Thread: PAYPAL Phishing SCAM!

Hey, all. Please be aware that I received an email pretending to be PayPal's security team and they were phishing for my personal information. If you receive this email, forward it to:
[email protected]
+ Remember, nobody from PayPal will EVER ask you for your password or social security number! Please repost this where all are sure to see it. (Thanks) Here's what it said:



Dear PayPal Member,

As part of our efforts to provide a safe and secure environment for the online community, we regularly screen account activity. While reviewing your PayPal accounts, we observed activity that we would like to further verify. For this reason, limitations have been placed on your account until your will review your registered intormation. In order to resolve the account limitations, complete our online form by clicking on the following link :

Log into your PayPal account



After we have gathered the necessary information, your account will be reviewed for reinstatement and you will be notified by e-mail of our decision.

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter and apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,
Account Review Department

© 2011 PayPal Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.

I've gotten quite a few of those over the past few years. Believe it or not, I almost went for it the first time I received one. Fortunately I thought to go to my account directly and didn't go to the link in the email. I found all was well in my account and then knew the email was a scam and had a narrow escape.

Wen I called PayPal, with the number directly from the site, he told me that with all the updates, PayPal might need the social sec number to store in the system but nobody would ever see it. After 5 min of arguing with him that there is No reason for needing it and I refuse, he put me on hold to check it out.
When he got back on, he asked me a few questions to see if the email did, in fact come from PayPal.

1) Was the sender's email: [email protected]? (Mine was, although it was a fraud email)

2) Was it addressed with MY name? (mine said to PayPal Member.. Or something of that nature. PayPal always states your name.)

3) Upon attempting to "reply" to the message, what email is in the "To:" category? (In my fraud email, it said "1recipient," NOT a PalPal email.)

DO NOT open the link, and definately don't enter any information if you have accessed the link, as it is a spoof link attemtping to steal your identity!
If you have entered the spoof link, I strongly recommend changing your PayPal account password ASAP. It can't hurt to do so even if you haven't received that email, IMHO. Thanks for acknowledging and on a final note, my PayPal account remained in good standing and was never under any sort of review. Later, all

This was a first for me and I did click on the link out of shear annoyance that my account was allegedly being restricted because I use it the way it was intended to be used, lol. Knew something was up when I saw Social security info was starred as must be entered info.

No company will ask for that type of information. If they do, find another.

Ya I have been recieving those email's since 2002. Even Though I hadnt used my paypal in 8 years I was recieving them. Not the most secure feeling in the world lol

As above I have been receiving these for many years and always forward to spoof.

USA members should be aware however that pay pal reserves the right to do most any sort of background check on it's members. And they will contact you for your taxpayer ID if their software determines you may or will exceed the dollar amount/transaction quantity parameters they have set to trigger them to report your activities to the IRS via a form 1099.

lz6,
Good to know Good thing I keep written documentation and receipts for everything! Maybe I'll write it all off in an attempt to start restoring and selling razors ;P

The one I keep getting is one saying that my monthly account statement is ready. It requires clicking a button and signing in to view. Its from [email protected] or maybe it was [email protected]

I receive the same message WhiskerBiscuit monthly. But i always log into my account and take a look at it that way if I care to. I believe the monthly statements for all users came as a part of the reporting 1099 requirements. I may be wrong but I think the 1099 requirements were tied into latest health care bill. Great way to bury the message from the fed's that they will gladly remove what ever personal freedoms we may have had left by using pay pal in the search for more tax extortion.