How to Spot a fake (spoof) eBay email

Member

By Sassy8722
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating:

(11 Ratings)

eBay

Scammers are getting smarter and smarter every day. They just want to uncover your password so they can get into your personal information and steal from you. I am here to help you in being able to spot a fake eBay email.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Step 1

The first clue will be in the 'Sender' field when looking at your inbox. The 'B' in eBay is always capitalized in real emails from them. Here is an example of some real eBay message sender fields:
eBay Member: sassy8722 (if a member sends you a message or asks you a question)
eBay Customer Support (if eBay contacts you)
eBay (notifications come from this sender)

In a fake one, they will 99% of the time say they are coming from e-bay. Here are some examples of fake sender fields:
e-bay
*Please note - many scammers have caught onto this mistake and have started using 'eBay' in this field, so do not go by this alone as an indicator of a real email.
Step 2

Now we will take a look at the subject line. They do seem to get these right, which is why we must be very careful. Here are some real eBay subject lines:
"You've received an answer to your question about item Washcloth Lollipop Baby Shower Favors/Gifts Diaper Cake"
"eBay Item Sold: Diaper Butterfly Baby Shower Favor Or Gift!"

And here are some examples of subject lines on the spoof emails:
"06/03/2008 eBay System Update: Information Request"
"eBay New Unpaid Item Message from quickshipelectronics: #110326258369"
"TKO NOTICE: eBay Registration Suspension -Section 9-"

Now please know eBay emails will NOT have these exact message lines, but they did spell eBay right and try to make it look real, and many people would not know any better. So, you cannot rely on a subject line to spot a fake.

Now for the actual message body. It is actually ideal to not open these spoofs but if you have opened one and are unsure, the first thing you should do is go sign on to your eBay in another tab/window and check your messages. If the message is not there, that means the one that went to your email address is a fake. But, if you are like me and check your eBay messages from your email address because it's easier, then please read the rest of this article!
Step 3

In the additional resources section, I have included links to screenshots of real and fake emails. The first link is of a real eBay message. Notice the layout of it, and the fact that it has the message at the top "Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay" and then next to it, you will see your first and last name AND your eBay screen name (I have erased the personal information from my screen shot).

The second link is of one of the more obvious fake emails.
For starters, the layout is totally wrong. There is nothing indicating it is from eBay. Also, when I took the screen shot I held my mouse over the link in the email. When you do this, the web address the link points to will show up at the bottom of your browser. Notice that although the text "link" that shows up on my email looks real, the actual address it points to has nothing to do with eBay. Also, in the recipient section it says "undisclosed recipients" which is also a red flag.
The third link is to a fake email that is harder to spot and has more work put into it. Notice the layout, it is much like eBay's real emails. But, here are some things to notice: At the top, it does say "Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay" but there is no eBay name, or real name. Also, this email is addressed to undisclosed recipients. And again, the "links" point to phishing sites (as in fishing for your information). At the bottom of this article there are more tips, reminders and resources for you.