Help, My Online Account Has Been Hacked

First off, let me state that over 99% of internet companies and users are genuinely honest, it is the remainder that catch the headlines as people ONLY report bad news widely.This article is aimed at advising you on how to protect your eBay account. These guides can also be used to protect other online accounts you may hold.

First off, how do they get my details?

EMAIL

If I was to call you on the telephone and ask for your username and password, you would tell me where to go right? So why do many users enter this information into an unsolicited email?

The types of emails you will receive are called 'phising emails' This means as the word depicts, they are trawling or fishing for information. Usually they will include a link back to 'their servers' which will inturn capture your information for them to use.

How do I avoid it?

For eBay, that is simple, delete the message and log in via your own sign in page, check the message box, job done. It is my understanding that eBay will NEVER send an email (nor paypal for that matter) asking for your personal details.

Some scammers have got wise to this and ask you to click on a link to log in. Same as above, NEVER USE THE LINK- DELETE IT AND LOG IN VIA YOUR OWN PAGE

The tip above is also applicable to your other accounts online.

What if I have clicked on the link or replied? Speed of action is essential,

1 you must log in immediately via your own page and CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD

2 Check your account for any activity outside of your own

3 Report this to eBay (or your bank etc) informing them that your details have been compromised

4 Ensure all emails from this source have been deleted and removed from the deleted folder

5 Run a complete virus check on your pc (some links will contain back door trojans that can allow access at a later date to your pc details) What else can I do?

Install a strong level anti virus and email scanning program, the best we have found is free from AVG (google up grisoft). Not only will this update automatically, it will also scan ALL EMAILS AND LINKS and it will highlight any forged URL's (brilliant advances) Others may offer the same function, but we have no experience with them so we cannot comment.

Ensure you have the Windows firewall switched on (unless you use a 3rd party).

SWITCH OFF YOUR PREVIEW READING PANE IN OUTLOOK - this is a sure fire way of allowing malicious scripts to run BEFORE you can act!

CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD AS OFTEN AS YOU WISH BUT NEVER LESS THAN ONCE PER MONTH. Never EVER reply to these emails, you do and the will have captured your IP details.

This is a basic guide to advise, if you are in any doubt, contact your account controllers or speak to a reputable company for advice.

These guys will only be stopped if we all act against them!

One simple rule for inbound emails, if you did not ask for it, you do not know them and it is requesting personal details....delete NEVER REPLY.