Paypal email scam

Daniel here with another Paypal hoax email in the inbox.

Another Paypal scam.  I’ve had similar ones in the past, but just to confirm, there’s just one main thing you need to notice to stay safe:

Paypal ‘always’ use your registered name!

There are many other signals, but this one point alone will determine whether an email from Paypal is a hoax.

In my case, it doesn’t mater whether Paypals emails begin with Dear, Hello or FAO, my registered name will always follow and in this case it didn’t.

This ‘Paypal’ email begins ‘ Dear Paypal customer’ showing me straight away that it’s a hoax.

 

Here’s the mail:

.

Imagine the potential damage if someone got into your Paypal account!

How to spot fake or hoax emails

Generic greetings

Many hoax emails begin with a general greeting, such as; ‘Dear Paypal member’.  If you do not see your first and last name, or the name you registered with, it’s a scam!

Fake sender’s address

A fake email may include a forged email address in the ‘From’ field.  This field is easily altered.

A sense of urgency

Many hoax emails messages use the ‘urgency’ tactic suggesting that if you don’t update ‘now’, your account will be at great risk.  Some even suggest that an unauthorised transaction has already, or ‘may’ have already occurred on your account and this is why you should update ‘now’.

Fake links

Always check where a link points to before clicking on it.  If you move your mouse over the link, the URL will be displayed, usually at the bottom of yor browser (depending on browser).  If you use sites that include personal or financial details, make sure you are aware of the genuine URL.  These are often simple to remember.

Emails that appear to be websites

Sometimes you will receive html-based email messages.  These emails can mimic a website complete with entry fields for your personal information.   PayPal never ask for personal information in an email.  In seead, they will always refer you to their site.

Deceptive URLs

Only enter your PayPal password on PayPal pages.   These begin with:   https://www.paypal.com/

If you see an @ sign, or any other symbols in the middle of a Paypal URL, then it’s probably not a genuine link.

Legitimate companies always use their domain name.  For example, if you receive an email from me, it will always originate from my domain (e.g. http://www.danieldlaine.com).  PayPal always use their domain ‘paypal.com’.

Even if a URL contains the word ‘PayPal’ it may not be a PayPal site.  Examples of deceptive URLs include: www.paypalsecure.com, www.paypa1.com, www.secure-paypal.com, and www.paypalnet.com.

Always log in to Paenuine link.yPal by opening a new web browser and typing in the following: https://www.paypal.com/  These are all registered fake Paypal addresses.

Emails that ask you to log-in from a link in the email

Paypal never request you to log-in to your account via a link i an email message.  They will always say; ‘login to your account’ (if required) but will not give you the URL.

Misspellings and bad grammar

Hoax emails often originate from uneducated people and as such, usually contain misspellings, incorrect grammar, missing words, gaps in logic and generally poor text flow.  However, mistakes such as these also help fraudsters avoid certain spam filters.

Secure sites

The term ‘https‘ should always precede any website address where you enter personal information.  The ‘s‘ at the end stands for secure and if you don’t see the prefix ‘https‘ you’re not on a secure web server and you should not enter data.

Pop-up boxes

PayPal never use pop-up boxes.  These are not secure and Paypal never use these in email messages.

Attachments

Like fake links, attachments are frequently used in hoax emails.  These can often prove potentially disasterous.  Never click on an attachment unless it was expected, or you are sure of its origin.  Many bad things can be hidden in attachments, such as viruses, spyware and malware in general.

Paypal never send attachments vie email.  Any information from Paypal will be found only from their website.

So, there’s plenty of elements there which can determine whether, or not an email from Paypal is genuine, but as I mentioned at the beginning, you need look no further than the beginning of the email message.  If your name is not used – it’s a scam!

Regards
Daniel