A recent occurrence of suspicious e-mails have surfaced that indicate a payment has been made, from a individual’s PayPal account, to an account with which the individual is not familiar with. The e-mails appear to be an authentic receipt from PayPal, but are actually nothing more than a scam. They look professional, but are actually designed to entice the seller into clicking on an e-mail link in order to dispute the payment. If seller’s receive this type of e-mail, they should not click on the link but rather should open a new browser and visit http://www.paypal.com directly. Once logged in, they will be able to view their account and any payments that have been sent. More often than not, the seller will see that no payment was actually sent and will instantly realize they were almost the victim of a scam.

Certain e-mails, which claim to be sent by eBay, have been circulating and are disguised as a ‘Question from eBay Member.’ These e-mails look legitimate, but often refer to an item that a buyer claims to have paid for and not received. This item is usually something very expensive, such as a computer or other high priced item. The individual then goes on to explain to the seller that he/she will file a fraud report if something is not done immediately. Often upset and in a state of confusion, the seller would instinctively want to click on the e-mail link in an effort to respond to the question or contact eBay in order to resolve the problem. Often, however, this would be a big mistake. If the seller does not recognize the buyer and has never sold the type of product that the individual is noting, the e-mail is likely a fake. The best way to determine any e-mail’s authenticity is to open a new browser and visit http://www.ebay.com directly. After logging in to their account, the seller will be able to click on ‘my eBay’ and then ‘my messages.’ This list will reveal any messages that have been sent through eBay’s messaging system.

The best way to determine whether or not an e-mail is authentic is often to move the mouse pointer over the website link that the e-mail instructs the reader to click, but without actually clicking on it. With the mouse placed directly on the link and left still for a few moments, the actual URL will appear just above the pointer. This will reveal whether or not the link is authentic. The differences are often subtle in the authentic and fake website, but a careful study will reveal the truth.

Another tip for the web conscious individual is that all official e-mails, whether it be from eBay or PayPal, will address the recipient by both their first and last name. They will not read as, ‘Dear eBay member’ or ‘Dear username123.’ Fraudulent e-mails also often contain common misspellings and are not well written, lacking proper grammar and punctuation.

What is the best tip for ensuring the safety of your account and financial information? Never click on an e-mail link. Simply open a new browser and type the website address manually. It may take a little extra time but, in the end, you will be glad that you went the extra mile to ensure your account security.