Latest and greatest 'PayPal' scam/spoof

Protect your account!

Published on October 19, 2005 By dharmagrl In Internet

I have a PayPal account that I use mainly for purchasing things on eBay. It's directly linked to my checking account. I haven't bought anything from eBay for a while....like a couple of months.

So, imagine my surprise when I found a receipt from PayPal in my inbox this morning. Apparently, I had purchased a $300 watch.

My heart was in my throat....$300 out of my checking account wouldn't leave me in the red, but it would mean that I wouldn't have the money to kit the kids out in Halloween costumes or buy groceries for the rest of the week.

Then I noticed something that I found highly unusual. At the bottom of the receipt was a link that said 'click here to dispute this charge'. Hmm. None of the other PayPal receipts I've received have had that on them. Curious, I clicked on the link.

A Microsoft warning window popped up, telling me that if I continued I'd be directed to a site whose url wasn't formatted properly. That was all the validation I needed, so I closed the pop-up, and forwarded the email to spoof@paypal.com.

If I had followed the link and completed the required 'validation' (which would probably have included my password and checking account number) I'd have basically left my checking and PayPal accounts wide open for theft and manipulation. It was only because I knew I hadn't purchased anything via PayPal recently and the unusual 'dispute this charge' link that I knew something was not right with the email, and the pop-up warning me about the URL simply confirmed my suspicion.

But what if I HAD bought something? What if I thought that my husband had bought something for me? What if I hadn't had the program that created the pop-up installed? I could have easily have given out my information, including my password and bank account information, and I'd probably have ended up a victim.

So, if you use PayPal, please be aware that this is happening. If you get an email like this, please forward it to PayPal's spoof department and let them take care of it.

Protect yourself and your information. Don't end up a victim.

Comments (Page 1)

Dr Guy

on Oct 19, 2005

Color me Yellow, but I dont have nor want a paypal account. So when I get those 'notices' I just laugh them off.

Tova7

on Oct 19, 2005

Thanks D--I have a paypal as well and will watch a little closer.

dharmagrl

on Oct 19, 2005

Thanks D--I have a paypal as well and will watch a little closer

Please do.

Color me Yellow, but I dont have nor want a paypal account

We never keep a balance in ours, and we only ever use it for eBay.

I contacted the company that I supposedly purchased this watch from. When I called their phone numbers, all I got was a recorded message telling me they were busy. Hmm....that's not normal. Usually a company will at least put you on hold and your call with be answered by the next available person.

I noticed that they had a 'live chat' option if you preferred to use that method, and they gave ID's for all of the major IM platforms. So, I tried to contact them that way. Nothing. Silence, even after waiting 30 mins.

I also tried to research the person that was listed as the shipping recipient of this watch. I got nothing.

Being unable to contact the company really bothered me, so I gave the Richmond County District Attorney's office a call. They agreed that it just didn't sound right, and reccommended that I file a formal complaint. So, I went off to the website that the DA's office gave me, and I filed a complaint on-line.

I may be making a mountain out of a molehill. This company may have nothing to do with it, in which case they can not only clear their name but also be alerted to the fact that they're being scammed too. However, if they ARE involved somehow.....well, maybe I've saved some other folks a bit of money and a BIG headache.

Jan71

on Oct 19, 2005

A good warning to all of us.
But this has nothing to do with Paypall.
The "organisation" behind this kind of mails indeed try to get your account and
password and eventually your credit card number ...
So if you would have followed on this link, and would have filled in their "dispute form", they achieved their goal.
They immitate emails and webpages that from the company organization, and trick many people into thinking it is a legimite email.
So never answer to this kind of mail, or follow the links !
Instead, go to the original website (in this case eBay) if you have questions.
thanks

dharmagrl

on Oct 19, 2005

But this has nothing to do with Paypall

Yes, I know that, and I think that I perhaps should have worded the title differently.

I'm very well aware of what would have happened had I followed the link, but thanks for trying to explain it.

Like I said, I filed a complaint with the NY DA's office about the company that claimed I bought something from them, and hopefully we'll find some resolution.

dharmagrl

on Oct 19, 2005

I've changed the title so that it doesn't look so much like I'm accusing PayPal of perpetuating this scam.

seldomseen

on Oct 19, 2005

Thanks for the info. Also all the footwork to research this.

Z71

on Oct 19, 2005

I don't mean to sound flippent, but this can happen to any type of pay service, not just PayPal. They are just the most recognizable.
I use PayPal and have never had a problem (knock on wood).

The best advice is no matter what type of email you get, never click on a link. Even if you think you can trust them.
Open up another browser window and go to the site directly and check your account. This will always save you a lot of headaches.

dharmagrl

on Oct 19, 2005

I don't mean to sound flippent, but this can happen to any type of pay service, not just PayPal.

Yes, I know. I've got ones from my bank, claiming that my account has been illegally accessed. Most of the ones I've received in the past have been poorly spelled and put together. This one is the most sophisticated one yet.

