How do they know ?

[tellboy]

I was notified by Ebay and then by my Internet Service Provider that someone had taken over my email identity and was sending out "spoof" emails.
They froze my accounts and now that I have changed passwords and changed security questions I am back online again.
It is worrying to think what sort of thing "spoof" might be and what I want to know is how they knew it was someone else and not me doing it.
Any ideas anyone

 

[Ian]

Are you 100% sure those e-mails were from Ebay and your ISP? It is common for scammers to send out e-mails like this and get you to change your password (especially your ebay one).

Do you still have the e-mail EBay sent you? Also, did the e-mail contain a link?

 

[muckshifter]

When was the last time you checked for spyware, malware, viruses, trojans and worms ... could be you are and don't know it.

 

[muckshifter]

Are you 100% sure those e-mails were from Ebay and your ISP? It is common for scammers to send out e-mails like this and get you to change your password (especially your ebay one).

Do you still have the e-mail EBay sent you? Also, did the e-mail contain a link?

OH DEAR ... I do hope you didn't fall for that one ... now "they" will have your details.

 

[Ian]

If you are unsure, forward the e-mail to me using the address on the contact page and I'll confirm for you. I have a feeling that you may have given your details away unknowingly, so its best to visit Ebay manually via www.ebay.co.uk and change your password to something unique as soon as you can.

I'm 90% sure this is a "phising" e-mail from how you described it

 

[tellboy]

Thanks for the instant replies. Yes I suspected that and sent it to (e-mail address removed). They told me it was genuine but to check again and open a new Internet Explorer page type in Ebay address go to My Ebay answer the security questions and onlyl check emails in the secure email and not outlook express.
I get frequent scam emails from Banks I both do and do not have online accounts with so am very cautious. No matter how careful I never feel absolutely sure. Gets on your nerves doesnt it ?

 

[tellboy]

The Ebay Reply

As you are aware from this email, it appears that a third party was able to
gain access to your eBay account and use it to send unsolicited email to
other community members. Once we became aware of this activity,
immediate action was taken.

We do recommend, if you have not already done so, that you change the
password on your *EMAIL* account to an alphanumeric password that is
different from your other online accounts. If necessary, you may need to
contact your Internet Service Provider for assistance. This step is
important in order to ensure that your email account is secure and
cannot be accessed by anyone other than yourself.

We also recommend that you change your Secret Question and verify that
the contact information we have on file for you is correct. Both of
these can be updated by going to your My eBay page and clicking on the
'Personal Information' link, located under the heading "My Account".

We assure you that the credit card details and bank information which
you have on file with eBay is stored on a secure server and cannot be
viewed by anyone. However, if these details were entered into a 'spoof'
email, it is possible that a third party could gain access to this
information.

 

[Ian]

You did the right thing there then, and that sounds ok