BruceKelly.com - eMail scams phishing for your personal information

eMail Scams (Phishing)
If you're getting emails from your internet service provider, bank, ebay, or anyone else telling you to update your billing information, be aware that they may be fake. Thieves are trying to steal your credit card and other information by using phony websites (phishing).

If you want to check your billing information do not click any link within the suspect email. Go directly to your ISP by using a known good link or by typing your ISP's web address directly into your web browser's address bar.

Here is an example I have received...

Subject: Your eBay account could be suspended

Dear valued customer

We regret to inform you that your eBay account could be suspended if
you don't re-update your account information. To resolve this
problems please click here and re-enter your account information. If
your problems could not be resolved your account will be suspended
for a period of 3-4 days, after this period your account will be
terminated.

For the User Agreement, Section 9, we may immediately issue a
warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your
membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe
that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for
you, our users or us. We may also take these actions if we are unable
to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us.

Due to the suspension of this account, please be advised you are
prohibited from using eBay in any way. This includes the registering
of a new account. Please note that this suspension does not relieve
you of your agreed-upon obligation to pay any fees you may owe to
eBay.

Regards,Safeharbor Department eBay, Inc
The eBay team.
This is an automatic message. Please do not reply.

I was instantly suspicious because I am, after all, one of the seven remaining Americans that doesn't have an eBay account.

When I clicked the "click here" link (for experimental purposes) I was taken to 'update.ebay.com.confirm.cc' where they requested that I not only enter my credit card number but also my social security number, my drivers license number, home and work phone numbers and my address!

Emails like this are freely spammed. They don't know if you actually have an eBay, AOL or Earthlink account. If they can get one, two or twenty people that actually do have the appropriate accounts to fall for this fraud then they have succeeded.

Do not click links in emails like this. I was protected by my up-to-date Norton Anti-Virus with script blocking. Just going to a site like this may infect your computer with parasites loaded by the target webpage.

Again - if you think you need to update any billing information do so by using a known good link or by typing the the websites address directly into your web browser's address bar.