Do You Need to Change Your eBay Password?

If you're like me, you may have just gotten an email in your inbox asking you to change your eBay password. Should you? Well, maybe, as long as you don't change it by clicking on any links in emails. Some messages you've received asking you to change your password may be fake, and you can assume hackers will try and capitalize on a security breach the company announced earlier this month.

Wondering how they got your email in the first place? Well, they stole it. In early May eBay discovered that data from millions of registered eBay accounts was stolen by hackers sometime in February or March. And a week ago, the company decided to urge people to change their passwords using the site itself.

An email from eBay's head of global marketplaces has been making the rounds over the last few days, and it's legit. You can tell because the author, Devin Wenig, doesn't include a single link in the email. It includes this:

Go to eBay and change your password. If you changed your password on May 21 or later, we do not need you to take any additional action at this time.

Changing your password may be inconvenient. I realize that. We are doing everything we can to protect your data and changing your password is an extra precautionary step, in addition to the other security measures we have in place.

Wenig notes that the company doesn't think any financial data was stolen in the attack. But guess what was? Addresses, names, passwords, usernames, birth dates...that kinda stuff. Not awesome, but at least it's not your credit card.

Here's how to change your eBay password:

1. Go to www.ebay.com.

2. Follow in-site prompts to change your password.

Never, ever change your password by clicking on a link in an email, though. The only real email you can get about the eBay comes from Wenig and doesn't ask you to click on any links.