Account hijacked!!! - I'm so careful - how did it happen!

soolin

Fay, I've thanked you as I think you are really doing something in the spirit of MSE in trying to help.


Soo

frivolous_fay

No biggie, I was only putting things in turbolister and had time to kill

headcovers

So sorry Fay - I did get through after an hour and a half wait. They have now reinstated my account and I have changed the password.

I'm sorry I didn't get back to you, but I was on with the help guy and concentrating on answering all his questions and doing what he said.

I then spent ages downloading all kinds of firewall software and testing different virus software to check there was nothing on my computer, because I still can't figure out how my password was rumbled.

Your actions are much appreciated and thank you for taking the time to help out. Without you I wouldn't have thought to try out Live Help

Best wishes

Headcovers:kisses3:

black-saturn

Hope you get it sorted out. My account was hijacked about 18 months ago by someone selling loads of mobile phones. Some of them had bids on of over £100 and as fast as I was closing the auctions down more and more were being uploaded. Ebay sorted it out in the end but it took them 24 hours and I had to be logged into ebay the whole time. The second I logged out they would change my password and list more phones.

I don't know how they did it to me either. The only thing I can link it to was that the mobile phones were listed by a shop in Walthamstow and about 4 months before I was in an internet cafe in Walthamstow checking my ebay. I logged out and changed the password of it before I left the cafe so I don't know if they got it from there. I never click on the links in emails even if I know who they are from.

headcovers

Thank you for your post. Whilst I am sorry for all the hassle it caused you, I am glad that I'm not the only one who never clicks the phishing emails, but still got targeted somehow.

Ebay help were really condescending and clearly thought I had clicked a dodgy email and been careless with my password.

caesarz

Have it ever occurred to you that maybe your password is too easy to crack.

Try to make your password harder to crack with capital letters and a mix of both alphabets and numbers and that will make it harder for the hackers out there.

chickadee

This has happened to me too. On Sunday over 50 MP3 players were listed for sale on my account. I spend over an hour getting through to someone on the ebay live help and whilst I was waiting I ended all of the auctions early, just in case. There were no bids so no confusion from buyers. I followed all of the instructions, they delisted the items and deleted them from my account, along with the related charges. I changed my email passwrod, and my ebay and paypal passwords too. Great! I thought. Logged in tonight and there had been another 66 iPods listed! Fortunately ebay must be keeping an eye on my account as they have delisted them again and put my account into suspension mode. I have once again changed my passwords on all my accounts, but it is worrying as others have said, as I have spyware, a firewall and internet security, all up to date. I never click on links in emails and usually ignore emails from ebay as any important messages are usually there on your account when you log in. I have no idea how they got my details.

It is sad, I know but I feel kind of violated that someone has tried to hijack my details.

GoofyGAT

caesarz wrote:

....Try to make your password harder to crack with capital letters and a mix of both alphabets and numbers and that will make it harder for the hackers out there.

headcovers, also put some other characters in as well, like I've got: # $ & * @ etc.

Next time you could also try calling them - see http://www.corporatecontact.info/entry.php?org=5&letter.

I hope the mess is sorted quickly with no loss to you. G

headcovers

chickadee wrote:

This has happened to me too. ............................it is worrying as others have said, as I have spyware, a firewall and internet security, all up to date. I never click on links in emails and usually ignore emails from ebay as any important messages are usually there on your account when you log in. I have no idea how they got my details.

It is sad, I know but I feel kind of violated that someone has tried to hijack my details.

Thanks for posting. It really helps to hear from people with the same experiences as I too feel that my private life has been attacked and I too thought that I was so protected.

caesarz wrote:

Have it ever occurred to you that maybe your password is too easy to crack.

This is the only option I can think off aand that comes with all its own problems as the people who would be best positioned to guess my password are my work colleagues who know the type of passwords I use at work. My password is too easy to guess if you know me and since the "attack" I have made it more complicated.

Along with the disgust of dealing with the problem I now have to deal with the thought that the invasion came from someone fairly close. Not a nice thought:(

chorlton

This happened to me over the weekend - I logged on this morning to find that I'd been 'selling' a BMW and an Audi at a knock down prices. Whole thing had been sorted by the time I was aware, someone reported suspicious listing to ebay and they intervened. I have reset my password now but my account is still suspended from bidding.
I share the feelings of the OP and others that I am now quite worried - I am 100% certain I NEVER replied to any phishing emails. I am also confident that my home and work networks are secure from virus and hackers.

The only logical way I can think my account was accessed is that my old password was a sequence of words and the hacker could have guessed that 'someone' was bound to have used it as a password and kept trying accounts until they got into one.

So if if you *think* your password is secure and it is something like goodmorning or happybirthday or abracadabra (mine was none of these but it was 2 words often used together!) maybe you should consider changing to something more random incase it happens to you!