One eBay scam involves someone hijacking the eBay account of a seller with a good feedback record by deceitfully obtaining his password. One possible tip-off during the auction is that the seller is auctioning a pricey item or items completely unlike those he's auctioned before. Another is that the seller previously only bought on eBay, never sold. A possible tip-off upon completion of the auction is that you're asked to send payment to a location completely different from the location listed in the auction. If you have questions about the auction, send a message to the seller through eBay. If his answer continues to arouse suspicion, don't send your money.

eBay has recently tightened up its security features to try to prevent this type of fraud. Now, if an automated password-cracking program fails to guess a password on the twentieth try, eBay flashes a code on screen that you have to type in manually. Despite this safety feature, it's still best to use a password that's difficult to crack -- a combination of letters and numbers and one that's not the same password you use elsewhere.

Sellers can still be tricked into revealing their passwords to scammers by clicking on a link in an official looking e-mail message that appears to come from eBay, a practice known as "phishing." They're directed to a "spoof" site that looks just like eBay but is solely designed to obtain people's passwords. To prevent yourself from falling victim like this and ruining your good feedback, always go to eBay and related sites such as PayPal through your own bookmark or favorite or by manually typing in the site's address.

If you have any suspicions for any reason about a coin being auctioned during the course of the auction, send a message to the seller asking for clarification. If the seller doesn't respond or if you have doubts after getting a response, refuse to bid. If you've bid on an item in an on-going auction or if you've won an auction just completed, eBay lets you request the seller's phone and address. With more expensive items, it can sometimes make sense to initiate telephone contact before the auction's completion. When you request a seller's contact information, eBay informs the seller of this and automatically sends the seller your contact information.