The scam starts off with
I sent you the money , where's the package ? You promised that after i send the money you send the goods asap . is this a fraud? Please let me know! Should I contact the autorities ?
Thanks and please let me know asap!
The user feedback about this scam and the public awareness campaign shows how real these nefarious techniques are. And lets remember, the scams would not be continued if folks didn't fall for them. One of our readers wrote:
I recently sold a lot of items on eBay so when this message arrived I was initially furious as I had shipped all goods etc. As my blood was boiling I clicked on the 'respond' box. It was only after I was directed to the eBay page that my brain function kicked in again. I opened a new tab in my browser, logged on to eBay using my bookmarks and checked the names of all of my buyers and found that the name 'shinobrown' was not amongst them.
I then returned to the eBay page that the email linked me to and checked the address box. The site was listed in Romania! Closer inspection of the email message and the associated eBay page did show minor differences, but in the heat of the moment...
I contacted eBay about the message and they did confirm that it was not from them. Their good advice was to never respond to any email claiming to come from them unless it is also listed in the "My Messages" section of "My eBay". All genuine messages sent to you would also be listed here.
I'd like to thank our readers for forwarding this information to us to help spread the word and keep folks well informed. Now onto the pictures and quick test of the site.
This is the email message one reader received (very similar to ones I got too):
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Clicking on the link to leave feedback brought me here:
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I didn't enter any information but clicked submit, and guess what appeared in the status bar:
You guessed it, an ASP form was accepted that is storing your account information, and then sends you to the actual eBay site:
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Be aware, stay informed, and don't fall for this junk. Its your identities on the line.
