Gift card scams

[dagonz-9147]

Has anyone had an experience with talking to a ebay customer service person and to find out they are trying to scam you to purchase gift cards to correct a transaction promblem?

[lady_madonna]

That happens when you use Google or other internet search engine to search for Ebay's phone number. Those are all SCAMS.

Always use Ebay's website to contact Ebay. Click on "Help & Contact" at the top of the page.

[quiltgeek]

It's a SCAM. You were NOT talking to an eBay  Customer Service employee.

If you look for an eBay phone number by searching the web, you will find FAKE phone numbers that are answered by criminals that want to steal your money.

No eBay employee would tell you to send a gift card to a seller or show the seller a gift card's codes.

Sending a gift card or showing the code #s of a gift card to anyone is like handing cash over to a total stranger on a street corner. The stranger disappears and your money is gone forever.

[janet9988]

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851

[eburtonlab]

What search terms were you using on Google?

Scammers often put up fake web pages using free hosting services, and then buy ad space on google or other search engines that are linked to certain keywords. Users searching those keywords get the ads mixed in with the legitimate results. Phony "eBay customer service phone number" pages have been common, particularly since eBay makes it so difficult to contact customer service directly.

If you spot a scam ad like that, report it to google using the link on the search results page. Some free web hosting sites have a report link that can be used to report the fake page -- that is often the quickest way to get the page taken down if you can find it.

Using an ad blocker in your browser may block search engine ads. Otherwise you should take care when choosing which search engine results to follow.

For sites like eBay, you may be better off going directly to ebay.com or bookmarking a page rather than relying on a search engine to find the site.