Ebay and paypal spoof mails. Please read

gipsygirl

Got this yesterday -sounds too good to be true!
is it a scam?
Thanks!
Dear Ebay member.
>
> We have previously dealt with each other on Ebay and I hope you
> will be
> interested in this opportunity to earn extra money through your Paypal
> account.
>
> It costs just £3, takes around 15 minutes and has enormous earning
> potential.
>
> Please take a few minutes to read this information, which is being
> circulated around all Paypal and eBay users and it seems to be
> working.
>
> Paypal have admitted that this is legal and Trading Standards are
> not aware
> of any problems with the plan.
>
> The person who started this system is someone that I value as an eBay
> seller, whom I trust to be reliable.
>
> Here are some responses from people who have so far benefited from
> taking
> part:
>
> "What an amazing plan. I followed the instructions just 3 weeks
> ago, and
> although I haven't made 10 grand yet, I am already up to £6,135.00
> - I am
> absolutely gob smacked" - Alan Humphries, Leicester.
>
> "Well what can I say? I sent out 40 e-mails like the plan said,
> then just
> forgot about the whole thing. To be honest, I didn't really think
> anything
> would come of it, but I checked my Paypal account a week later and
> there was
> over £3000.00 in it!!! After 30 days I now have over £11,000 to
> spend" -
> Lisa McDonald, Northampton.
>
> "I was shocked when I saw how much money came flooding into my Paypal
> account. Within 3 weeks my account balance has ballooned to £7,449.
> At first
> I thought there had been some kind of error!" - Richard Barrie,
> Cirencester
>
> "I was very sceptical when I first read this e-mail, I nearly
> deleted it,
> but then I thought about it & decided to give it a go! Some people
> spend
> more than £3 per week on the lottery, so what's a one-off payment
> of £3
> going to matter?!! I've got my fingers crossed that I'll have some
> extra
> spending money in my Paypal account very soon!
>
> INSTRUCTIONS:
>
> The first thing you need to do is send a £3.00 payment from your
> Paypal
> account to the FIRST email address in the list below, along with a
> note
> saying "PLEASE ADD ME TO YOUR LIST".
>
> Instructions on how to send a payment are under "SEND MONEY" on the
> Paypal
> website. It is very easy.
>
> You can send the payment type as "Other Goods"
>
> The current list is
xxxxxxxxxxx

