This is the most common scam out there, and people continue to fall for it. Anyone who falls for the scam after reading this explanation is in sad shape.

Do not respond to an e-mail that purports to be from eBay, PayPal, or an eBay or PayPal user. Again: do not respond to an e-mail from those sources.

SO WHAT IS AN E-MAIL? An e-mail is a message that comes through your e-mail system. A message that comes through your message board on your eBay account is not an e-mail.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? When you open an e-mail purporting to come from eBay, you will see a message. You will also see a button or link so you can "sign in" and reply. That sign-in link is designed to get you to reveal to the sender your eBay ID and password. Same for PayPal (which is even more dangerous, since money is directly involved).

However, when a message is sent to you through eBay's message system, you must already be signed in to receive the message, and therefore you do not have to sign in again to respond to it.

IF I CAN'T RESPOND TO LEGITIMATE QUESTIONS, WHAT'S THE USE? You can respond to legitimate questions. Legitimate questions are sent through the eBay message system. Some legitimate questions - and all illegitimate questions - are sent through normal e-mail system. As others have mentioned, you must assume that any question that arrives through the e-mail system is an attempt to get you to "sign in" and divulge your ID and password. Even if the question does not ask about your ID or password (such as, "do you ship to New Jersey?"), they intend to initiate a process by which you do reveal (to their computer) your ID and password by "signing in."