I use PayPal frequently to pay for items I have purchased online or from eBay. I imagine some of you do also. Today I got an email which said it was coming from PayPal - it had the PayPal logo and looked completely legit. It said my acct had been flagged and I needed to click on the link provided and verify my info. If I did not do this, it said my acct would not be available to me. Something did not ring true, even though it did look authentic. I contacted PayPal, and they asked me to send the email to them. I just heard back from them that they could confirm that it did not come from them and it was being turned over to their fraud team. If any of you would like to see the email, I will email it to you. If you do receive an email of this sort - DO NOT click on the link. Instead, forward the email to spoof@paypal.com.
I too had received one of those paypal letters. Funny thing is I don't and have never had a paypal account.
Cheryl, We see this one and others for years now. We never open any links like this or give out any information over the phone to anyone. We also win some loto about each month in the UK. If CC people need you they will write a letter or we call back to 880 number to see if they have a problem. Someone will come up with a new way to get your money.
Maybe I am a little naive, but I can't believe people go to such great lengths to steal from you. They should use all the time and effort they are spending on their scams and use it to get a job and earn an honest living. Personally, I think all thieves should be shot!!!
The scam has been around for years. Many people have fallen for it and have lost money. This site may help you to know the latest and/or biggest scams out there. There are many; some with Nigerian connections, EBay, PayPal... The list goes on and on. Anyway check it out and be aware http://www.scambusters.com/ Hope this helps.
It's not just PayPal--it's every single potential financial relationship you have or, in fact, don't have. Never, never, never click on any link, even when it does come from your financial institution. Always open a new browser session, plug in your institution's actual website address, and go wherever you plan to go. It's unfortunate that one can't trust links, because sometimes there is a perfectly legitimate promotion which is a pain to find on the institution's website. I've even had a couple of circumstances where a targeted offer was sent to me that I couldn't get to minus the link. Even the simplest promotions--click here to get double miles on your purchases for June 1-August 31--may be a phishing expedition. One thing that can keep you from wasting time even trying to look for a promotion is to evaluate the emaill address. Often it comes from a variation of the correct company address. americanexpress.org, for example. Some are obviously fakes. amex-promotion@xyz.de, for example. Having or not having a relationship with a particular institution isn't a factor in receiving these phishing emails. What they're looking for is your login/password combination, or account number/password combination. These constitute "open sesame" for your financial accounts.
Bet it was from service@paypal.com or as a guise from Ebay or Amazon right after you've made a purchase...I have received many of these and simply send them on to spoof@paypal.com. I also have Cloudmark FRAUD (free). This is one of the reasons I no longer buy off Ebay as most want you to use PayPal; way too many problems with PayPal.
It's not Paypal's fault. They have nothing to do with the scams that are out there. In fact, you are protected from fraud when you use Paypal to pay for any online purchase. I wouldn't buy from an Ebayer that won't accept Paypal. Just use common sense and never give out personal information on a link you received in an email. If in any doubt, contact the company in question directly through normal channels, use the web address you always use.
I agree with Cheryl. We have received those letters as well, but they go to the trash after I send the first one to the fraud dept of the business they claim to be from. PayPal, like all on-line payment systems, has its pros and its cons. It is up to the individual to decide which way he feel safest. We feel better about not being scammed when we pay thru PayPal as we have somewhere to fall back on if the product is not as described, or arrives damaged. Just my POV. Thanks for listening.
What I do is when I receive an email like the one mentioned above, is to not click the link, but instead go to the site via a typed URL in internet explorer. I had one email that appeared to be suspicious, but turned out to be legit.
