It is a well-known scam.
These calls are made to people with an eBay account, without an eBay account, with internet, without internet, with blue eyes, with brown eyes, with hazel eyes, with green eyes…
In other words, to ANYONE.
They don’t know your password (in the basic eBay refund scam, that is — similar to the Amazon refund scam and a host of others along the same lines). They are following a pre-written scam script. They are mostly operating from Kolkata. They are part of a scamming call centre — one of many such centres.
BEST RESPONSE
Give away no confirmation of details. Do not say the word “yes”. Do not even say you have an eBay account. Do not confirm name. Hear just enough for you to gauge that it is a scam, then hang up.
You don’t need to tell the scammer that you’re hanging up or why. Say as little as possible. You can say “You are a scammer; do not call me again” and then hang up, but really, just a simple hang-up /disconnection is the most efficient and least dangerous response.
GAUGING THAT IT IS A SCAM
eBay won’t call you about a possible fraudulent purchase on your eBay account. They have set up their entire Customer Service and Complaints system to be run largely upon automated lines, and an email to you from them will be accompanied by a message in your eBay account marked as having come from eBay.
If your account has been hacked, you should check the eBay help pages specifically addressing this. You will be able to contact eBay by Live Chat or possibly by phone, but only ever using the “contact us” details on the eBay Help pages.
If something has been fraudulently purchased by your eBay account, you will never - EVER - be required to download an app or programme (e.g., Anydesk or similar) that gives a third party access to your device or computer. Scammers try to convince victims to download such apps and talk about connecting you to their secure server to action a cancellation and refund. It’s nonsense.
Judt hang up, and if in doubt, open a new browser window, and from eBay.com.au you can go to eBay help, type in “hacked account”, open the relevant help page from search results. Do NOT google for eBay phone number; scammers also have websites and search engine advertising with fake eBay or fake Amazon or fake Norton or fake pretty much anything phone numbers, etc.
So… search only within the correct eBay site. Never click an emailed link. Always look at the actual URL. And don’t engage with scammers even to tell them what miserable sons of a rabies-infected goat they are; any sort of engagement is a open window.
