From collectables to cars, buy and sell all kinds of items on eBay
  Home > HelpOnline Security > Account Security > Securing Your Account and Reporting Account Theft

Help

eBay Help

Help Topics

A-Z Index

Contact Us

Related Links

eBay Explained

Safety Centre

Answer Centre

VeRO - Protecting Intellectual Property

Search the Help pages (Does not search for items or products)

Securing Your Account and Reporting Account Theft

We work hard to ensure that your account information remains safe, including working with you to protect your account from unauthorised use. If you provided confidential information through a spoof (fake) website, or suspect that an unauthorised person has accessed or has attempted to access your eBay account, take the following actions.

First, check with family members and others who may use your account to verify that they didn't make any changes. After you have done so, attempt to sign in to your account.

  • If you can sign in, take the steps outlined below to secure your account.

  • If you are not able to sign in, contact eBay for additional assistance. If your account has been compromised, we'll work with you to secure your account. We'll send you a request to change your password (not provide your password) and may place a temporary hold on your account.

  1. Change the password on your personal email account. If someone has access to your email account, they may be able to gain access to your eBay account. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your email account is secure. Make sure your email account’s password is different from your eBay password. Learn about creating a secure password to help prevent any unauthorised account changes in the future.

  2. Request a new eBay password. After you enter your User ID on this page, you are prompted to answer at least one of a number of questions related to your account. Once you have answered at least one of the questions provided, an email is sent to you with instructions that allow you to complete your password change.

    If you are still unable to change your password, review your contact information be sure that the email address on your account is correct, and check the spam filtering settings on your email account to see if the filter is preventing receipt of email from eBay.

  3. Change the Secret Question and Answer on your eBay account. If you don't have a secret question, you can create one now. Read tips on choosing an effective secret question.

  4. Verify your personal contact information registered on your eBay account and change anything that isn't correct. If your account was compromised, the contact information on your account may have been changed without your permission. In addition, if the contact information on your account has not been updated recently, you may need to update the information on your account.

  5. Search for any active bids or listings that may be unauthorised. You can review active bids and listings from your My eBay page. If you find any active bids or listings that are unauthorised, you may be able to retract the bids and end the listings. If you see unauthorised fees when you review your selling account, please contact eBay to request a credit.

  6. Take steps to protect your identity. Sensitive information submitted to eBay, including credit card and bank account information, is stored on a secure server and cannot be accessed through your eBay account. Although this information cannot be obtained through eBay, you should take steps to protect your identity if you provided information to a spoof website or replied to a spoofed email.

  7. Educate yourself on how to recognise and report spoof email and websites impersonating eBay. The most common way for an eBay account to be compromised is through spoof emails designed to access members' passwords and other sensitive information. Please forward any suspicious or unexpected emails claiming to be from eBay to us at the email address spoof@ebay.co.uk or spoof@ebay.ie. It's also a good idea to review the Spoof Tutorial and other online security information available from the eBay Safety Centre.

Contacting eBay

  • Live Help - Chat online with a Customer Support representative.
    Please note: Live Help is available from 10am to 10pm every day. Pop-up and ad blockers may interfere with Live Help. To use Live Help, turn off pop-up or ad blocking and refresh the page.

  • Email us to report that you cannot sign in to your account.

  • Email us after signing in to your account to request additional assistance.

Make sure you include the following information:

  • Name and address

  • Phone number (with the best time to reach you)

  • User ID

  • Email address

  • Item numbers of any unauthorised transactions

  • Brief summary of the situation


Related Help topics

About eBay | Announcements | Safety Centre | Partner Centre | VeRO Protecting IP | Policies | Feedback Forum | Site Map | Help
Copyright © 1995-2008 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
eBay official time