Hi, this is Matt Halprin again, and I manage the Global Trust and Safety Policy team at eBay. One of my team's core responsibilities is to help you better understand how to stay safe when buying and selling online. With the busy holiday season upon us, we think it’s an important time to remind everyone of the safe practices and good judgment that you should use all year round.

All of us at eBay are committed to preserving the safety of our marketplace and rely on you, the community, to help in this regard. As the internet has evolved and grown so have the trading opportunities for all of us. Unfortunately, this success has also attracted a number of bad players who prey on unsuspecting internet users. We don’t want that to happen to you.

Below are important safety tips that can help keep your accounts and personal information more secure and help guard against fraud, including spoof (also called phishing) emails and websites, and fake second chance offers.

• Never pay with Western Union or Money Gram. - eBay strongly encourages its members to avoid using instant cash wire transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram. It's against eBay’s Accepted Payments Policy for a seller to request payment via these methods as they've proven to be unsafe when paying someone the buyer doesn't know.
• Check My Messages to verify the authenticity of eBay emails. - Any email eBay sends you about your account or requesting personal information will also be in My Messages. Before responding to an eBay email asking for information about your account or requesting personal information, verify it's authentic by checking My Messages. If it's not in My Messages, it's a fake email. If you receive a suspicious email that looks like it's from eBay or PayPal, please forward it to spoof@ebay.com or spoof@paypal.com. We will respond (usually within minutes) to tell you whether or not the email is authentic.
• Always Verify Second Chance Offers. - Sending fake Second Chance Offers is a common trick used by fraudsters. If you receive an email with a Second Chance Offer for an item you recently bid on, please check your My Messages inbox (located in My eBay) on the eBay site to make sure the offer is authentic. If it appears in My Messages with the title 'eBay Second Chance Offer for Item...', it's authentic. If the Second Chance Offer does not appear in My Messages, or appears with a different title, it is not legitimate and should be ignored. Help us fight this, by reporting these fakes to spoof@ebay.com
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• Download the eBay Toolbar and the PayPal SafetyBar. - The eBay Toolbar includes Account Guard which indicates when you are on a legitimate eBay or PayPal site, and alerts you when you are on a known fraudulent site. PayPal's SafetyBar detects fraudulent emails in your email program and puts them in the spam folder.
• Monitor your account regularly for suspicious activity. - Prevent problems by staying alert and catching any suspicious activity early. We recommend that you log into your eBay and PayPal accounts frequently to ensure that all the transactions listed are legitimate.
• Be suspicious of any email that requests personal information. - Be cautious of other emails that request you to click a link and submit your financial or personal information. If in doubt, call or contact the institution first to verify the authenticity of the email. Do not click on any links in this type of email if you can not verify it is authentic. Only enter your financial information on secure websites. Check that a website is secure by looking for the closed lock symbol near the bottom of your browser window. And, of course, use a payment method such as PayPal, which lets you pay without sharing your financial information with the person receiving your money. PayPal also covers you 100% against unauthorized money sent from your account.

You can find out the latest information on safety, security and identity theft protection by visiting the PayPal Identity Protection pages and the eBay Security & Resolution Centre.

We are always available for you if you have any questions or suggestions on how to make eBay safer.

Sincerely,
Matt Halprin
Vice President, eBay Global Trust & Safety Policy