Got back from a 3 week trip to Florida to find 2 feet of packed snow ****where is my snow shovel?****, -13 degree temp ****shiver, shiver, shiver**** and that someone had hacked into my eBay, PayPal and Yahoo mail accounts. My PayPal account was attached to my credit union banking. Got an overdraft notice from them that tipped me that something was wrong.

While my husband spent all day digging out the driveway ****swish, heave, work up a sweat**** so we could get the car in the garage; I spent all day getting control back for all those accounts. And explaining everything to the credit union. Ugh! They took things well and gave me back the overdraft charges ****ca-ching****.

Thank heaven eBay and PayPal were on the ball. They both caught on that a third party had hacked into my accounts and put holds of them. I have to say that their security methods are excellent. PayPal had already reversed the withdrawals from my credit union. Whoever did this had been running illegal auctions under my account at eBay. The eBay on-site customer service chat was in contact with me and took care of everything.

Fortunately the hacker doesn't seem to have gotten enough information to use my credit card that is attached to PayPal and eBay. But, I did call them today and had them close that account and send me a new credit card.

I do hope that I have gotten everything corrected and things are back to normal, but who knows for sure?

And how was your day?

Ouch, most likely they figured out your passwords and such, did you happen to do a spyware scan on your computer at all? Most likely they had a keylogger on you in order to get all your account information and what not, and course you should be happy that ebay and paypal were able to help you out and not give you the run around. Of course that question is how much did the hacker get is the question, but since you did the appropriate actions to cover the damage the hacker cause you should be fine. Just in case check every link in your accounts to make sure any information about you and your bank accounts might have been missed.

Like you mentioned in the shoutbox that you run yahoo spyware (junk), and got zonealarm they usually don't pick up everything, that's goes along the same lines as most antivirus software is weak in the spyware department. Spybot S&D usually picks up the left overs if you run the program a couple of times.



This post has been edited by Saint_Michael: Feb 13 2008, 06:09 AM

Wow man, I just got to say that that sucks. The same thing happened to me one time, I mean, luckily there were no problems, but services like PayPal and Ebay really need to do a better job of protecting customer information... That's why I don't really trust either of them when shopping online or selling stuff or whatever... I dunno, maybe I've just developed a healthy mistrust of internet business, but... like I said, it's healthy. =D

Haha though it does stink that you got hacked into (and a very important account too!) your post did make me giggle with all the little side notes. I also think that is great that you got things sorted out, but I'm sure it must have been quite a hassle! I think that you did a good job at least not going out and not doing anything. You might want to be a little bit more careful about spyware (try to scan your computer pretty often) and other things! Though sometimes the hacker is just that good, it is usually the ones that can get the info easy that really do anything . Good thing that you got a new credit card and acted as quick as possible. Good thing to know that PayPal and eBay were on the ball! I have to say, I didn't expect them to have such a good response. Well, glad everything is good and to answer your question my day isn't that bad haha.

-Jester

A few hints to help you prevent this in the future. The more of these hints you can follow the better.

Always make secure passwords using Uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and if possible symbols (like !@#$%^&*)

Try to avoid repetitive patterns in your passwords (like 123 or abc or AbC)

The more random the better.

Try to avoid words

Avoid easy to guess things like birthdays, address, phone numbers or any public information about you or your family

Avoid using your passwords to places like paypal or ebay that deal with money on public computers (like the library or an internet cafe)

NEVER allow a program to remember a password for you for this type of stuff (it leave a form of your password on your computer and even if it is encrypted it can be compromised)

Always use different passwords for different accounts. (one for ebay, one for paypal, one for email ect.)

Try to change your passwords every 2 weeks (I suggest rotating through a list of at least 5 passwords this way)

Use a program like Spybot S&D or Adaware atleast once every 2 days to check for trojans or keyloggers that could be there stealing your info.

ALWAYS scan any downloads with an anti virus software before opening them.

Personally I suggest using Mozilla FireFox Browser due to its heightened security. I DO NOT recommend using Internet Explorer (IE) any more then necessary because there are MANY security flaws that hackers can exploit.

When ever you are connected to the internet always have an active and updated firewall and anti virus.

If you are unsure about a site or a file do not use it or download it.

ALWAYS double check the address bar to make sure that you are inputting your passwords into the correct place.

If someone emails you with a link to verify information double check with the company first. Most companies WILL NOT need to verify your info this way. If you think the letter is a scam forward it to the companies' abuse email. (check the individual websites, usually under contact information, to find the address) this will help to stop the people doing this.

BE VERY CAREFUL IF YOU USE YOUR COMPUTER FOR PORN, this is a major area where people get viruses/spyware/adware. Verify the sites you use and if it asks you to download anything DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT, if it loops and will not close use alt+ctrl+del and find the process and shut it down that way. (note that any site that forces you to download something is most likely running a scam to get you to install a virus.)

OH and I am glad that you got it all worked out. Some times it can be harder to fix so you got lucky. And also someone said "some hackers are just that good" that is not true, these people who do this are looking for an easy score, they are usually rather lazy and will only steal your accounts if they find a weakness. It is rare that a hacker will purposefully target you and make a serious attempt at stealing your accounts if you only use the internet for normal things.

This post has been edited by KainRacure: Feb 14 2008, 01:39 AM

I'd be very irritated at the fact someone had gotten into my things and messed with stuff they shouldn't have.

Sorry all that happened sounds like you had a crazy day. heh ^^

I often tell people my password and tell them if they can spell it correctly they deserve the account because it utilises UPPERCASE, lowercase, $|/\/\b/-\|_$ and I cant do anything clever with this one bu no.s 1234323234

obviously i only tell my friends and i am not likely to post it on the world wide web. World Wide being the key part!

Gee, guys and gals, thanks for all the input. The adivce rendered will be ardently heeded. In other words, I will be more careful about such matters in the future. I have tried to keep my passwords unique and clever, but somehow somebody was able to crack it.

QUOTE

KainRacure - Always use different passwords for different accounts. (one for ebay, one for paypal, one for email ect.)

My mistake did lie in the fact that I used the same password on these 3 accounts. I won't do that again.

Again, Thanks to all!