PayPal SCAM. Please don't fall for it!!!!!
By liquorice
@liquorice (3901)
July 31, 2008 12:49pm CST
I got an email today, supposedly from PayPal to tell me that I've nearly reached my receiving limit there and that I need to give them more details so that they can increase it for me.
This made me suspicious for a few reasons. Firstly, I have hardly any money in there (I only opened it last month, and my only payment is from myLot, so you can imagine that it's not big money yet, and nowhere near the £1,700 receiving limit stated on PayPal.com)
Secondly, alarm bells were ringing when I read the bit about giving more details. When I clicked the link (which maybe I shouldn't have clicked, thinking about it...) it took me to a webpage (with PayPal at the top that said I needed to fill in a form. The form asked for my bank account details and other personal information. They apparently wanted it so that they could confirm it's my account, by putting two small amounts in there and me confirming what they - just like PayPal do when you open your account.
I felt that this had to be a scam. It just didn't add up. I forwarded the email to PayPal's security centre, and they immediately got back to me saying it was a phishing email trying to get hold of my personal information.
If you receive an email like this (or something similar), forward it to PayPal's security department (spoof@paypal.com). Never give out any personal information without doing this and checking with PayPal first. I hope that nobody has fallen for this; I suspect that lots of people probably have though, as they've made the email and the site it links to look very authentic.
Have you received an email like this?
8 responses
@Verity (851)
•
2 Aug 08
Yes, that was another form of pishing or it was a scam. I likewise received such kind of email but since I do not easily conform or affirm to this kind of emails, I directly checked it so, that's it, it was a scam. I reported immediately to spoof@paypal.com. You could likewise report any scam or pishing activity found in your inbox to federalgovernment.com. They are very much active in taking action with this kind of online activities which are rampant nowadays.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3901)
•
7 Aug 08
Thanks for your answer.
It's good to know about the other address for American websites. I was impressed how quickly spoof@paypal.com got back to me. They replied in less than half an hour after I wrote to them!
Yes, sadly it does seem that this kind of thing is rampant these days.
@nickmarz333 (142)
• United States
7 Aug 08
There are also SCAMS that tell you they will put an amount of money if you give them your paypal account and password. And i wouldnt recommend this because they will take all your money out and transfer it into there account.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3901)
•
7 Aug 08
That's really sneaky, and just cruel. 
.
Yes, I've heard of one where you get an email that claims to be from an African man who has lots of money but doesn't have a bank account, and he asks if you could do him a favour by looking after some of the money in your bank account - and then you can keep some of it!
Of course he needs your bank details so that he knows where to deposit the money. My mother-in-law received this one, and luckily she saw it for the scam it was, and found it really funny. This is a very famous scam that's been sent to lots of people, and I'm sure that many people must fall for this kind of thing.
.
Yes, I've heard of one where you get an email that claims to be from an African man who has lots of money but doesn't have a bank account, and he asks if you could do him a favour by looking after some of the money in your bank account - and then you can keep some of it!
Of course he needs your bank details so that he knows where to deposit the money. My mother-in-law received this one, and luckily she saw it for the scam it was, and found it really funny. This is a very famous scam that's been sent to lots of people, and I'm sure that many people must fall for this kind of thing.
@gitfiddleplayer (10385)
• United States
7 Aug 08
I get those all the time, the way I know is that they misspelled PayPal, they called it PayPla, I just laughed and spammed them with an old account, I hope they like getting UK winning lottery notifications. But good point, I think some people are played on by their fears. I know that PayPal wouldn't send that stuff to me, I know my limit, they don't.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3901)
•
7 Aug 08
That's funny that they couldn't even spell the name of the company they were supposed to be, 
. In my email I didn't spot any typos, it looked very authentic in fact.
I love the fact that you spammed them back!
Yes, they said something like if I didn't reply promptly then my payments wouldn't go into my account or it wouldn't work in some way, so I'm sure that they worry people into acting quickly and providing the details.
Thanks for your answer. 
. In my email I didn't spot any typos, it looked very authentic in fact.
I love the fact that you spammed them back!
Yes, they said something like if I didn't reply promptly then my payments wouldn't go into my account or it wouldn't work in some way, so I'm sure that they worry people into acting quickly and providing the details.
Thanks for your answer. 
@ganda8831 (816)
• Philippines
7 Aug 08
Fortunately I havent received any such email. But I received a phishing email pretending to be from ebay. I also reported it to ebay and they said that any email asking you for your bank acct information should be ignored.
@liquorice (3901)
•
7 Aug 08
Yes, it seems that they're emulating all sorts of sites to try to get money out of people. I really hope that people don't fall for it, but they are so convincing that I suppose some people must do.
I wouldn't give any bank account details or any other personal information until I know it was genuine.
Thanks for your answer.
@duttmyneni (199)
• India
7 Aug 08
My advice is not to respond to all the mails that you receive in the name of paypal. If you such mails then go directly to your paypal account and if there are any notification when login to it. So avoid responding to those mail.
@liquorice (3901)
•
7 Aug 08
Yes, that's good advice, I completely agree with it.
The scammers made the logo and website look so authentic, at first I thought it really was from PayPal. It's only when they asked me for personal details that I got suspicious.
Yes, it's best to check your own PayPal account to check out any emails you receive and post anything that seems even a tiny bit suspicious to spoof@paypal.com
Thanks for your answer.
@lovelydame3000 (1578)
• India
31 Jul 08
Well there are people looking for easy money all around. We have to watch and be cautious. You did the right thing.
@liquorice (3901)
•
7 Aug 08
Yes, I think it's so easy to fool for these things, especially when they look so authentic.
Thanks.
@kaguvkov (1041)
• Philippines
20 Sep 08
I didn't receive any email regarding in this scam But I received email coming from paypay saying that my account was unverified and needs to be verified to enjoy the full service. So far I have change my password because they have also send me an email stating that their is a third party trying to access on my account, so I change my password and it was all gone.
@sirrob (4112)
• Philippines
10 Sep 08
i might be too late for this but i just wanna say thank you for posting this and for the good faith you have shown to everyone by letting us know about this situation. i am just hoping i won't get any but if i do, then i know already what to do because of you. you know what, my heart always sparkle to see and encounter the kind of people like you. it always left me thinking that if the world is only like this, it would be very nice to live unfortunately, it is not, there's always someone out there taking advantage of those innocent people. more to that, this might be just a simple act but to everyone and for me this is already a huge help in preventing this kind of scam. security centers always respond immediately into this kind of sensitive issues, it's just they are having a red alarm in their monitor and that it will go off every time they receive anything like this.