I use PayPal and have never had a problem

Neither have I. But, this ISN'T from PayPal, now is it? This is from someone posing as PayPal, sending out what really does look like a receipt from PayPal. The not-so-technically-savvy probably would have fallen for this, and I don't want to see that happen.....which is why I wrote the article.

The best advice is no matter what type of email you get, never click on a link

No offense, but do youthink I'm stupid? That I'm just clicking on whatever, whenever and that I'm being scammed left right and center???? That I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to computer fraud??? (FYI, I used to work with a police department and did some private investigating. Part of my training dealt specifically with cyber-crimesand scams. Also, my husband's a police investigator, so we both know more than the average person about email scams). That's not why I posted this article. I was trying to warn other people that this is a pretty sophisticated attempt by someone to obtain personal and financial information illegally. I was trying to look out for my fellow man, but people are reading that as my being naive and gullible.

So, just to clarify: I'm not naive. I'm not stupid. I know how to protect myself, I know how scams like this work.

Please don't talk to me like I'm a total n00b, because I'm not.

Jan71

on Oct 19, 2005

Well, I don't think you are n00b, on the contrary, I think you did the right thing. The internet is the latest play ground for criminal organizations, and it is virtually impossible to get to them.
I just wanted to accentuate the warning you sent out.
God knows my Dad and brother are also out there on the Internet, and they are not as cautious as you are.
So people, beware, the internet can be a dangerous place !
Thanks again for the warning, dharmagrl

NightTrainthedark

on Oct 19, 2005

I have been recieving numerous paypal scams since the very first day I signed up. Exactly the same thing goes for ebay. The emails started instantly and never stopped. 5 a week at the absolute least. Someone is not doing their job by allowing that information to get out. I feel these companies do have some responsibility towards protecting my information. I sign up using an email address that is used only for paypal and within 4 hrs get scam mail. Someone is selling information.

Dr Guy

on Oct 19, 2005

Someone is selling information.

You would be surprised. When I worked for a local school division, I helped a librarian download and install real audio. It of course required (at that time) you register with an email address, so I used mine and for my name, I used the School's name. About 3 years later, I get Spam saying "Hello Skipwith".......

That is the only time I used that name to register for anything, so it looks like everyone is doing it.

Z71

on Oct 19, 2005

Not a problem. Next time I leave a comment, I will put a disclaimer at the bottom that say "For those who may be new to the web or have just started using a pay service".
Didn't mean for my comment to sound like it was being directed solely at you.

This is the main reason why I don't leave to many comments, because you try to help the "new" people (who may not know) and I get chastized for it.
That's why I like Wincustomize, everybody is so nice and friendly. Sorry, I bothered.

dharmagrl

on Oct 19, 2005

I have been recieving numerous paypal scams since the very first day I signed up

As have I, but this is THE most sophisticated one I've seen yet. They usually have something to do with account security or protection, but this one....is something else. It looks like a PayPal receipt....the layout, the grammer and spelling....those are the things that usually give them away as spoofs right away. The only thing that tipped me off to this one was the 'dispute this charge' part at the bottom. No PayPal receipt I've ever seen has one of those.

I feel these companies do have some responsibility towards protecting my information

Yes, they do. Whenever I'm filling out something that requires personal information, I look for the 'secure' logo at the bottom of the page. In fact, I was filling out a job application online yesterday that asked for my social security number, address, maiden name....and because it didn't even have the little lock logo at the bottom of the page, i decided immediately that I wasn't going to complete it.

That is the only time I used that name to register for anything, so it looks like everyone is doing it

When eBay first started, a lot of people were using their email addresses as their user ID's, which was like Christmas everyday for spammers.

Well, I don't think you are n00b, on the contrary, I think you did the right thing

I't okay, I wasn't talking about you when I made that comment.

This is the main reason why I don't leave to many comments, because you try to help the "new" people (who may not know) and I get chastized for it.
That's why I like Wincustomize, everybody is so nice and friendly. Sorry, I bothered.

First of all, I posted this on JU, NOT Wincustomize. It only got posted on the WC forums because of the category I posted it under. Secondly, as I was reading your comment, my husband came and sat next to me, read what you had to say, and asked just who the hell you were talking to me like I was 2. So, it wasn't just me who thought that your comment was slightly condescending. Perhaps I'm not the only one who should be careful about the tone of my comments, huh? Lastly...I'm not sorry you bothered.

LW, you have mail too.....

Benjy67

on Oct 19, 2005

Hello to all:

I am a newbie here on Stardock and I too received the same spam from "PayPal". It seemed very fishy to me, or rather I should say "PHISHY" since that's exactly what it was.

I have read all of your commenting and arguing and NOT ONCE has any one of you mentioned the fact that the spam itself is not anything close to what we know on the internet as HTML or TEXT. If any of you have tried to copy it, you could have stayed glued to your computer screen until the age of 100!

In reality, the message is nothing more than a sort of "picture" with nothing active on it to copy, except "'click here to dispute this charge" If you do click and follow their links, then you've been caught! These spammers are very smart in fooling people that aren't aware of these secrets.

so beware- if you can't copy it then it's a phish!

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