eBay Identity Theft.........Again

[lionelsuperotrack]

About 6 months ago my identity was stolen on eBay. It just happened
again.

How did I find out? I was checking the items I had for sale and there
were 30 items listed on my account that I did not list!!

As many of us utilize eBay to have access to items we just would not
see where we reside we must be alert as what to do when identity
theft occurs. Here is a story about what happened ..........and most
importantly, what to do about it.

Just before we were to go out Saturday night, I checked my eBay items
for sale and right in the middle was a host of electronic equipement
listed for sale that was not mine! $1000's of dollars, many $1000's.
All listed with only a one day window with the hope I would not check
my for sale items. A camera alone selling for $2500. Well, that sure
took me back. After a controlled panic I gathered my wits about me
and did the following:

1. Went to the very bottom of my eBay items for sale listing and
clicked on "Security Center"
2. From there I went to "Having a Problem? We Can Help!"
3. Clicked "Report Another Problem"
4. Clicked on "Ask about selling or billing (for sellers only)
5. Clicked on "Listing and managing your listing"
6. Clicked on "Items listed on your account are not yours"
7. Clicked "Continue"
8. Clicked on "Securing your account and reporting account theft"
9. Went down the screen to "Contacting eBay"
10. Clicked on "LIVE HELP" (this was the key..once I got here it was
10 minutes to resolve...I was quite pleased)

Well, I was quite nervous but all worked out (I think). The item has
been removed and I have changed my password not only on eBay, but
PayPal and my on-line banking. Major scare but seems to be under
control.

If you do business on eBay it is undoubtedly worthwhile to think this
through to be sure you know what to do in case of an emergency. Lets
hope it does not happen to you.

Certainly print this message out with the necessary steps to take
should emergency action be necessary. I keep it in full view right
next to my computer. You should to.

Very Best,

Mike

[mitchelr]

Mike,

We've had that happen twice with eBay/PayPal. The first time someone in Pakistan charged 1000's of dollars worth of cellphones to our account using the Buy It Now feature. They had been able to change the password on our PayPal account. We had to freeze eBay and PayPal accounts and the bank account. Took several days to a week to verify and get things cleared up. What a mess. The second time someone stole our ebay ID and was bidding on items. That case was a bit simpler. Notified ebay and changed the username and password. Still very much a PITA.

The moral of the story is keep a close eye on your accounts and change your passwords often.

Mitch[swg]

[Anonymous]

I kind of enjoy reading the various innovative ways that crooks are using to scam folks these days, and eBay is always fertile grounds for their efforts. Something new just abouyt every day! Makes me glad that I cancelled my account a number of years ago, and have never looked back.

I trust that folks here are taking advantage of the free annual credit report that can now be obtained from any of the three credit reporting services. Well worth the effort to check and see if everything is in proper order.

When that idot government employee lost the 26 million veteran records recently, I went on-line and got my 27-page report from Equifax, and also added my FICO score report and fraud alert (both of which you have to pay for) at the same time. I definitely encourage--urge and implore, even, all veterans--in particular--to keep close tabs on their credit reports on a regular basis from this point on. You can obtain the reports online or by mail or fax. You can get them as frequently as you want at modest cost, and once a year at no charge.

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S., and decent, law-abiding folks owe it to themselves to take every precaution possible to avoid the extreme hassle (and cost) of trying to correct things once their identities have been stolen.

[cbojanower]

If you are getting hacked that much, then you better have your machine checked for some sort of spyware/trojan or learn to not click on links in mail sent to you (supposedly) from eBay. If you get a mail from eBay you think is legit, go to eBay on your own (do not click on the link) and look in your inbox, it will be there.

They just do not magically take over your account, you have to help them.

[Anonymous]

They got me to and ebay was so hard and SLOW to deal with I started a new account.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Allan Miller


When that idot government employee lost the 26 million veteran records recently, I went on-line and got my 27-page report from Equifax, and also added my FICO score report and fraud alert (both of which you have to pay for) at the same time. I definitely encourage--urge and implore, even, all veterans--in particular--to keep close tabs on their credit reports on a regular basis from this point on. You can obtain the reports online or by mail or fax. You can get them as frequently as you want at modest cost, and once a year at no charge.

I'm also concerned about the VA records theft. They said this involved the personal information of every veteran discharged since 1975. My official discharge date is January 10, 1975, although I was actually released just before Christmas 1974. Lucky me![sigh]

I agree with Allan that it's a good idea to review your credit report on a regular basis.

[Anonymous]

Well, I was discharged prior to 1975, but I still decided not to take any chances. Getting a current copy of one's credit report is a good starting point because anything unusual is almost sure to show up in that very comprehensive document. I went over mine line by line, and about the only mistake I found was that they list my former employer (from five years ago) as my current employer. I'll send them a letter or go to their online site to correct that one day soon. Otherwise, everything was not only correct, it was very up to date.