Could you spot the genuine link to eBay?

Probably not if you ended up on this page :-)

All the links look like they will take you to eBay, but in fact all three take you to this page.

http://www.ebay.co.uk

www.ebay.co.uk

click here for ebay

And you are lucky it is a page on this website.

Because scammers use just such links in e-mails and when you click them they take you to a fake eBay website. One where you will be asked to "sign in" - and if you do so you will be handing your username and password to the scammer who will then have access to your account and all the information it contains.

Remember, just because a link says it will take you to eBay - or Paypal or your bank or wherever - doesn't mean it will. Just like all thre of the above links bring people to this page.

So how do you avoid being caught out?

First of all, NEVER respond to emails asking for personal information or asking you to visit a website to confirm your details. eBay, Paypal or your bank would never send you such a request.

Here's what eBay say:

"eBay will never ask you to enter sensitive personal information such as User ID, password or bank account details directly by completing a form within the email or in an attachment.

"eBay will also never link you to a sign in page where you will be asked to provide credit card or bank account details. This is a clear indicator of a Spoof email."

Of course the scammers are very good at making e-mails look as if they come from eBay.

It is very easy to alter the "From" field of an email to make it look like it has come from a trusted source when in fact it has not. And adding an eBay logo is a piece of cake.

They may also claim that your account has been compromised or will be closed if you don't act with urgency. This is to make you act immediately without thinking about the possibility of it being a hoax.

Other variations on the spoof e-mail theme include claiming that you have been left negative feedback and you need to take action or that you need to leave feedback yourself. Non-payment for an item you know you didn't bid on is another.

Any links will look like they are taking you to a genuine site, but in reality you will be taken to a spoof website - often a replica of the genuine site. This page looks quite like the eBay site, but in reality it is just two images copied from the real site and placed on this page.

So always remember the golden rule.

NEVER respond to emails asking for personal information or asking you to visit a website to confirm your details.

And if you do receive an e-mail claiming to be from eBay take two steps:

1. Forward it - without changing it - to spoof@ebay.co.uk

2. Delete it