It's my identity .... Hands off

Yesterday I received a letter from eBay International in Switzerland. They sent me access information to a new account which had been set up. The problem was, I have no knowledge of a new registration. I have had an eBay account for a couple of years now and I am also acredited with them, so this new account was more than a surprise.

So I spoke to eBay and they said "Great, it shows our security measures are working!". If I don't confirm the account it will not be activated and nothing will happen. Ok, that sounds good.

So I checked the e-mail address eBay supplied. I also contacted the provider and they confirmed that a new account had been set up on the 10. of November at 11.03 pm. Seeing I usually go to bed at around 10.30 pm, I must have been sleep walking to set it up.

Fortunately, the information the provider supplied has an IP number from the last access time. So with some luck, I may catch the person who wanted to use my identity. I have already reported this to the police and am waiting to hear what they will do.

Apart from it being my identity, this is pretty bad news. Sure it is easy to set up an anonymous e-mail account with a freemailer, all of the 419ers do that. But it is good to hear that it is not so easy trying to get through eBay with false details. Don't get me wrong, eBay has made several mistakes in the past, but it is good to hear that it is not so easy to set up an account without revealing your identity. That can only be good for the online community as a whole.

I will keep you posted on what happens.