The most common form of email fraud is “spoofing” or “phishing.” You may receive emails (view example below) that look like they are sent from Alibaba.com but, in fact, are not. These emails might ask you to enter sensitive information into a form or direct you to a website that looks similar to Alibaba.com where they ask for information in order to commit identity theft.

Most fraud emails will begin with a general greeting such as "Dear Alibaba User." However, emails sent by Alibaba will always include a personalized greeting in the form of either your name or Alibaba Member ID.

Fraud emails often stress urgency and claim that your account will be suspended or terminated if you don’t provide or update your personal information right away. Therefore, be very cautious when responding to email that states you need to provide information in order to maintain, enable or make changes to your account.

Alibaba will not ask you for the following information in an e-mail communication:

• Your social security number or tax identification number
• Your **** information and credit card number, PIN or security code
• Information to identify you such as your mother's maiden name, birth city or pet's name

Moreover, forms requesting information within an email are typically a clear indication of fraud.

Always remember that website address links can be forged. Do not click on any links listed in an email that you suspect to be fraudulent. We suggest typing the address from the link into the address bar at the top of your browser and pressing "Enter." This way, you can ensure you'll be directed to your intended Website destination and spammers can't validate your email address.

When accessing Alibaba.com, our website addresses can be identified by the following format:

http://[something before].alibaba.com/[something after]

Here are some examples of Alibaba.com website addresses:

Home page and general Alibaba.com website addresses

http://www.alibaba.com/
http://www.alibaba.com/catalogs/1/Agriculture.html
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/servlet/page/static/campaign/Indust_Dist_edm

My Alibaba website addresses

http://www.my.alibaba.com/
http://us.my.alibaba.com/

Alibaba Resources, trade show and website addresses

http://resources.alibaba.com/
http://resources.alibaba.com/article/3066/Air_freight.htm

Alibaba’s supplier website addresses

Gold Suppliers: http://oms.en.alibaba.com/
TrustPass Members: http://luckyangeles.trustpass.alibaba.com/
Free Members: http://www.alibaba.com/company/10393997.html

Do not "Unsubscribe" or "Reply" to be removed from any suspected fraud email. Many spammers claim to offer an "Unsubscribe" function used to actually confirm that your email address is valid and working in order to continue to spam you in the future.

When it comes to email, you are in control. You can protect yourself by not providing any personal or sensitive information in a suspicious email. If you think you have received a fraud email or if you are unsure if an email is legitimate, you can check your account status in My Alibaba or contact one of our service representatives at alibaba@alibaba-inc.com or through Alibaba's Contact Us form.

In order to reduce future email fraud, we would appreciate your help by reporting any suspected cases to Alibaba.com. To report suspected fraud emails:

From your personal email account

1. Forward the message in its entirety to alibaba@alibaba-inc.com.
2. Do not forward as an attachment or alter any information including the header or subject line.
3. After forwarding or reporting the email, delete it from your email accounts.

From your My Alibaba account

1. Click the Report Spam button.
2. Use the Spam Filter to filter out future spam.
3. Add the Sender to your Block List.

In general, the best tools for fighting fraud are awareness, education and vigilance. We encourage you to remain cautious whenever providing sensitive information, be it in an email, on a website or to a potential trade partner.