messages , they could modify them in what ’ s known as a “ man-in-the-middle ” attack . This could lead to fraud or spam being sent from user accounts . Ebay does block certain types of information from being exchanged over its internal messages system . It ’ s member-to-member contact policy states : We also don ’ t allow members to exchange email addresses , phone numbers or other contact information , web addresses , or links within eBay messaging systems . This is primarily to prevent buyers and sellers from arranging transactions outside of the Ebay system . It does help protect user privacy to a degree , but it ’ s only a half measure compared to the full channel encryption provided by HTTPS . The entire My Ebay dashboard lacks HTTPS encryption . This includes account activity , details , settings , preferences , and more . Much of the personal information on these pages is obfuscated ; for example , my email is shown as “ p…f @ gmail.com ” instead of the full email address . All secret questions are shown in full , for example , though not their answers . Still , if a hacker knew secret questions in advance , he or she could probably dig around for the answers . Info about friends , pets , and family are probably not so hard to come by . Once that ’ s done , the hacker can change the user ’ s password and take over their account . Everything you buy , sell , and watch can be viewed by hackers .