... just a warning.
I don't sell much on Ebay, just now and then, but this week, as I've already blogged about, I put up my saxophone for sale and as you will all have read it sold yesterday. Great I hear you all say. Well, yes and it genuinely has sold but then something awful, and pretty scary happened.
Yesterday, before the bid had ended, I then get an email from someone, all 'looking' like it was sent out via the Ebay mail system, saying (ignore their obviously terrible English, but even that didn't make me suspicious as the level of peoples English nowadays is appalling at best):
"I am interested to buy your unit but I saw the same picture and description at another seller and I am not able to figure out who is the real seller."
They then gave a link to this other item which, stupidly now, I clicked on and was taken to the page where this item was supposed to be. Then, like usually happens on Ebay, the screen came up with the normal looking screen you expect to see where you enter your id and password. Once I had entered this it came up with another perfectly expected/looking page saying that the item had been removed. So, I think, oh well, they (the guy who sent me the confused email) must have complained to Ebay and the item has been removed, fine, no need to worry myself. I go off on my day merrily as usual but no. OMG. The whole thing was a scam, including the 'confused' email and my Ebay identity has been compromised.
Not only did he get access to my Ebay, including my name, address, phone number, although thankfully not bank details as I don't have any on Ebay, but he then proceeded to email 3 of my unsuccessful bidders offering them a second chance at buying the sax as it supposedly didn't sell. He asked them to email him at a different, presumably his own, email address, where I'm assuming the intention was to ask for payment, all under my identity, and quite obviously steal from them as there was no saxophone to sell as I had sold it.
I feel so stupid to be duped in such a way. The thing is it all looked really authentic, you can really only tell with little tiny details and only then if you know what to look out for. In this case the link I clicked on quite clearly wasn't to an Ebay site. I've been emailing Ebay but grrrr... they just only ever seem to send out automated emails in response!
Luckily I was still able to access my Ebay, he didn't change my password which could have been a possibility and locked me out completely, so I've now changed my password and each time I've made sure that the address that appears at the top of the page is the right one.
Anyway, just thought I'd let you all know so you can be forewarned. Although, hopefully, you are all more likely not to be as thick as me!!!
The whole thing has left an awful taste in my mouth and I really feel as if I've been violated. I mean he knows where I live, my phone number... Richard is trying to assure me that it probably is just some spotty nosed kid, high on coke and pizza, showing off for his mates as if he had really wanted to do some damage he would have changed my Ebay password. But I still feel creeped out by the whole thing.
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