So I was bidding on a B-bag for the Mrs. DH when I was outbid at the last moment. I was the second highest bidder, but I lost the auction.
Today I get an eMail that looks like it comes from eBay saying the highest bidder did not complete the transaction and the seller is now offering me the "second chance offer" to buy the bag at my last bid price! Just click the reply now button to accept this offer, which expires in a couple of days.
I hit the yellow "reply" button and suddenly I notice that I am replying to a HotMail email account address. The seller is actually one of those "I Sold It on eBay" franchised drop-off centers. I think to myself, shouldn't they have a more professional looking eMail address for a business than a HotMail account?
I decide to forward the eMail to [email protected] and sure enough, it's a scam! No doubt if I had sent my PayPal payment right away, they would be shipping me my bag just as soon as hell freezes over...
The scary part is that everything about the eMail looked authentic. It even had a working link back to the original auction, they mentioned my user account by name in the header of the eMail (this is actually an eBay security feature) and they had working links to the "learn more about security" and other FAQ pages on eBay. Only the unlikely HotMail account address tipped me off.
eBay...a scammer's paradise! When will it end?
Today I get an eMail that looks like it comes from eBay saying the highest bidder did not complete the transaction and the seller is now offering me the "second chance offer" to buy the bag at my last bid price! Just click the reply now button to accept this offer, which expires in a couple of days.
I hit the yellow "reply" button and suddenly I notice that I am replying to a HotMail email account address. The seller is actually one of those "I Sold It on eBay" franchised drop-off centers. I think to myself, shouldn't they have a more professional looking eMail address for a business than a HotMail account?
I decide to forward the eMail to [email protected] and sure enough, it's a scam! No doubt if I had sent my PayPal payment right away, they would be shipping me my bag just as soon as hell freezes over...
The scary part is that everything about the eMail looked authentic. It even had a working link back to the original auction, they mentioned my user account by name in the header of the eMail (this is actually an eBay security feature) and they had working links to the "learn more about security" and other FAQ pages on eBay. Only the unlikely HotMail account address tipped me off.
eBay...a scammer's paradise! When will it end?
