How to Tell If the “Password Reset” Email You Received from eBay Is Real

If you’re an eBay user, you’ve certainly heard by now of the massive data breach that put in danger some 145 million people. The company has been advising users to change their passwords if they’re among the many affected and emails have been sent over the past few days.

Since phishing attacks are aplenty, you should be careful what links you access and know how to detect the good emails from the scams.

First of all, eBay’s email reads “Important – eBay Password Reset Required” in the subject line and the message comes from [email protected].

The lengthy email explains the situation eBay is in and why it’s necessary to change your password, while being signed by Devin Wenig, eBay marketplaces president.

“To help ensure customers' trust and security on eBay, I am asking all eBay users to change their passwords. Here's why: Recently, our company discovered a cyberattack on our corporate information network. This attack compromised a database containing eBay user passwords. What's important for you to know: We have no evidence that your financial information was accessed or compromised. And your password was encrypted,” the message starts off.

This is how the real eBay emails look

While the exact message doesn’t address you personally, which is something that eBay usually does, you will find in the lower area of the email, underneath Wenig’s signature, a note that reads “eBay sent this message to,” followed by the name you provided for the account and the username.

eBay admitted that the attack took place somewhere between late February and early March and resulted in the unauthorized access to a database of eBay users. Hackers gained access to customers’ name, email addresse, physical address, phone number and date of birth. Account passwords were accessed too, but they’re encrypted and there’s no reason to believe that the security layer has been breached. Financial data was not accessed.

There are concerns that the stolen data will lead to identity theft since plenty of personal details have been swiped by hackers. Investigations have been launched in both the United States and Europe.