What is Phishing?

A phishing scam occurs when you receive an HTML (graphic) email that appears to be from a bank, credit card company, or a major eCommerce site, such as eBay. The email tells you that there's a security problem and that you should change your password to protect yourself.

The provided link appears to be from the financial instituion or other trusted site and, when you click on it, the browser opens to what seems to be the proper site. However the site isn't legitimate and is actually a site designed by a hacker to steal your personal data. If you enter your logon and password or Social Security number, you've just given hackers the key to your financial data.

What To Do Next

The simplest way to tell if you've received a phishing email is to ask yourself if you have the account in question. Do you have an eBay account? If you do, was the email sent to your registered email address or a different one?

If you're truly worried about your account status, go to the official website (example: www.PayPal.com) and check your account there. Companies will never ask for your sensitive information in an email.

Forward a copy of the e-mail to spoof@ebay.com or spoof@paypal.com or go to the company website. You should receive a response very soon indicating whether the e-mail in question is from them or not.