Such messages typically begin without a personal salutation and claim that the account is about to expire and that the personal data must be renewed and confirmed. The link they contain leads to a replica page that is deceptively similar to the original and asks for the user name and the password. The platform itself sends no e-mails in which the entry of such data is demanded; access data obtained in this way is used to buy or sell articles at auction under another person's name.
If there is a suspicion that third parties are misusing the account, the operator is to be informed immediately. Heightened caution applies to the use of other people's computers, for instance in internet cafés while on holiday, since it cannot be checked there whether entries are being recorded. In the event of a dispute the account holder may under some circumstances have to prove himself that it was not he but a third party who acted.