Email scam targets Trade Me users

Trade Me has warned users of an email scam targeting their log-on details.

An email is circulating, purporting to be from Trade Me, asking members to confirm their details.

"It directs you to a site that looks like Trade Me and asks you to log in," the site said.

"This is not from Trade Me.

"If you have already responded to the email please change your password immediately."

Internet observers said the emails appeared to be a "phishing" campaign.

However, Keith Ng, in his On Point blog at the Public Address site, questioned why anyone would want Trade Me passwords that did not lead to bank account numbers.

"Given that there is no obvious financial gain, I can only guess that this is an attack on Trade Me itself," he said.

"It's more than an act of whimsy. The perpetrator was skilled, had access to an email server, and, most importantly, had some kind of spam list."

The internet auction site was recently acquired for $700 million by Fairfax.

- NZPA