Latest PayPal Scam

[valleygeocacher]

An eBay seller sends an email saying "thanks for your payment for the phone" which you realize right away that you didn't buy.

At the bottom is a link which says, "Click here to dispute this charge and receive a full refund."

If you click on that link, your password and other data will be captured and you'll be the loser.

I forwarded the email to [email protected] and within three minutes had the following answer

Dear BuckSBC,

Thank you for bringing this suspicious email to our attention. We can confirm that the email you received was not sent to you by PayPal. The website linked to this email is not a registered URL authorized or used by PayPal. We are currently investigating this incident fully. Please donot enter any personal or financial information into this website.

If you have surrendered any personal or financial information to this fraudulent website, you should immediately log into your PayPal account and change your password and secret question and answer information. Any compromised financial information should be reported to the appropriate parties.

If you notice any unauthorized activity associated with your PayPal
transaction history, please immediately report this to PayPal by
following the instructions below:

1. Go to https://www.paypal.com/

2. Click on the Security Center at the bottom of the page

3. Click on 'Report a Problem'

 

[Ned]

There are a lot of such phishing emails going around these days, referencing PayPal, eBay and Amazon.  I get several a day on some days.  The reply you received is a form reply, I have dozens of them, but do keep reporting these as every piece of information helps them track down the phishers.

 

[Frizlefrak]

The problem is that the bulk of the perpetrators of this garbage are overseas, and there is little that eBay, Paypal, or Amazon can do about it.  And if they do put a phisher out of business, three new ones show up to take their place.

Here's the thing.....it wouldn't be happening if somebody wasn't taking the bait. The best thing that can be done to put a stop to it is educate everyone you know that uses a computer, particularly those people with limited computer expertise that might be more vulnerable, as to the dangers that lurk in cyberspace.

I used to be very concerned that my elderly mother would fall prey to some kind of scam, so I sat down with her and showed her some of the junk that was popping up in my mailbox, and explained what was really happening.  She's quite cautious now, and calls me if she's in doubt. 

If nobody ever took the bait, pretty soon they would give up and move on to something else.  Hmmmm....the term "vicious circle" comes to mind

 

[valleygeocacher]

The primary and most-important rule is "NEVER CLICK ON A LINK IN AN EMAIL."

 

[Phil]

The primary and most-important rule is "NEVER CLICK ON A LINK IN AN EMAIL."

But, but, if the email says you have won a bunch of money, you need to click on the link to see how much money you won.  ;D

 

[Tom]

And if I get a message saying I've been left a bunch of money, I just have to click on the link. You never know, one of these might not be a scam. Wouldn't want to miss the genuine one.

 

[Ned]

Do you get a lot of email from the widow of the finance minister of Nigeria?

 

[Tom]

Lots. He and I are good friends.

 

[Jackliz]

Lots. He and I are good friends.

You too?!

LOL,
Liz

 

[Karl]

By my estimates, this estate has enough funds to retire our national debt. So, let's each do our own small part and chip in a million or so from our inheritences ;D

 

[Jim Dick]

Do you get a lot of email from the widow of the finance minister of Nigeria?

If I had only answered all of those emails I would have so much money I wouldn't know how to spend it!!! Now that I think about it....yes I would!!! ;D

 

[valleygeocacher]

Here's today's (also identified as a scam by PayPal):

Unauthorized access to your PayPal account!

We recently noticed more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign IP address.

If you accessed your account while traveling, the unusual log in attempts may have been initiated by you. However, if you are the rightfull holder of the account, please visit Paypal as soon as possible to verify your identity:

Click here to verify your account

You can also verify your account by logging into your PayPal account at https://www.paypal.com/us/.
If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choise but to temporaly suspend your account.

We ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated and we strongly recommend to verify your account in that time.

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team
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