eBay fraud schools" victims and vendors to the importance of branded email delivery.

eBay fraud schools" victims and vendors to the importance of branded email delivery.

By: Steven Faulkner

On December 11th 2002 a number of eBay users were defrauded of credit card information, when answering emails of questionable origin. The scam involved emails that asked recipients to log on to a Florida-based Web site, ebayupdates.com, and re-enter financial data for eBay, said Dean White, the Asia-Pacific coordinator of a U.S. group, SANS Institute Internet Storm Center.

Clearly, the email did not originate from eBay.com and the link to the site ebayupdates.com" has nothing to do with the ebay.com network.

The victims made two critical mistakes:

1.   They did not check the real from address" of the emails they received for the companys domain.
2.   They responded to a website that was not eBay.com.

Both consumers and companies can learn from this scenario. Consumers should always check the real from" address of any email asking them for personal information. Legitimate companies should always send email branded from their primary domain (i.e. ebay.com).

The domain name service (DNS) protocol only allows the owners of a domain to add prefixes to their domain. For example, if a user received email from newsletter@updates.ebay.com it would be a legitimate from address indicating the email is indeed from eBay.

If an email originates from a domain other than the branded domain of the company it claims to represent, then there is no guarantee the email is genuine. Anybody can register a domain and add a companys name as a prefix (i.e. eBay.mydomain.com) or register a primary domain incorporating the vendor-victims name (i.e. ebayupdates.com). Emails of this kind should raise red flags with consumers that they may be defrauded and to legitimate companies that they may be being impersonated.

Email companies that do not offer fully branded email services to their clients exasperate this problem. These companies simply add the clients domain in front of theirs (i.e. ebay.nonbrandedemail.net). Whether clients are setup this way to promote the vendor, or just from laziness, it is possible that this creates confusion among consumers and conditions them to be more vulnerable to frauds like the one on ebayupdates.com.

Proactive email industry insiders recognize that this practice is detrimental to the security of the vendor and the consumer, thus decreasing consumer confidence and response rates.

Progressive email vendors, like M4Internet, recognize the importance of providing their clients fully branded services, with-in a hosted ASP model.

Every one of our clients emails is branded to that organizations primary domain. Our clients have the security of knowing that their clients receive email that originates from the domain with which they have trusted relationship. Fully branded emails create higher consumer confidence, response rates and conversions," said Ed Patrick, President, M4Internet.

About M4Internet

M4Internet is the premier outsource solution provider for businesses managing high-volume, personalized permission-based email marketing campaigns. M4Internet's next generation email solutions automate the workflow processes involved in the creation, delivery and analysis of targeted high-volume email and survey campaigns. NBC, j2 Global Communications, Merit Direct and other notable email marketers integrate M4Internet solutions into their online marketing strategy. For more information, call toll-free 866-4M4-INET or go to www.m4internet.com.