eBay Disables Community Messages After Wave of Phishing Scams
eBay has temporarily disabled direct messaging in its new Community forum after scammers used the feature to send fake account verification notices, less than a week after the company touted the revamped site as a trusted destination for buyers and sellers.
Users noticed the Direct Messages panel suddenly disappeared September 1, with one saying it had still been available about an hour earlier. eBay later confirmed private messaging had been temporarily disabled because of “an increase in Direct Messages with phishing attempts targeting users” on the Community.
seller_news_team
We're seeing an increase in Direct Messages with phishing attempts targeting users on community.ebay.com. Due to this, we have temporarily disabled private messaging on Community to protect our members. Some of these DMs are very difficult to identify as phishing attempts.
To continue to keep your account and information secure:
- Verify links before clicking them.
- Do not enter any sensitive or confidential information on external websites.
- Always inspect the web address for any page asking you to input personal or sensitive information.
- Do not grant anyone access to your eBay account.
- When in doubt, please contact the eBay Community team directly to confirm the legitimacy of a request.
- If you'd like to report a suspicious email claiming to be from eBay, you can forward it as an attachment to: spoof@ebay.com.
For more information about phishing and what to do if you receive a suspicious or unexpected email, please visit our Recognizing Phishing Emails and Phone Calls help page.
The announcement follows several days of reports from users receiving Community direct messages claiming to be from the “eBay Security Team” and warning their accounts would be restricted unless they completed a mandatory verification process within 24 hours.
One seller said the message looked very real and the link led to a page asking for credit card information, but they stopped before entering anything after realizing there was no corresponding notice in regular eBay Messages or email.
dhbookds
So I get this message in the community messages, wants cc #.........NOT in ebay messages or in email messages from ebay? Is it legit?
Other users reported receiving similar versions of the scam from different accounts, including messages warning the verification process was “non-negotiable” and threatening suspension of buying and selling privileges. The links could appear to point to eBay while actually leading elsewhere.
eBay Community Admin Devon acknowledged the problem over the weekend, saying the company was “working with Bevy now to have a resolution ASAP” and asking users to report the phishing messages.
For all of those that have gotten these scam messages, can you please send a screenshot with the username the account that has sent it via email to askcommuntiy@ebay.com.
Around 3:30 PM Eastern on August 31, Devon advised community members "We are currently rolling out a solution here shortly." Direct messaging disappeared the following day.
The announcement closely mirrors a phishing warning eBay posted July 24, when the company said it was seeing an increase in phishing emails targeting online shoppers and sellers.
eBay also published a corporate blog post August 26 celebrating the revamped Community as a “more modern, intuitive destination” where users can access “trusted resources” and “tap into trusted expertise.”
The company specifically highlighted expanded support for new sellers, improved communication and easier access to answers that it said would help Community members make informed decisions and “build confidence.”
Some users raised the same concern about newer sellers, warning they may be more likely to fall for a convincing-looking account restriction notice.
The scam reports have also prompted renewed complaints about moderation in the Community. One seller questioned how phishing messages could make it through while regular Community posts are often closely scrutinized:
It seems as if any post or comment I make gets gone over with the proverbial fine toothed comb but that phishing message slipped through................?
Another user said moderators edited their original warning about the scam, including changing the title, and worried new members could fall for the messages and hand over their credit card information.
That user later started a separate discussion complaining about the edits and asking to have their Community membership cancelled. The thread has since been removed and now displays a notice saying the discussion is no longer accessible.
Heavy-handed moderation complaints are nothing new for the eBay Community and predate the move to Bevy.
Liz Morton
eBay moved its Community from longtime provider Khoros to Bevy in June, promising a more centralized experience bringing discussions, events, resources and search together in one place.
Liz Morton
The new forums reopened with mixed reviews and several features users had been accustomed to were missing, including private messages. Direct messaging was subsequently enabled, only to be switched off again now as eBay and Bevy work through the phishing problem.
While several longtime users said they had never encountered similar messages on the old forum, at least one said they had received scam DMs under Khoros as well. eBay has not said what changes are being made to prevent the phishing messages or when private messaging will be restored.
