Online auction website eBay.ie has launched a new service to help protect users against ‘phishing’ e-mails which attempt to gain personal details from members.

The “My Messages” service is an attempt to get around the problem of spoof e-mails sent to customers purporting to come from eBay. Such messages often ask users for information such as passwords and credit card details.

The new service provides eBay users with a secure message inbox within their password secured “My eBay” pages. Any customer service e-mails that are sent to an individual’s personal e-mail address are also forwarded to their secure inbox on the website. As third parties cannot send e-mails to this address, users can simply check it to see whether the message is replicated in order to ascertain whether it’s genuine or not.

eBay has proven immensely popular with internet users around the world and the auction site now has more than 180 million users globally. However, over the past few years many customers have fallen victim to authentic looking e-mails, which ask users for personal details. Such information is then used by fraudsters to exploit consumers for financial gain.

Full Story

Posted: 03|24|06 at 11:02 am. Filed under: Online Auctions.