ANOTHER eBay scammer

Got an email message AGAIN claiming to be from service@ebay.com regarding "During our regular update and verification of the accounts, we could not verify your current information." TOTALLY authentic in appearance EXCEPT when I went to the link the information requested included my SOCIAL SECURITY number. EVERYTHING about this site looks legit including the url. Well, eBay NEVER asked for my SS number (I wouldn't give to anyone anyway) so I KNEW I was being "had". These guys are really getting GOOD. I wonder how many will provide the requested information. OUCH! Craig

I wish we could get rid of those people once and for all.Impossible though,just like trying to block phone soliciters.Trouble with scammers,losers creating virus' and all other people breaking the laws and making our pursuit of happiness that more difficult is that the laws dont work. We can thank lenient judges,scumbag lawyers,and liberal eggheads for it all.John.

Amen John!

Give them totally wrong information.

Make sure it is false so that they trip up, but keep it believable and maybe it will help them get caught.

I stopped getting the other bogus style of scam where they were looking for someone to give them their bank account, I told them I only use Bearer Bonds, and to meet me at the airport in Mena at a specified time, and not to be late. Never got one of those after that.

BUT_ BE CAREFUL! If you use Quicken, and do your accounting, banking, or other transactions online, or have personal data on your computer- THAT INFORMATION IS VULNERNABLE, AND YOU WILL NOT EVEN KNOW IT IS BEING TAKEN!

To avoid any potential for problems:

*Clear ALL cookies from your computer after each transaction; *Purge "Cache" files *If you are savy enough, Purge Temp files related to any Quicken workbook stuff, and NEVER save any data on your hard drive. *NOTE* Quicken is so laden with problems, do not even put it onto a computer that is going to be going online! *Go to the MS "Windows Update" Site, and download the service packs, and "Hot Fix" patches, and do this at least once a month. *Get a firewall program like one Alarm, the Internet Explorer firewall only works with MSN, and IE, if you use AOL, Earthlink, Netscape- It does nothing for you.

I tried something similar to that once, but still ended up getting another later on.

One "clue" I have noticed in these scams is that their copyright at the bottom of their page only goes to 2002. All of genuine Ebay correspondence will show copyright up to date of 2003. But yes they are getting pretty good at it.

Hmm.....never thought about bogus information. On the other hand, I don't even want them to know who exists at my particular IP address, although they maybe already do. Then again, I might get lucky and subject some poor innocent to a maxed out credit card or worse!!! I use Black Ice for a firewall that will not let anything LEAVE my pc without asking and also informs me when someone is trying to poke around inside my pc. For you guys using the XP OS, my young geek friend tells me the built-in XP firewall actually works to some extent! There are numerous "stealth" tests on the web to find out if/how vulnerable you are to prying eyes. Like they always said, "If you can't be good, be careful". This ESPECIALLY goes for Chase who I expect will be making the switch from hard old iron to something of a softer density soon!!! ;-) Craig

Ebay states right on their site: "Please remember that eBay will never ask you for your private information, including credit card information or password, in an email. Also, eBay will never send you any request or solicitation from a non-eBay email account, or provide a link outside of eBay for entering credit card or other private information".

Therefore, you IMMEDIATELY KNOW ANY AND ALL such emails purporting to be from ebay are a scam.

Delete them, and/or forward them to spoof@ebay.com but DO NOT click on the link provided! It only lets the crook know he's reached a live email address!

As far as the other comment about lenient judges and internet crooks, unfortunately much of what goes on in the sewers of the internet is based in some far-off country, far from the reach of US justice!

I use two computers networked together. All of my persional information is on the 2nd computer. I never turn it on when I am on line with the 1st computer.

William

As for not responding to an email to identify of a live link/email does not work.

When people do not have a firewall, and have not altered their cookie defaults, you only need to be online when they do a "port scan". Sometimes these are innocuous, but most often, they are trying to get something.

Actually depending on what sites you are looking at, kind of determines where you are are going to see port scans originating. Only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the instances I see in my port logs are outside of the country at most. Most are concentrated in Texas, California, and the Washington DC area.

Sending them bogus info does not always prevent other attempts from other fools, but it sure cuts down on the repeated attempts from the same fools.

Letting Ebay know about the frauds is a good idea, forwarding the bogus email gives them header info that they can work from- but often it is a hacked source and they have to go to the log info to proceed from there. Either from the serve that hosts the bogus site, or from the mail handling.