Last week, eBay had announced it too had a “now-all-too-common” security breach, and was suggesting people change their passwords to protect their identity from further abuse. In the wake since this announcement, scammers have been sending “phishing emails” that look like they’re from eBay prompting people to change their password using a link in the email. The emails look very legit- and may even have your username and or actual name listed, but sadly they link to non-eBay websites and attempt to get you to “change your password” there. The scammers are hoping that you enter a username and password combination that you use elsewhere online, and depending on how naive you seem, will ask you to “verify” your SSN, credit card info, and/or bank information. This kind of email spamming from “eBay” isn’t new; it became so popular several years back that eBay stopped sending emails with links in them because it became so hard to determine legit communication from eBay. That direction still holds true, and eBay will prompt you to log into your account, and visit their account management page to make any changes, rather than give you a link directly to it in an email. It’s actually a good practice to never click on links in email, and log into your account separately when you receive communication from them. Now more than ever, please be leery of official looking emails from trusted websites you deal with, and be very cautious of links, pictures, and files you download from them- not only to protect your computer from viruses, but to protect your identity as well!
