Spoof emails are deceptive emails claiming to be sent by well-known companies in an attempt to commit identity theft.

If you have any doubt whether an email is really from eBay:

• Forward the message to spoof@ebay.co.uk or spoof@ebay.ie.

• Do not alter the subject line or forward the message as an attachment. If you do this it prevents us from investigating it further. We investigate every spoof reported. Please note that the automatic response you get from us may not address you by name.

• Once you have forwarded the email, you can then delete it from your email account.

Important: Do not click on any link in the email. The purpose of spoof email is to lead you to a website and attempt to collect personal information and commit identity theft or other crimes

If you receive suspicious email that appears to come from PayPal, you can forward this to spoof@paypal.co.uk or spoof@paypal.com (if you registered on the Irish site).

Learn more about spoof emails and take the Spoof Email Tutorial.