Paypal email scam...

I received an email that looked to be from Paypal yesterday. The email message was "Account Suspended" and that I needed to log on to my Paypal account to reactivate it. A link was provided which I declined to click on. I went to my Paypal account and logged in as I normally do. The account was not suspended and there were no messages of any possible issues. I forwarded the scam email to Paypal so they are aware of it.

Unfortunately I fell for a similar Paypal scam about 6-7 years ago. I had to cancel all credit cards and the checking account associated with Paypal. It was a real PITA but fortunately none of the accounts were compromised before being closed. So when I received this email from "Paypal" yesterday it didn't take long to see it was a scam. But I can see how one can easily be tricked (as I previously was) by these types of emails.

This issue is probably nothing new but I wanted to bring it to the attention of fellow SH members. It's a sad commentary on todays world but one has to be on alert at all times and be aware of possible scams around every corner.

 

You did the right thing Bill. In this modern unprivate existence we have there's absolutely no room for laziness or stupidity.

 

It's a common scam.

Most of them rely on the user clicking on a link or filling out information which is sent to nefarious parties. Never click on any email sent links from financial institutions.

No credible bank or financial organization will ever contact a person by email regarding the status of their account. It'll be by regular mail or a phone call. On that phone call, you can sense whether they are fishing for info or genuinely are confirming your info to relay important news. You can always double-check the phone number online and call back instead to be safe.

OP did the right thing by foregoing the clicking of the link and instead logging into his PayPal account the regular way to verify its status.

 

Excellent advice. Not clicking any link in the email - and instead going directly to the web site as one normally does and logging in that way - is the best way to avoid issues.

 

Great advice, this happens pretty often. I noticed recently that I got a legit e-mail from some company about changing my password. The way I knew it was legit? It did not have a link to click on but told me to go to their website and had instructions on how to change the password.

I always hover over the link in an e-mail to see where it's coming from, out of curiosity. One time I saw it was a middle school in Missouri. I looked the school phone number up, talked to the front desk and essentially told them I needed to speak to whoever ran their web site. I finally got someone on the phone that seemed to have a clue, explained that someone was running a scam site on theirs and within about 10 minutes they must have found it and shut it down because it stopped responding.

 

I get these emails and I don't even have a PayPal account.

 

I got a phone call about a credit card account that I in fact have. The caller sounded very professional and there was nothing to suspect a scam.

I was asked to confirm that I am the account holder - and to provide name, address, and account number of this bank account being referred to. I did give this out. And then he asked mother’s maiden name, and that was when I flew off the handle at him and said “I don’t know who the F you are, or if you are from my bank and even if you are from my bank you have a lot of nerve to ask that question on the phone. I do not have to prove anything to you, you are the one who needs to prove who you are! You got that! Now you prove to me I am speaking with a real bank representative! He stayed professional and I think asked for other less personal info if I’d rather not give our mother’s name. I told him to F-Off and slammed down the phone.

I never heard back and guess it was a scammer. But this man was smooth and sounded like it was important- like he was preventing fraud.

Just goes to show that the phone calls are just as bad as email scams or can be.

 

Never provide that info when called. THEY should confirm it!

Take down the number and check online if it's genuine, then call back.

 

Yes, the scammers don't know which accounts you have, but they know that when they send out a ton of spam that some of the recipients will have the account being referenced. All it takes is some people being fooled to make the effort worth it to them.

I love when these things come to my work phone or email, which I never use for personal business. Just yesterday I got a text from "Chase Bank" saying my account was suspended and that I needed to click the link in the text to reconfirm my account information. I do happen to do some business with Chase, but they don't have my work cell phone number and, even if they did, I am smart enough to know that they wouldn't send a text there asking me to log into my account. When there has been reason for Chase to contact me regarding suspected fraudulent transactions, I have received phone calls to my home phone as well as emails.

 

My elderly Mother fell victim to this nonsense because they had all of her personal information as you describe and she doesn't use the internet or even a credit card. Fortunately she had a gut feeling and contacted a neighbor who took her to her banks and changed all information the next morning. It's a scary world out there these days.