Copy and paste this page and make any necessary changes (all areas
> that are
> in blue need to be altered by you).
>
> Remove the email address that you have paid from the No.1 spot,
> move all the
> others up a position, and insert your own Paypal email address in
> the No.5
> spot.
>
> Then send the page to as many people as you can who also have Paypal
> accounts.
>
> A good way is to send it to all the people in your Paypal history
>
> If like me, you have bought and sold on eBay, every person you have
> dealt
> with via paypal is listed in your paypal account history.
>
> Simply go the History tab on the Paypal website and then download a
> complete
> list of people you have traded with.
>
> If you have any problems downloading the history, try turning off
> all the
> fields in the "Customise Download Fields" link on the right hand
> side of the
> page - then download, or simply select the dates to show all of your
> transactions - highlighted in blue against every one is the word
> "Details".
>
> Click "Details" and scroll down to the bottom and you will find the
> sellers/buyers e-mail address. Cut and paste this into your e-mail
> address
> box.
>
> HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:
>
> When you send out your email, your email address will initially be
> at No 5
> on the list.
>
> That is the best position that you can be in if you want to earn
> serious
> money.
>
> The response rate for this program is much higher than any typical
> email
> marketing campaign for a number of reasons.
>
> As long as you send out your emails to people who are likely to be
> interested in this program, then on average, you can expect a
> response of
> around 25%. But let's be extremely conservative and assume that the
> average
> response rate is 12.5%!
>
> If you send out your 40 emails, you can expect at least 5 of those
> people to
> do exactly what you did (12.5% of 40 = 5 people).
>
> By that time, your email address will have moved up to No. 4 in the
> list,
> and this list will now have reached around 200 people (5 people x
> 40 emails
> = 200 people).
>
> Out of those 200 people, you can expect at least 25 of them to
> participate
> (12.5% of 200 = 25 people) so you are now reaching around 1000
> people (25
> people x 40 emails = 1000) and you are now at No.3 on the list.
>
> Out of those 1000 people, you can expect at least 125 of them to
> participate
> (12.5% of 1000 = 125 people) so you are now reaching around 5000
> people (125
> people x 40 emails = 5000) and you are now at No.2 on the list.
>
> Out of those 5000 people, you can expect at least 625 of them to
> participate
> (12.5% of 5000 = 625 people) so you are now reaching around 25000
> people
> (625 people x 40 emails = 25000) and you are now at No.1 on the list.
>
> Out of 25000 people, you can expect at least 3125 of them to
> participate
> (12.5% of 25000 = 3125 people) so since you are at the No.1 spot,
> you can
> expect to receive around about £9,375 (3125 people x £3.00 =
> £9,375) So when
> your name hits the No 1 spot, it will be YOUR turn to collect the
> money.
>
> Over the course of 30 days, this money will be sent to you by a few
> thousand
> people just like yourself, who are willing to invest £3.00 and 20
> minutes of
> their time to receive around £10,000 or more in cash.
>
> The first payments will arrive within a few days and then they will
> continue
> at the rate of about 100 payments per day for about 30 days
> (obviously this
> will depend on how quickly you act and how quickly people take you
> up on
> this offer and then pass it on).
>
> After that time, the volume of payments begins to taper off as your
> email is
> removed from the No.1 position.
>
> That's all you need to do!
>
> There will be around £10,000 in £3.00 payments waiting for you in your
> Paypal account within the next few weeks.
>
> £10,000 for just 30 minutes work!
>
> This is real money that you can spend on anything you wish!
>
> Just deposit it into your own bank account or spend it directly
> from your
> Paypal account!!!
>
> Remember, the 12.5% example above is assuming that 35 out of the 40
> people
> you send your email to will do absolutely nothing except delete
> your email.
>
> However, if you follow the plan correctly and send your emails only to
> people who are likely to want to participate, you can expect a typical
> response-rate of around 25%.
>
> Hence, the 12.5% example is only given as a worst-case-scenario.
>
> Additionally, the above example assumes that each participant will
> only send
> out 40 emails.
>
> Imagine what would happen if each participant sent out 1,000 emails
> instead
> of just 40!
>
> Believe me, many people will do this and much more!
>
> Unlike many other MLM programs, this 5-LEVEL PROGRAM costs you only
> £3.00
> which is much more realistic and provides much, much faster results.
>
> Only the first person on the list gets your £3.00 gift, but
> everyone in the
> list will rise to that No.1 position, as thousands of emails are
> being sent
> out.
>
> No cheating can occur (don't be fooled by claims that this system
> can be
> cheated) as Paypal only allows one account per person.
>
> Because it is so easy, the response rate is VERY HIGH and VERY FAST.
>
> Internet email is FAST, and you will start seeing dramatic results
> in less
> than one week!
>
> Remember, you can't cheat with this!
>
> It is pointless putting your name straight in at No.1
>
> The whole point of you being at number 5 is so that your name gets
> sent to
> as
> many people as possible.
>
> This won't happen if you start at No.1 on the list.
>
> This is tried and tested and works.
>
> Ask yourself "What are you risking"???
>
> £3..... that's all.
>
> What can you buy with £3 these days?
>
> Anyway, thank you for your time and good luck in your ventures.
>
> Kind regards - I sincerely hope we all make a bundle out of this.
>
> __________________________________________________________

coolsteel

First line is a dead giveaway, ebay or paypal will ALWAYS address you by your name and NEVER Dear Ebay member.

Coolsteel:cool:

goggins1977

I just had the following email dont know if its a new one but i havent seen it before




Credit/Debit Card Payment Declined!?


Hello Dear Member,

---

---

Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay.

---

---

EBay Account ID: E15524297001-USD
Card number: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-1738 (Not shown for security purposes)
Outstanding Payment Due: $1.15

We are writing to alert you that your monthly eBay seller fees have not been paid because
credit/debit card declined eBay's attempt to automatically deduct the amount due.

Because eBay will not be able to collect funds for payment from this credit/debit card, based
on the transaction decline reason, it has been taken off file from your account. Please sign in to
your eBay account and update your billing information:

http://signin.ebay.com/eBayISAPI.dll?SignIn&ssPageName=h:h:sin:US


Please note that this notice may not reflect payments made within the past 5 business days.
If your balance is $0.00 or you have recently made a payment, please disregard this message.

As a reminder, past due accounts may be restricted from buying or selling until payment is received.

Regards,
eBay, Inc.

