"Paypal" account??

[lagin]

I just got an email notice saying that someone has been trying to hack into my paypal account and to verify my info with paypal.  As far as I know I never had a "paypal" account whatever that is.  I mean, I've used visa online, and once I tried to open an account with ebay, but it was complicated so I gave up.  I don't know if ebay has my visa or not.  Is this "paypal" thing related to any of this, or is it just meaningless spam??  Help?

[jim_24601]

It's a common scam with many variants. You get the email saying your (whatever) account has been compromised and you should log in and verify your info. The email contains a handy link to a site that looks like the (whatever) website, but is in fact run by the scammers. You type in your details, and bingo! The scammers have all your account information and proceed to clean you out. Never follow such a link and enter your information.

edit: spammers, scammers, what is difference?

[pianohopper]

Jim's right.  The person trying to hack into your account and get your information is the person who sends you the email.  Most are sent en masse, I think -- my uncle got one.  I think he filed a report with the FBI.  They probably don't do much, but it's nice to feel like you'e done something.

[abell88]

Forward the message to spoof@paypal.com, and as the others said, never EVER click on a link that comes in a message like that.

[Tash]

hey i got one of them too!!like just now. how funny, and random, i was like whatever and deleted the email.

[ahinton]

I just got an email notice saying that someone has been trying to hack into my paypal account and to verify my info with paypal.  As far as I know I never had a "paypal" account whatever that is.  I mean, I've used visa online, and once I tried to open an account with ebay, but it was complicated so I gave up.  I don't know if ebay has my visa or not.  Is this "paypal" thing related to any of this, or is it just meaningless spam??  Help?

You would be surprised at just how genuine looking these notices can be made to look. I do have a PayPal account and only recently received the following notice with the PayPal heading:
 
Information Regarding Your account:
Dear PayPal Member!

Attention! Your PayPal account has been violated!

Someone with ip address 149.225.126.87 tried to access your personal account!

Please click the link below and enter your account information to confirm that you are not currently away. You have 3 days to confirm account information or your account will be locked.

Click here to activate your account
 
You can also confirm your email address by logging into your PayPal account at
https://paypal.com/. Click on the "Confirm email" link in the Activate Account box and then enter this confirmation number: 1036-8535-4511-9500-3892

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose the "Help" link in the footer of any page.
 
 
PayPal Email ID PP059
 Protect Your Account Info
Make sure you never provide your password to fraudulent websites.

To safely and securely access the PayPal website or your account, open a new web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape) and type in the PayPal login page (https://paypal.com/) to be sure you are on the real PayPal site.

PayPal will never ask you to enter your password in an email.

For more information on protecting yourself from fraud, please review our Security Tips at https://www.paypal.com/us/securitytips
 
 
Protect Your Password
You should never give your PayPal password to anyone.
 
 
 
 
OK - so don't anyone tell me that this looks like a scam! As it happens, I was taken in by it but fortunately the link didn't work, so I followed the alternative instruction and just went to open my account the usual way and - hey presto - there was nothing wrong with it!

Only then did I get suspicions, so I sent the following emal to PayPal:



I cannot connect using the instructions given but can connect using the
usual procudeure and can access my account OK this way.

Is this email therefore suspect?



The response I received was as follows and I reproduce it here in full for the benefit of anyone who DOES have a PayPal account, as it has several useful tips to protect against this kind of thing and distinguish the scams from the genuine items:



Dear Alistair Hinton,

Thanks for contacting PayPal. I appreciate the opportunity to assist you
with your questions.

I believe you have received a spoof email that is not genuinely from
PayPal. Please remember these steps to help protect your PayPal account
from Unauthorised Account Access.

Emails - Make sure they are sent from PayPal

   1.  If you receive an email and are unsure whether it is from PayPal,
open a new web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer or Netscape) and type in
the following: https://www.paypal.co.uk/ Don't click on any link in an
email which seems suspicious to you.

   2.  Some spoof websites will send emails that pretend to come from
PayPal to entice you to log in at the spoof URL. Be extremely cautious
of emails that direct you to a website that asks for sensitive
information.

   3.  Stay safe; don't respond to emails asking for any of the
following:

      7   Your password and email address combination
      7   Credit card numbers
      7   Bank account numbers
      7   Social security numbers
      7   Driving licence number
      7   First and Last Names

If you have surrendered financial or password information to a
suspicious email or website, promptly report this to the issuing
institution as well as change your password and secret answers on your
PayPal account. This can be completed in the Profile section of your
account.

Email Greeting -

   7   PayPal will never send you an email with the greeting "Dear
PayPal User" or "Dear PayPal Member". Emails initiated by PayPal will
address you by your first and last name, or the business name associated
with your PayPal account.

   7   Please note that the automatic response you get from us may not
address you by name.
Always log into the PayPal site

   7   PayPal will only ask for information AFTER you have securely
logged in.

   7   For your security, PayPal will never ask you to re-enter your
full bank account, credit or debit card number without providing at
least the LAST TWO DIGITS of the number. These digits let you know that
we already know the full number and are asking you for the rest of it.
Beware of any website or email that asks for these numbers for
'verification' without PROOF that it knows the number by providing at
least the last two digits.

   7   Use Account Guard on the eBay toolbar. If you use Internet
Explorer, download the eBay toolbar. Account Guard helps ensure you are
on PayPal or eBay

Website pages - make sure that they are hosted by PayPal

   1.  When using the PayPal service, always ensure that the url address
listed at the top of the browser is
https://www.paypal.co.uk/ The 's' ensures that the website is secure.
Even if the URL contains the word 'PayPal', it may not be a PayPal
webpage.

   2.  Look for the 'lock' symbol that appears in the lower right hand
corner of the browser. This symbol indicates that it is a secure site.

Do not download attachments, software updates, or any application to
your computer via a link you received in an email. PayPal will not ask
you to download anything for your account to work.

Passwords - keep it on PayPal

   1.  Use a unique password for the PayPal account and change it every
30-60 days.
   2.  The password should be one that is not used on any other site,
service or login.

If you think you have received a fraudulent email, forward the entire
email, including the header information to spoof@paypal.com and then
delete the email from your mailbox. Never click any links or attachments
in a suspicious email.

Copyright ) 1999-2004 PayPal. All rights reserved.  PayPal (Europe) Ltd.
is regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom
as an electronic money institution.  PayPal FSA Register Number: 226056

It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing PayPal.

Sincerely,
Aprillene
PayPal European Services
PayPal, an eBay Company



I hope that this is of help.

Best,

Alistair

[pianohopper]

I know this is sort of old, but I just wanted to say, I have just received a similar email from a sender claiming to be eBay.  I knew right away it was dangerous because I do not have an eBay account and have never bought from eBay!!!!!

In fact, this is an extremely dangerous one because the whole email seems to be a link.  I cannot highlight anything or else it will open a link, I think.  Also, there is an attachment, which would be foolish to open. 

The spoof message is very detailed, and even uses the eBay logo! 

"Dear eBay Member,
We regret to inform you that your eBay account could be suspended if you do not update your acount information.  To resolve this problem please visit the link below and re-enter your account information.

"If your problems could not be resolved your account will be suspended for 24 hours, after this period your account will be terminated.

"For the User Agreement, SEction 9, we may immediately issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if we believe that yoru actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for us.  We may also take these actions if we are unable to verify or authenticate the information you provide to us...."

Quite convincing, especially becuase they quote the User Agreement -- and nobody would know the differnece, because nobody reads the User Agreements!