How to Spot Fake Escrow Service Scams on eBay

1. Receive a fake email from a reputable third-party transaction site such as Squaretrade or Paypal. The scammer will have sent the email from his account or from a fake address associated with the fake escrow service. The scammer will say that they prefer this service over others due suspicion of other services.
2. Pay close attention if you click on the Web site link provided in the email. The link will either lead to a fraudulent Web site designed to look like a popular and legitimate service or a fake service with an unheard of name set up by the scammer--the URL often is simply a bunch of letters and numbers. To try and convince you to use their preferred service, the scammer may say that they are willing to pay for the transaction fees.
3. Refuse to enter your personal and financial information on the site. Only use services of which you are already a member and only log in to that site from the service's main Web page.
4. Realize that the scammer will happily receive your item and the fake escrow service won't send you payment for it. If you try to contact the scammer or the escrow service, you'll find the contact information is no longer valid.