Copyright ? 2006 eBay, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Reference #: 10224.427.1

jomish

Just thought I would let you know I received a spoof email phishing for my personal details. I looked very much like an email from Paypal and even used a secure server, however it was NOT real. It said...

This email confirms that you have sent an eBay payment of ? 202 GBP to slrprepls@hotmail.com for an eBay item.
If you haven't authorized this charge ,click the link below to dispute transaction and get full refund

As I was a bit tired I clicked on the link and logged in but then realised when it was asking for so many details!

Now I have to go and change my passwords! Be careful if you receive it as well!

Kinnairdy

They respond well to the Delete buttonthough, I get a few of these most week's. As many of the more experienced posters on here have repeatedly advised 'Do not click on any links in emails asking for financial details/updates'. Instead go to the site concerned and log on there. Better safe than sorry.

elosarabrab

I often get emails supposedly from banks and pay pal which I delete. Ones that confuse me are random words as the header then random words in the mail itself. Not asking for anything whats that all about?

Annie021063

How do I contact ebay to relist an item which was 'sold' to a spoof buyer and ask them to delete fees. I want to relist it and have blocked the spoof buyer from bidding.
Thanks

nickyhutch

I just got this, and i did speak to someone a day or 2 ago......

Dear MY NAME,

On 08/30/2006, I spoke to you regarding your PayPal account. As part of PayPal's
commitment to excellence, I want to make sure I met your needs in my response.
Would you please take a minute to answer a few questions to let me know how
I did?

http://surveys.benchmarkportal.com/paypal/survey.taf?survey_id=645&user_id=18475A77-8AA7-423F-8F8A-4BF271CA8EF4

To respond to our survey, please click on the web address above. If that does
not work, please cut and paste the entire web address into the address field
of our browser.

NOTE: Please respond within five days so that you can provide timely feedback
to me. AFTER 5 DAYS, THIS INVITATION WILL EXPIRE.

If you wish to take the survey anonymously, click the link below:

http://surveys.benchmarkportal.com/paypal/survey.taf?survey_id=645&user_id=18475A77-8AA7-423F-8F8A-4BF271CA8EF4&anon=yes

Thank you for your help!

PayPal Customer Support

** An important note from the survey vendor **

In order to process your survey, we must collect personal information from you
that are protected by worldwide data protection laws. BenchmarkPortal and its
international group of partners are committed to compliance with all laws. We
have taken the necessary steps to ensure that we meet the obligations required
by country-specific legislation and the EU Directive on Personal Data Privacy.
By clicking on the link above you are providing your Authorisation, allowing
us to collect, process, access, and/or transport your data to a worldwide website
located in Santa Maria USA. This website will be accessible to selected BenchmarkPortal
employees worldwide and our client PayPal.

All individuals with access rights have been educated on data privacy laws and
the use of personal data, and have signed Confidential Non-Disclosure Statements
holding them accountable for compliance.

Your data will be used for the purpose of personalising our content delivery
and services to meet your individual needs based on the information provided
on our surveys. Our customised approach of providing focused information based
on the personal data you provide, will be embraced by BenchmarkPortal and our

etc etc etc


Is it real??

tempuscat

Nicky: eBay / PayPal does use third-party outfits on occasions to monitor customer satisfaction and so there's nothing wrong in responding to a survey participation request. . . unless, of course, the survey also incorporates irrelevant questions about the respondent's life-style, preferences, habits, etc etc, in which case the exercise has more to do with commercially valuable information-gathering than customer satisfaction monitoring.

If you feel you do wish to respond, then there's no harm in cliking on the link and working through the separate screens that will then come up, because they should only -- note: only -- relate to your 'customer service assessment rating' and nothing else. If however the screens then give way to other stuff which either seeks specific personal details -- or even general, though personal questions -- then it's probably wise to exit the process.

Personally, I've little time for these kinds of surveys (usually because I've already spent enough time on the issue already). If I'm happy, then that's the end of the matter. If I'm not, then I complain again.

* Incidentally, if you're looking for the very WORST example of advertiser marketing research masquerading as a 'customer preference survey', go no further than The Times. It may be a lofty newspaper of provenance, but its tactics in pretending to seek help in shaping editorial policy when in fact it's really after commercially valuable consumer information are deplorable.

aeuerby

nickyhutch wrote:

I just got this, and i did speak to someone a day or 2 ago......

Is it real??

The chances are it's real.

We had an email very similar to yours and sent it to Paypal suggesting it was not quite right. They informed us it was perfectly legit.

They do look very sus though!