email about login

Question

Has anyone received an email that you logged in on a different device? Mine said that I logged in from a place that is hours away from me. I'm sure it was me, but I changed my password just to be safe. Then it said to call a number. I called it but was very concerned that it might be a scam. Anyone do this and is it safe?

gosimus · Answer

@sewkathy2 < an email that you logged in on a different device? > I get the message frequently, because I have my browser set to automatically delete all cookies when I exit an application. When you open eBay, eBay sets a cookie on your device, so that the next time you log in, eBay finds that cookie and knows it's you. If there's no cookie, the eBay computer concludes that this is the first time the login is from that particular device, and therefore might be unauthorized, so it warns you. Also, if you use a VPN that bounces your signal all over the place, to conceal your true location for perceived security needs, the final signal that goes to eBay comes from a far-distant place, so naturally there's no cookie to tell eBay that it's okay, that's it's really you.