Okay, so if it happened to the Queen of Flimflammery - it could happen to you -
So I get this official looking email from "paypal" and it goes something like this...
(I forwarded it from my business email and while it did not transcribe exactly into the journal as I opened it from there - you at least get an idea..)
Make no mistake, the email looked EXACTLY as if it came from paypal.
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Quarterly Statement Notice
Date: 5/11/2005 7:23:21 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: service@paypal.com
To: bbalderdash@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
<!-- TD { FONT-SIZE: 11px; FONT-FAMILY: tahoma,sans-serif } -->
Dear Paypal valued member,
Due to concerns, for the safety and integrity of the paypal
account we have issued this warning message.
It has come to our attention that your account information needs
to be updated due to inactive members, frauds and spoof reports.
If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and renew
your records you will not run into any future problems with the online service.
However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension
This notificationexpires on May 12, 2005.
Once you have updated your account records your PayPal account
service will not be interrupted and will continue as normal.
PayPal, Inc.
P.O. Box 45950
Omaha, NE 68145
Sincerely,
PayPal
Security Center If you receive an email and are not sure whetherit is from PayPal, go directly to the PayPal website. If we need information from you, we will request it after you've logged in to your account.
PayPal occasionally sends you email to renew your account information for security reasons. 
and renew your account information
(I removed the hyperlink)
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run
Copyright© 2005 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.
Well, it walked like a paypal duck and smelled like a paypal duck, but still, I'm was not sure - and being the cautious and most suspicious Queen - I did NOT click on the link, but instead went directly to the paypal site and logged in and then forwarded it to the real paypal watchdogs...at spoof@paypal.com with a note: "real or fake, please advise."
and this is what they sent back:
-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: RE: Q510 - Thank you for your email to PayPal (KMM11500424V56194L0KM)
Date: 5/11/2005 8:02:12 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: spoof@paypal.com
To: Bbalderdash@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
Dear ,
Thank you for contactingPayPal.
We appreciate you bringing this suspicious email to our attention.We
can confirm that the email you received was not sent to you by PayPal.
The website linked to this email is not a registered URL authorized or
used by PayPal. We are currently investigating this incident fully.
Please do not enter any personal or financial information into this
website.
If you have surrendered any personal or financial information to this
fraudulent website, you should immediately log into your PayPal Account
and change your password and secret question and answer information. Any
compromised financial information should be reported to the appropriate
parties.
If you notice any unauthorized activity associated with your PayPal
transaction history, please immediately report this to PayPal by
following the instructions below:
1. Log in to your account at https://www.paypal.com/ by entering
your email address and password into the Member Log In box
2. Click on Security Center at the bottom of the page
3. Click on the 'Unauthorized Transaction' link under the Report a
Problem column
4. Please follow the instructions in order to access the appropriate
form
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us again.
Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department
AHA! So it was a scam, and an attempt to get information - so I thought that I would also do ya a favor and pass this information also along to you...
Take that you sneaky scamming scummy quackers!
10 comments:
Wow Unbelievable! Thank you so much for sharing this scam. I hate to admit that I would have possibly gone ahead and gone to the site. Like you said it looked like paypal and sounded believable. I'm so glad that you had the sense to check into it further. Thanx.
TiasNme2
You were phished!
xoxo
Good job checking this out before you went to the link. Sam
Wow....scarey! Thanks for letting us know!
Good work, flora!!
V
I have been phished by a PayPal look-a-like many times in the last month. I check my account (by typing in the address myself--NEVER USE A LINK). On the Account Overview page there's an area labeled History and it will tell you if any address changes have been made or any new credit cards have been added (two common phishing claims). When I verifiy that all is OK, I forward the phishy email to spoof@paypal.com.
It's not just PayPal that's the subject of phishing. The scammers can imitate banks, credit unions, credit cards, etc. DON'T CLICK ON THESE LINKS! If their buckets come up empty, maybe they'll soon stop phishing.
I send those frauds directly to PayPal as soon as I get one. They do have a spoof email. Never give into those emails. Most company webs have spoof email sites. Just froward the email to the real company. I got one from several "banks" which I never had an account with. I get spoof emails regarding eBay who I do have an account with.
HI, I have received a total 12 "ebay" spoof emails. I was one of the blessed ones to get spoofed when the SPOOFING was all a new thing.....hence I had to change everything (passwords, account info for every account, ect.) on my computer...also they stole my Ebay ID and all kinds of info.....now any email dealing with ebay I send it right on to them...even if I figure it is legit. I don't take the risk...if I get the "OK" that the email is legit, then fine....if It's not legit..then I feel so relieved that I sent it on to ebay.
Glad you're getting the word out!
You GO GIRL!
~smiles~
Tina
Someone tried to steal my ebay account last year. We caught it in time and all I lost was 2 months being out of service, while I didn't have to change anything but my email address. I know someone who had their account stolen, by someone in Europe!~!!!! It is being investigated. Never give anyone your personnal info.
These and the ones for the banks are so annoying. But worse yet was an actual, official one from my bank with links. The links were real but what lesson are you teaching people??? Uhhhhh Wells Fargo, are you totally clueless about phishing?
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