Even the smartest geeks can get hacked simply by responding to a question.

I've been in the computer business in some aspect for almost 20 years now, and I consider myself pretty savvy. I always feel bad for people who get their accounts hacked, because most people don't have the experience I do and so their easy pray for the low lifes out there on the Interwebs*.

Well, my cockiness just almost got my account hacked, and I probably would have lost my Geek status had I gone ahead with what I almost just did.

"Have you decided yet?"

That probably makes as much sense to you as it did to me when I was asked in a "Message from eBay Member" message. When I got the e-mail on my phone, I hit the reply to ask what the heck they were talking about. I got the dreaded UseTheYellowButton @ ebay.com address. I hate that. So I trudged over to my PC and did just that- clicked the "yellow button". Up pops the login page, and as I'm laying my fingers on the keyboard to log in, it dawns on me... I'm already logged in.

Why is it asking me to login again? And why is the User ID field blank? So I close the window and click the "Respond Now" button again. Same thing. Then I look closer at the e-mail. It's addressed not to my eBay e-mail address, but another address I use. Then I look closer at the web address of the login page. It starts off right... "http ://signin.ebay.com..." but instead of a slash before the rest, there's some numbers, some more text and then another .com. It's not eBay's web site at all.

Had I "logged in" on that page, I would have given my login information to someone who obviously isn't eBay. Chances are within minutes my password and other account information would have been changed, and most likely there would be bogus listings for cars that don't exist under my ID (see my other Guide on that scam).

It's scary how close I just came to doing what I always warn others NOT to do... NEVER log in to eBay from a link in an e-mail. So how do you respond if you're not logged in? Simple- open up your browser and go to eBay's web site from your own bookmark or favorite, or just type in ebay.com yourself. Click on My eBay and login. Now for as long as you keep a browser window open, you should not have to login again. Even better, make it a habbit to login to eBay as soon as you go online. If you are prompted to login again, BE SUSPICIOUS.

And NEVER, EVER LOGIN FROM A LINK IN AN E-MAIL.

If you found this guide helpful, please vote "Yes" below and help spread the word.