 

What pisses me off - my quite well-known credit card company sends me REAL emails reminding me to activate card rewards. It involves clicking on a link in their message. How many times have we been warned never to do that, no matter how real the message looks?

 

Some times the emails are not a scam - I for instance - won a BMW!!!


Dear BMW Enthusiast,

Your email address has been selected as the winner of the 2019 BMW
Online Promotions Lottery after over 250,000 email addresses was drawn
from all the continents of the world which your email address was
selected as the winner, you have been awarded with a check prize of
US$500,000.00 and a brand new 2019 BMW 7 series car.

Contact our online management with the below email for more information.

Email:

Bernhard Kuhnt
CEO BMW New Jersey
Woodcliff Lake, NJ

 

I could accept all the "little old lady got scammed" stories, except I'm a little old man who has had internet access since 1995 or so. After 20+ years of commonly available internet and constant phishing phone calls, if you haven't acquired basic common sense about what not to believe online or on the phone I'm sorry, you haven't been paying attention.

[thewire]
Pendleton: You're an idiot!
Tim: That's not nice, Frank, say you're sorry.
Pendleton: I'm sorry you're an idiot.
[/thewire]

 

The could potentially have some info on your and it not be a mass spam of emails sent. When a company gets hacked like ebay or a credit reporting agency, scammers can get some names and card numbers, sometimes email addresses. After that, they need some more info, and can go fishing.

So you see how they can be one password or maiden name away from opening another card in your name, or tapping out your paypal account through ebay.

 

Before you click on anything look at the email address of the sender.

I get these from PayPal all the time, even before I had an account.

Another one that is ripe is from Apple.

Then of course that Nigerian Prince.

 

Thought I would revive this thread with a possible new concern with Paypal. I received an email from my Marantz SA-10 listing over at US Audio Mart. The inquiry is from a person from Taiwan that just joined US Audio Mart yesterday. He wants to buy the SA-10 but wanted a price to have the SA-10 shipped by boat not air. I responded that it would be his responsibility to inquire about shipping costs and that a prepaid shipping label would be needed. The perspective buyer just emailed me saying "we" would like to buy the SA-10 and has a Paypal account linked to "their" credit card but did not see a buy now option. He wants to know how to move forward.

To say I'm a bit concerned of a possible scam would be an understatement. Is there a way an individual can pull a scam when sending money to my Paypal account once the account information (just my email) is sent? I'm also now concerned that any links such as a prepaid shipping label link could be a way to access my computer. Or am I being a bit paranoid due to concerns of a buyer from Taiwan? Would it be best to just disregard the seller and move on? Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

I'd call paypal with their email address they claim to want to use. Ask pp if this looks like a scam?

You could ask for full name and shipping address and the email address they say that they use with pp. Do a background check on them.

How rare is the item, how expensive is it, and how many other exact models are closer to this buyer's country? If buyer has ebay options or other options for the item I'd be even more alarmed.

 

Thanks for your thoughts! I've decided to not deal with this person as it seems like it'll be more trouble than anything.

 

What you should do is forward the e-mail to this address

[email protected]

 

But it is unknown if this is a con job in the making. It might be a legit person with the ability to only pay via paypal, and the given item is not found on ebay at this price, or willing to ship internationally. I would not report until I know for sure.

 

I checked his email and it's a verified Paypal account. He could be totally legit but shipping to Taiwan just doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy.

 

For how long? I'd be hesitant too. Too many issues could present themselves and with Paypal's buyer is always right demeanor it does sound kind of risky.

 

Plus, I think... one can be verified paypal account but unconfirmed shipping address. I know because for some strange reason my address became "unconfirmed" after 18 years of buying and selling. I never knew about it until I looked at it one time. None of the sellers ever told me. Unless it was an error and only showing that on my end, I had an unconfirmed shipping address even tho it matched all my accounts and credit cards and ebay address.

So I would want to know even if I was not sending to this guy. Because internationally a sig confirmation is an expensive nightmare, and I am not willing to risk an item over $60 without a signature.

 

In the past if it looks really genuine I check with them directly and they have referred me to this website to forward the email to. What they do with it is beyond me.