Recently there has been an increase in the number of eBay members receiving "spoof" emails with fraudulent Second Chance Offers -- that is, an invitation to buy an item they'd previously bid on, but didn't win.

To help you keep your account secure and avoid any unsafe transactions, please follow the security guidelines we encourage all eBay members to observe:

• Check My Messages. If you receive any e-mails with a Second Chance Offer for an item you recently bid on, please check your My Messages inbox on the eBay site to make sure the offer is authentic. If it appears in My Messages with the title "eBay Second Chance Offer for Item...", it's authentic. If the Second Chance Offer does not appear in My Messages, or appears with a different title, it is not legitimate and should be ignored.
  
   
• Never pay with Western Union or Money Gram. eBay strongly encourages its members to avoid using instant cash wire transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram. It's against eBay's Safe Payments Policy for a seller to request payment via these methods as they've proven to be unsafe when paying someone the buyer doesn't know.
  
   
• Forward spoof emails to [email protected] If you receive any email that refers to your eBay account and asks you to click on a link, look for the message in your My Messages inbox on the eBay site. If it isn't there, do not click on the link or enter personal information. Forward the email to [email protected] This lets us take quick action on the fake website, and we'll respond to you within minutes to tell you if the message really came from eBay.
  
   
• Download eBay Toolbar. The eBay Toolbar includes Account Guard which indicates when you are on a legitimate eBay or PayPal site, and alerts you when you are on a known fraudulent site.

Thank you for taking these simple steps to ensure safe trading on eBay.

Sincerely,