she trusts you so much!). Although a cashier's check can "clear" in a few hours, it can come back as counterfeit up to months later. The amount of the cashier's check will then be deducted from your checking account and the scammer has long since cashed your check.

 Ebay Account Scam - Fraudsters frequently forge "email from eBay", and ask recipients to click on a link to update their ID info. Some time after, the scammed eBayer finds his/her account hijacked, or his credit card used. another version is that your bank had contacted Ebay with suspicious charges and they need you to go check your account within 48hours or your account will be terminated.

Second Chance Offer - Soon after losing an auction, the second place bidder gets an email, supposedly from the seller, stating the highest bidder pulled out of the sale, so the item is available. Second place bidder replies, and gets another email, telling bidder to transfer money, usually by Western Union Instant Cash. Sometimes the second place bidder gets an email from "eBay" stating the auction is "insured", or "guaranteeing" that the seller is honest.  The buyer sends the money. The item doesn't arrive. The buyer learns it was a scam, and the money did not go to the real seller.

Double Sign for Ebay - Ebayer logs in to eBay, and starts searching for good deals. Finds something interesting, and clicks on the link (or something in the auction). eBay signing page reappears, so eBayer logs in again, and continues to wander around the eBay fairgrounds.
Not long thereafter, the eBay sees some strange auctions appearing in his/her ID! Expensive cellular, Kubota tractors, mountain bikes, plasma TVs, lots of high-priced stuff. The eBayer might even see some purchases he/she does not recognize.
A little investigation shows the eBayer's ID was hijacked. The eBayer knows he/she did not answer any phishing emails, so how did this happen?

Questions from Possible Buyer - eBayer gets an email, supposedly via the eBay Mail Forwarding System, with a title something like "Question from Buyer". The email contains a question about an auction, and a link to an auction page. eBayer may note that the auction is NOT something they are selling; but, to make sure, eBayer clicks on the link and seemingly is taken to the eBay signing page or a supposed auction page.
        Phony signing page is used to get eBayer's ID info for later scams.
        Phony auction site loads a Trojan or keystroke tracker on the eBayer's computer. Some of these programs have been known to disable antivirus software. Later, nasty things happen to the computer or the eBayer's account.
        If the eBayer answers the email rather than clicking on the auction link, the scammer then has the eBayer's real email address, and can add it to a list of future potential scammers that may get "email from eBay" telling them to verify their eBay and PayPal data.

Ok I have found a few items that have alerted me to spoof emails and scams here is what I have used and done

First thing whenever you get any email from ebay go to your Ebay account and if it is realit will be in your messages so far the crooks haven't figured that one out yet.

if you don't have any of the programs protecting your identity just type in the address it is safer that way.

The programs I use are Ebay Toolbar, Zone alarm phising protection and Robo Forms it's not just to fill out forms it protects your passwords that are on your computer believe it or not these passwords are on there hiding deep within your hard drive and they can get them believe me but with this you need a password to putting your password so your passwords are protected by a password we'll worth the money at 29.95. 

If you have experiened scams or anything out of the norm please leave your comment with us so we can keep everyone safe.

How to avoid the hook, line and sinker
The Federal Trade Commission’s No. 1 tip for avoiding this ripoff: DON'T provide any personal financial information via e-mail. (Banks and other companies frequently remind customers that they don't ever ask for sensitive financial data via e-mail.) Other tips from the FTC and the APWG:
Be extremely suspicious of any e-mail with urgent requests for personal financial information.

Don't fill out forms in e-mail messages that ask for personal financial information.

Don't use the links in an e-mail to get to any Web page if you suspect the message might not be authentic. Instead, telephone the company or log onto the Web site directly by typing its Web address in your browser.

Don't give your credit card numbers or account information unless you're using a secure Web site or the telephone. Check the beginning of the Web address in your browser's address bar. A secure site should show as "https://" rather than just "http://" (You may also want to click on the window containing the secure address, to make sure you’re not dealing with a floating window.)

Beware of e-mail attachments. Don't open them or download any files, regardless of who sent them.

Check your bank and credit card statements online on a regular basis. Make sure the transactions are legitimate. Don't wait for a mailed paper statement, which can take up to a month. If you see something suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers using a phone number you know to be legitimate or by typing in a secure Web site URL into the Internet browser address bar.

Use anti-virus software and keep it up to date. Anti-virus software and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting unwanted key-logger files. Look for anti-virus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older ones; that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates automatically.