A spoof email is an email from someone pretending to be somebody else, i.e. eBay, PayPal or your Bank. The reason for them sending spoof emails is that they want to get your details, passwords etc so as to steal your identity.

It’s not every day that I receive a spoof email, but I do get quiet a few each week. The latest one says it’s from “secureATpaypal.com” and it’s entitled “Important Information Regarding Your Account”.

The first mistake of the sender was sending it to an email address that isn’t linked to my PayPal account. So there’s not a chance of me opening it.

However, when I get any suspect emails there are a few simple little things that I check.

1, If it has any attachments I DO NOT OPEN IT, as neither eBay or PayPal send emails with attachments. Many viruses are passed by attachments and I never open any emails that have attachments unless I know and trust the sender.

2, I check the email address it was sent to. If the email did come from eBay or PayPal it will show your email address. Many spoof emails will read “Not Set”.

3, How does the email start? If it starts with Dear Member or Dear Account Holder then it’s probably spoof. eBay always start their emails with your username, while PayPal will use your real name.

4, I look at the properties for it. In Outlook Express it’s very easy, simply place the cursor over the email, right click your mouse and select properties. A small box appears which has 2 tabs General and Details. Click the Details tab and the very first line is the return path. Now if the email came from PayPal, eBay or your bank, their email address will be the return path. If it isn’t then you shouldn’t just delete the email, close it and get in touch with the relevant party.

If the email says it’s from eBay you should forward it to spoof@ebay.co.uk or spoof@ebay.com and tell them “I’m concerned about this email, is it spoof?” Then wait for them to get back to you. eBay are very hot on spoof email and will automatically acknowledge that they’ve received the suspect email from you. They will then look into the email and where it came from in the first place. They will get back to, normally within 24 hrs, and advise you accordingly, normally telling you to delete it.

If the email says it’s from PayPal then forward it to spoof@paypal.com again just add a little message at the top saying “I’m concerned about this email, is it spoof?”

If the email claims to be from your Bank or Building Society you should phone them up and ask their advice.

NEVER EVER click any of the links inside the email.

In Outlook Express; if you hover your cursor over the links inside the email and look at the task bar at the bottom, on the left it’ll show you the web address behind the hyperlink. For example it may read paypal.com in the email but when you hover over it you see a completely different web address.

I have recently sent eBay a suspect email and when they replied they told me that it was spoof and that they were now working to disable the websites concerned.

I always report spoof emails and would advise you to do the same.

Until next time, Barry Wells

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