posted on July 22, 2004 02:03:23 PM
I just forwarded one of those "Question to Seller" emails that contain a non-ebay item number, as well as the weird,
"Hello, please add another $5 for shipping to Arkansas.
[email protected] wrote:
Hi, what is the shipping cost to Iowa?
--------------------
Question from: iguecru
Title of item: AC/DC HIGH VOLTAGE DVD
Seller: scloomoft
Starts: May-115-04 03:02:45 PDT
Ends: May-04-04 23:13:50 PDT
Price: Starts at $61.25
To view the item, go to: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=485180504
Visit eBay, The World's Online Marketplace TM at
http://www.ebay.com "
.................................
..................................
..................................
So, I had forwarded it with header details to Spoof@ebay, and here is what their quick reply was:
Hello,
Thank you for writing to eBay regarding the email you received.
We reviewed your report and found that although the message you received
was made to appear as if it had been sent by an eBay user, it was not.
It appears that this email may also contain a keystroke virus. If you
clicked on any of the links in the email, you may have exposed your
computer to this virus.
We are not equipped to determine if your computer is indeed infected
with a virus. If you have not already done so, you should seek out a
virus scanner program to use on your system. I have included a few links
below to get you started in this effort:
As always, it's a good idea to keep your virus scanner up to date with
the most recent virus definitions. If you do not have a virus scanner,
you can run a free virus scan on your computer at:
http://housecall.antivirus.com
Until you are certain that your computer is virus free, you should take
caution in your computer use. In addition, we suggest that you never
open an email or attachment from someone you don't know. You may need to
contact your email provider to disable any automatic downloading
settings. It is advised that you only download attachments in a secure
setting where you have the ability to scan for viruses before actually
opening the attachment. Please take this opportunity to learn about and
protect your computer from viruses from some of the Web sites above.
Once again, thank you for alerting us to the email you received. Your
vigilance helps us ensure that eBay remains a safe and vibrant online
marketplace.
Regards,
Ian
eBay SafeHarbor
Investigations Team
[ edited by estatesalestuff on Jul 22, 2004 02:04 PM ]
posted on July 22, 2004 02:27:27 PM
The link to the auction that was in that email is where the problem is. It leads to a phony "Invalid Item" page and it deposits a Trojan horse program on your hard drive. If you didn't click on the link, you're o.k. If you did click on it, your computer is infected and you need to clean it up before you go to any web sites that require you to type in a user i.d. and password.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on July 22, 2004 08:25:06 PM
What is to stop somebody from completely replicating eBay's 'Question to Seller' format, you click on the 'reply' and they've got you? Seems to me one should not open those types of emails at all. You may lose bidders but seems the alternative is a lot of grief.
Maybe copying the email return address and responding directly rather than going to a link may be the wise choice, if this truly gets to be a problem.
