SYDNEY, Dec 11 (Reuters)

- Fraudsters trying to steal credit card information from online auction house eBay Inc's 55 million users appear to have set up a fake Web site that mimicked the firm, a private Internet watchdog said on Wednesday.

The scam involved e-mails that asked recipients to log on to a Florida-based Web site, ebayupdates.com, and re-enter financial data for eBay, said Dean White, the Asia-Pacific coordinator of a U.S. group, SANS Institute Internet Storm Center.

``Once you've got the credit card information you can use it for everything,'' White said.

The scam site sported the eBay logo and colours but did not appear to have any connection with California-based eBay, White told Reuters.

Representatives of eBay in Australia were not immediately available for comment, but the company has issued a general warning on its Web site, urging caution over e-mails seeking passwords or credit card numbers.

``Some members have reported attempts to gain access to their personal information through e-mail solicitations that are falsely made to appear as having come from eBay,'' the company said.

``These solicitations will often contain links to Web pages that will request that you sign in and submit information...eBay employees will never ask you for your password.''

The scam e-mail, provided to Reuters by White, is headed ``Ebay (sic) billing error'' and begins: ``Dear Ebay Member, We at Ebay are sorry to inform you that we are having problems with the billing information of your account.''

White said the mail, aimed at eBay's registered customers but possibly mass-mailed to other Internet users, began appearing on December 6.

The company hosting the fake Web site on its computers had been informed and by Wednesday the site was unavailable on the Internet.

Security and trust are major issues for e-commerce and Australian banking officials have warned consumers to be especially vigilant about Internet fraud and identity theft over the big spending Christmas period.