The title of this post was the subject of a phishing email I received that I immediately reported to spoof@ebay.com. eBay confirmed in their standard form letter that the email did not originate from them. So if you receive something similar, know that "those secret sale prices on eBay" are nonexistent. The phishing email is copied below wherein I replaced my information with an asterisk. Links were removed as well:
I was both entertained and infuriated by these crooks: Entertained by their clever yet deceitful way to appear legitimate (playing on most people's desire to get something for literally nothing) and infuriated because they thought I fall into this group.
Please don't be spoofed, and as eBay's reply instructed:
dbg
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Please visit and "Like" The Doll Blogs: When Dolls Speak I Listen
approved by Open eBay
Applications
Dear *,
Here's a secret: Many
eBay items have two prices - the public price posted on eBay and a secret sale
price 20-50% lower. As a long-time, trusted eBay buyer, we invite you to get
the secret sale prices.
Fewer than 1% of all eBay
buyers are invited to join our eBay-approved SecretSale program. Joining gives
you exclusive access to eBay listings offering these secret sale prices. This
is the only invitation you will get and your invitation expires in 48-hours.
Your personal invitation
Yes, I wish to join to
get daily updates on SecretSale prices for select eBay items.
or
No thanks. Release my
invitation to another loyal eBay buyer and opt-me out of future invites.
The above invitation is
tied specifically to your eBay ID *. Only purchases made with that eBay ID will
qualify for SecretSale prices. This is 100% free to you and comes as a benefit
for being a long-time, loyal eBay buyer
Here's how SecretSale
works: By enrolling, you will receive a daily email showing SecretSale prices
on thousands of eBay items. These prices are 20-50% below the published prices
on eBay. Follow the links in the daily email to purchase any promoted item and
you will automatically receive 20-50% back as cash, deposited directly into
your PayPal account within 5 business days of payment. That's it.
Please act now. Your
invitation is good for only 48-hours.
Sincerely,
The SecretSale Team
To opt-out of our email
list: Opt-Out
or you can visit our
Privacy Policy and User Agreement if you have any questions.
SecretSale is operated
through www.OnPagePromotions.com, which is located at 101 Longwood Drive,
Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Phone: (919) 338-1502. Copyright © 2003 - 2011
MyStoreCredit, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
I was both entertained and infuriated by these crooks: Entertained by their clever yet deceitful way to appear legitimate (playing on most people's desire to get something for literally nothing) and infuriated because they thought I fall into this group.
Please don't be spoofed, and as eBay's reply instructed:
*Never* respond to a suspicious email or click any links in the email
message. If you think you may have given out personal information in a
spoof email or website, you need to take steps to protect your identity
right away. For more information about what to do, go to:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/account/protecting-identity-theft.html
If you'd like to learn more about how to spot a spoof email and stay
safe online, go to:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/tutorial/accountprotection/js_tutorial.html
dbg
Follow my Dolls for Sale blog
Please visit and "Like" The Doll Blogs: When Dolls Speak I Listen
Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteThanks Debbie! Happy Sunday to you.
ReplyDeleteI used to get those type of emails for Paypal. Dang crooks.
ReplyDeleteThe internet is full of such scams! Sweet sounding ploys to get people to pay money or give private information for nonexistant services.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite easy to detect these scams (anything sugar coated is a red alert), thankfully, but a lot of younger Internet users (or even children with access to parents' accounts) are easy victims for these scams.
I guess we need to update the "don't talk to strangers" rule for cyberspace :)
The internet is full of such scams! Sweet sounding ploys to get people to pay money or give private information for nonexistant services.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite easy to detect these scams (anything sugar coated is a red alert), thankfully, but a lot of younger Internet users (or even children with access to parents' accounts) are easy victims for these scams.
I guess we need to update the "don't talk to strangers" rule for cyberspace :)