Hi Everybody,

Welcome to today’s workshop. My name is Dave Steer – I work on Trust and Safety at PayPal. My team's responsibility is to educate the eBay and PayPal Community about the ways they can stay safe when buying and selling online

To that end, I’m delighted to have Debbie and Jon from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) join us today. The FTC recently launched an education campaign called OnGuard Online, which features a website devoted to helping you guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer and protect your personal information. The site – which you can access at www.onguardonline.gov – features tools and education about protection from Viruses, Spyware, Phishing/Spoofing, Identity Theft and other threats to online safety. It includes tips, articles, videos and quizzes to help you become computer savvy. OnGuardOnline is really a great resource – I encourage all of our Community members to visit it and share the resources with family, friends and colleagues.

Over the next hour, Debbie and Jon will share with you some of the most important tips and insights from the FTC to stay safe online. This workshop is a great opportunity for you to ask the FTC about what they are doing to improve safety of eCommerce and to learn what you can do to stay safe. Please feel free to direct any questions to them.

I also have with me Laura Mather and Larry Friedberg from the eBay Trust & Safety team. We will be happy to answer any of your questions as well.

Okay…enough with the opening. Debbie and Jon, over to you…

--Dave

Hi everyone. Jon and I are using the same ebay username, so responses will come from both of us on this account. Glad to be here with you. -Debbie

More on ID Theft: Unfortunately, when it comes to crimes like identity theft, you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim. But following these tips can help minimize your risk while you're online:

If you're asked for your personal information — your name, email or home address, phone number, account numbers, or Social Security number — find out how it's going to be used and how it will be protected before you share it. If you have children, teach them to not give out your last name, your home address, or your phone number on the Internet.
If you get an email or pop-up message asking for personal information, don't reply or click on the link in the message. The safest course of action is not to respond to requests for your personal or financial information. If you believe there may be a need for such information by a company with whom you have an account or placed an order, contact that company directly in a way you know to be genuine. In any case, don't send your personal information via email because email is not a secure transmission method.
If you are shopping online, don't provide your personal or financial information through a company's website until have checked for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser's status bar or a website URL that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for “secure”). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some scammers have forged security icons.
Read website privacy policies. They should explain what personal information the website collects, how the information is used, and whether it is provided to third parties. The privacy policy also should tell you whether you have the right to see what information the website has about you and what security measures the company takes to protect your information. If you don't see a privacy policy — or if you can't understand it — consider doing business elsewhere.

We also wanted to touch on another topics that is near and dear to many of your hearts

Online Shopping

Shopping on the Internet can be economical and convenient and is no less safe than shopping in a store or by mail, but you should still take precautions when shopping online.

To help ensure that your online shopping experience is a safe one:

Know who you’re dealing with. Confirm the online seller’s physical address and phone number in case you have questions or problems.

Know exactly what you’re buying. Read the seller’s description of the product closely, especially the fine print.

Know what it will cost. Factor shipping and handling — along with your needs and budget — into the total cost of the order.

Pay by credit or charge card, for maximum consumer protections.

Check out the terms of the deal, like refund policies and delivery dates.

Print and save records of your online transactions.

Hi everyone:

Be sure to check out the following site:

OnGuard Online

and
ID Theft

Thanks,

Deirdre
eBay Community Development

Hi Everyone -

Just want to encourage you to ask the Jon and Debbie any questions about online safety. Don't be shy

--Dave

I am totally new to Ebay. I have never used a discussion board or participated in a workshop before, so I really don't know what I'm doing. I wanted to get as much info about this topic because I did receive a aspoof e-mail trying to get my personal info, I didn't give it out, but I wanted to learn all I can on the subject.