Scam Types dot Com

Yes, you did read that right. I said pay your eBay fees to ME.

Well, that’s what the scammer was saying to me when he sent me one of the emails I received this morning -

Dear xxxxxxxxx,

Please don’t forget to pay your eBay fees. The balance of GBP17.17 on your eBay seller account is due soon. Fees are charged for eBay listings and services.

Please pay your eBay fees as soon as possible so that you can continue to use eBay as normal. You can pay via PayPal, credit card or cheque.

Here’s how to check your account status and make a payment:

1. Go to the eBay.co.uk homepage.
2. Click on the “My eBay” link at the top of the page. You may be asked to sign in.
3. Click on “Seller Account” on your My eBay page. This is located on the left-hand side, under the heading “My Account”.
4. Follow the prompts on this page to review your Account Status, and select a method to pay your eBay fees.

Tip for the future:

The fastest and easiest way to pay your eBay fees is to pay them automatically from your PayPal account, bank account or credit card each month. Please follow the instructions above to select an automatic payment method.

For more information on paying your eBay fees, please copy the following link into a new browser window:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/account/payfees.html

If you have already paid your eBay fees, please disregard this message. If you have any queries or require assistance, please use our Help system by clicking on the “Help” link at the top of most eBay pages. From there, you can click on “Contact Us” to send an email to Customer Support.

Thank you for your cooperation.
Regards,

eBay International AG

After the “Woolwich” phisher last night at least I have to give this one some credit for making it look authentic at least. He even got the right currency for my country!

Strange though… I seem to remember clearing all that I owed with eBay before Christmas!

Well hang on a minute, where does that link go? Oh!! Not to eBay, thats for sure!

Instead, it goes to http://click2.ebay.com/182098953.533522.0.43330 which, I’m fairly certain, will take me somewhere that looks like eBay but will actually be a site run by a scammer.

The best way to not get caught out is to never reply to links in emails. If you need to access your eBay account for any reason then open a new browser window and type the website address in yourself, or use a bookmark. That way you can be assured that the page you land on is the one you expected.