# Is this email really from eBay or a scammer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297 "2004-03-09T14:28:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/1 "2004-03-09T14:28:33Z")
So I hear about a lot of scams by people claiming to be eBay representatives sending out emails, but I’m not sure if this email I got yesterday is legit or not. Since it takes an act of congress to get a response from eBay, I hoped someone here can help a brother out. Here’s the (editted) email I got: > [@](#): > > _ **Urgent Safeharbor Department Notice** _ > > eBay Fraud Mediation Request > Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 > > You have recieve this email because you or someone had used your account to make fake bids at eBay. For security purposes, we are required to open an investigation into this matter. > > YOU MUST ENTER THE FRAUD ALERT ID CODE CONTAINED IN THIS MESSAGE IN OUR CONFIRMATION FORM IN ORDER TO VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT REGISTRATION INFORMATIONS. > > Fraud Alert ID CODE: xxxxxxxx > (Please save this Fraud Alert ID Code for your reference.) > > To help speed up this process, please access the following form to confirm your account registration informations: > > [http://scgi.ebay.com/verify\_id=ebay&fraud](http://scgi.ebay.com/verify_id=ebay&fraud) alert id code=xxxxxxxx > > Please Note - If we do not receive appropriate account verification, then we will assume this account is fraudulent and will be suspended. We apologize for this inconvenience, but the purpose of this verification is to ensure that your eBay account has not been fraudulently used and to combat fraud. > > We appreciate your support and understanding, as we work together to keep eBay a safe place to trade. > > Thank you for your patience in this matter. > > Regards, Safeharbor Department (Trust and Safety Department) > eBay Inc. > > Please do not reply to this e-mail as this is only a notification. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. > > Copyright © 2004 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. eBay and the eBay logo are trademarks of eBay Inc. eBay is located at 2145 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125. I removed the “fraud alert ID code” but there are 8 numbers there in the actual message. So what of it? Is it legit? should I click the link or what? ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/2 "2004-03-09T14:35:15Z")
Best course of action: forward this email to [spoof@ebay.com](mailto:spoof@ebay.com). They will ascertain for you whether or not it is a scam. Don’t click on anything. ---
**Author:** ![JackaRoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@JackaRoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackaRoe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/3 "2004-03-09T14:37:29Z")
It is a scam. ---
**Author:** ![dylan\_73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@dylan\_73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dylan_73)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/4 "2004-03-09T14:40:10Z")
Looks a bit like [this](http://www.firstauction.com/journal/fraud_comments/104_0_2_0_C/). Probably a scam. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/5 "2004-03-09T14:43:53Z")
> [@](#): > > To help speed up this process, please access the following form to confirm your account registration informations: I hope that eBay would use better grammer. And is that link supposed to work? I get a “connection refused” error. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/6 "2004-03-09T14:44:40Z")
“You have **recieve** this email because you or someone **had** used your account” The poor grammar makes me instantly suspicious. It is almost certainly a scam - the link (which looks like a link to a genuine part of the eBay site and has been converted into what looks like a genuine link when you copied and pasted here) will actually take you elsewhere - If you’re using a web mail service, click on View\>Source, then search for the string **[http://scgi.ebay.com](http://scgi.ebay.com)** - you’ll probably find that it looks like this: ```auto http://123.45.67.89/ ``` - the first bit is what you see on the screen, the second bit is where you’ll actually end up if you click it. If you’re using Outlook, you can view the message source by dragging the message out of your inbox onto the desktop, then launching notepad and dragging the desktop copy into it. ---
**Author:** ![Bromley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Bromley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bromley)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/7 "2004-03-09T14:48:24Z")
[Scam](http://www.millersmiles.co.uk/identitytheft/010904-ebay-email-scam.php) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/8 "2004-03-09T14:59:38Z")
Kinda figured but wanted to make sure since it came a day after I put up a bunch of auctions. Wow, this one is pretty impressive. Bastards. Thanks all ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/9 "2004-03-09T15:04:22Z")
I have been receiving rather odd messages, purportedly from eBay, which are obviously not legitimate. I assume the nature of the scam is to harvest e-mail addresses. Is there anything more to it than that? The message as it appears in my e-mail looks like this: > [@](#): > > Dear eBay User, > > During our regular update and verification of the accounts, we couldn’t verify your current information. Either your information has changed or it is incomplete. As a result, your access to bid or buy on eBay has been restricted. To start using eBay account fully, **please update and verify your information by clicking below** > > [https address follows] > > Regards > **eBay** Given the poor grammar, it’s obviously phony. Selecting on the message, however, reveals it to be rather bizarre. The actual text of the message is: (I inserted a few hard returns to enable the text to fit in the post box) > [@](#): > > D’e’a,rege.Bla’ymuUisie!r, > > DuringfourqreguIarnupdatemandqverificationuofuthefaccounts, > swetcouIdn’tmverifypyourtcurrentuinformation. > xEitherxyourpinformationxhasochangedforgitzisrincomplete. > > Ashayresult,cyourhaccessutowbidxordbuyhonzeBaynhasqbeenirestricted. > hToystartmusingaeBaysaccountgfully, > gpIeaseeupdateaandhverifyoyourfinformationabyzcIickin > gwbelow: > in 1892 Fonts in 1940 > [https://scgi.ebay.com/saw-cgi/eBaylSAPl.dII?VerifylnformationFast](https://scgi.ebay.com/saw-cgi/eBaylSAPl.dII?VerifylnformationFast) SearchHalf Life Counter Strike > Go ahead. at the far side Are you? > Regards, > e:B’a,yJustin Timberlake > Ford in 1978 The Rock > Bands Fun > Half Life Counter Strike > Cheers Yes, come by > without any Review So what the hell is that all about? Anything aside from circumventing spam-blocking programs? ---
**Author:** ![Flash-57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/839c29/32.png) [@Flash-57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flash-57)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/10 "2004-03-09T19:07:26Z")
What you’ve posted is a scam. But, if you even suspect that your EBay account has been compromised or that EBay really is trying to contact you, don’t click on anything. Instead, just use your browser and log onto your Ebay account normally. If your account was being suspended or something, you should expect to see a notice. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-email-really-from-ebay-or-a-scammer/233297/11 "2004-03-09T21:26:30Z")
I’ve been an eBay member since Oct of '99 (it doesn’t seem like I’ve been on the internet for that long…sheesh.) and I’ve received the occassional fake e-mails from eBay. A couple months ago I got a couple saying I needed to change my screenname because it was an e-mail address. I figured it was spam and ignored 'em. Lo and behold, I attempt to log in on Saturday and can’t. The screenname isn’t valid and neither was my email address to get it. So I sent a message to eBay and they said my account wasn’t hacked but my screenname had changed because it was an email address. Grr. I got the new screenname and checked my account. Nothing new happened, it didn’t even have the little sunglasses. I really wish that if they had messages germane to one’s account, that they’d show up when one logs in instead of these emails.