1. ?Phishing? expeditions. According to eBay guru Skip McGath (http://SkipMcGrath.com), ?phishers? send out mass emails, posing as eBay, or any company, and asking the recipient to confirm their password, which they use to hijack their account.

? Advises McGrath, ?Any email that's really from eBay will be on your My eBay page under your My Messages, NOT in your inbox.?

? Always log into eBay ? or any password protected site ? by going to the site from your favorites bar, or by typing in the URL yourself. Never log in on a page you opened through an email link. No matter how authentic the page looks, there's a good chance you've been redirected to a phony site.

2. Unauthorized suppliers. You need to verify your suppliers ? not everyone that claims to be selling wholesale products is legitimate.

? If someone claims to be selling you wholesale items, but doesn't require your Tax ID number, they're not legitimate.

? If you see a drop ship site with name brand logos plastered everywhere, they're very likely NOT an authorized dealer ? accounts with large brand companies are extremely difficult to establish, and the logos are copyrighted material.

? If you're using a new supplier, start out with a very small order to test their service and examine their products. If you find they're fakes, you've learned your lesson at a minimal cost.

3. Counterfeit cashier's checks and money orders. Be particularly careful with international buyers who need you to send an expensive item to an ?agent? along with an exorbitant fee.

? Before you send out a buyer's item, or forward any ?agent's fees? from their check, take that check to your bank and have them call the issuing bank and verify the check is good. If it's not, you've saved yourself a lot of money. And if they tell you it's good and turn out to be wrong, you aren't the one taking the loss.

4. Sites or auctions that don't accept PayPal or credit cards.

? PayPal performs very thorough background checks and is committed to going after perpetrators of fraud; and credit cards let you file charge backs.

? If a supplier insists on being paid with a cashier's check or money order, that may be an indicator that they're not a good product source.

Don't let a few dishonest people scare you off of eBay altogether. There are plenty of genuine suppliers there, and not every user is trying to cheat you. You just need to be aware of what's out there, and proceed with caution. The vast majority of transactions that happen on eBay are completely above-board: it's one of the safest eCommerce platforms around. Assures McGrath, ?You can buy $10,000 Breitling watches on eBay that are perfectly legitimate. Just take those steps, and make sure you know who you're buying from.?