Users are not allowed to pretend to be an eBay employee or another eBay member.
Frequently Asked Questions
A member I'm buying from sent me an email asking for my credit card details. It wasn't an eBay message. What should I do?
eBay members should never contact each other outside of eBay's messaging system. And we'll never request that you send sensitive information such as payment details, addresses, or passwords through email. There's a good chance a request like this is fraudulent.
Go to our recognising spoof emails and websites article for more information and to report the email. After submitting all the details of the email, review the securing your account page for additional steps you should take.
How do I report someone who's misrepresenting themselves?
To report a member who's attempting to misrepresent themselves as an eBay employee, or as another eBay member, please contact us with the member's username or email address.
Read our full policy
Misrepresentation of identity policy overview
eBay does not permit members to misrepresent themselves as eBay employees or as other eBay members.
Activity on eBay is required to follow this policy, the eBay User Agreement and all applicable laws, as well as respect the rights of third parties. If it doesn’t, eBay may take action consistent with applicable laws and the eBay User Agreement, and may even be legally required to do so. Such actions may include, as an example only: Removing the listing or other content, issuing a warning, restricting activity or account suspension.
To report a member who is attempting to misrepresent themselves as an eBay employee or as another eBay member, please contact us with the member's user ID or email address. For privacy and security reasons, eBay cannot discuss the result of the investigation.
Additional information
Personal information, such as names, addresses, passwords and credit card numbers are confidential. Personal information can be valuable to individuals trying to defraud eBay members. This could result in eBay members receiving 'spoof' emails requesting that they enter their personal information. eBay will never ask a member to send confidential personal information by email. If eBay ever does request such information, eBay will always direct its members to the eBay site. With very few exceptions, members can submit the requested information through My eBay.
If you receive an email requesting passwords, credit card numbers or other confidential information, please refer to our article recognising spoof emails to get more information and instructions on how to report the email. If you’ve already submitted information as a result of a spoof email, you may need to secure your account and report the potential theft of your account. Contact us for assistance.
Why does eBay have this policy?
eBay has this policy to help members protect their personal information, and to avoid becoming victims of unscrupulous individuals.