eBay Temporarily Disables Community Direct Messages to Combat Phishing Scams
After community users were targeted by phishing emails and direct-message attacks, eBay temporarily disabled community direct messaging and warned users about account-verification messages from impersonators posing as official representatives.
What are the key facts?
- 1September 1, 2026
- 2community.ebay.com
- 3Community direct messaging temporarily disabled
What happened?
eBay announced on the community Selling discussion board that scammers had recently contacted users through targeted phishing emails and community direct messages, posing as the platform’s security team or official representatives and attempting to obtain account information and login credentials or persuade users to complete fake verification procedures. The platform said these attacks primarily targeted community members, and that the messages could contain external links or other requests for users to take action. To protect member accounts, eBay decided to temporarily disable direct messaging in the community discussion boards. The platform also reminded users not to disclose account credentials to strangers or submit account information through unofficial channels. Community users who receive suspicious messages should verify the source and avoid clicking unknown links or following the sender’s instructions.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
This incident shows that store security risks extend to platform communities and direct-message channels, so sellers cannot focus only on off-platform emails. Treating “official verification” as proof of authenticity or continuing to log in through unfamiliar links can create an entry point for account takeover. Highest-priority action: This week, review team members’ login and verification practices and require everyone to handle account notifications only through official eBay pages.