What the phisher is hoping you do is convince yourself that there must be a transaction you haven't completed or, at the least, get you to be inquisitive about the particular transaction. The phisher hopes to tempt or persuade you to click on the Respond Now button as a short cut to getting the details of the transaction.
If you do click on the button, you are taken to a page which looks exactly like a genuine eBay page. And this is where the phisher closes in on their objective. In order that you can see the transaction, you are requested to key in your your eBay ID and your password.
When you do this, the phisher has gained your details.
But that could be just the start.
Often with these types of phishers when you've keyed in your eBay ID and password you are taken to a page to "update your account information". Innocent eBay members may proceed to input credit card and other personal information. Again, all of this is being captured by the phisher.
I've read somewhere that the banks have reported around 1% of phishing emails succeed in their objectives. This is a tremendous return for those involved in this activity. Just imagine the 1 million phishing emails I mnetioned earlier. Using the banks' figures, this means as many as 10,000 people getting ripped off from one mailing!
This is an area where it is absolutely fine to be paranoid.
I can't stress this strongly enough. Never, ever click on a link within an email from eBay, PayPal, a bank or any other organisation which holds personal or financial data of yours.
This also includes emails which appear to come from eBay members. To check if such an email is a genuine member-to-member communication, you will find it in your My Messages in My eBay. If it doesn't appear in there, it's a fraud.
Why not use this motto online, "be careful, be wary and be safe".
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