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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
Just received one now claiming to be from PayPal, and it reads as follows, in case anyone else receives one:
“How to update your PayPal Information.
Hello Member,
To get back into your PayPal account, you’ll need to update your information.
It’s easy:
Click the link below to open a secure browser window.
Confirm that you’re the owner of the account, and then follow the instructions.
update your information now
Please don’t reply to this email. It’ll just confuse the computer that sent it and you won’t get a response.
PayPal Email ID PP315″
PayPal never jokes about not replying to their emails, that was a little clue right there. So glad I found your site when checking for validity!
Thank you very much for your useful information on the paypal scam and various ways to ensure authenticity. I just received a notice similar to what you describe and was able to easily identify the e-mail as a scam.
Hi Jojo and thanks for your comment.
The problem is, all these fake ones, which are so real-looking make you doubt the real thing. It’s not so bad with Paypal, but I received an email from Sainsburys affiliate programme the other day about the transfer of affiliation site and when I rang to let them know about this new hoax it turned out to be real!
Cheers
Dan
danieldlaine recently posted..Free Advertising Credit at Bing
Very helpful information thanks.