dharmagrl dharmagrl

Latest and greatest 'PayPal' scam/spoof

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Latest and greatest 'PayPal' scam/spoof

Protect your account!

from JoeUser Forums

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 [email protected].

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.

internet
56,301 views 48 replies
Reply #26 from JoeUser Forums Top

I did not even know that England had a lottery.

Yep, it's a national thing.  Been going for about 15 years now.  My mum's won a few times, 50 pounds here and there.

I just got one D, today, telling me I won the English lottery and won for over 8 million pounds sterling

This PayPal ones a little different, MM.  This isn't just a random one, they had my user name and told me that $300 had been taken out of my account for a watch.  That's a bit different than an email telling you that you had won something that you never even entered.

How would you react if you got an email receipt from your bank, confirming a withdrawl for $300, telling you that if you clicked on the link within the email you could see the details of the transaction?  That's basically what I got yesterday, and it was pretty darn authentic looking.   

I STILL can't reach the company that supposedly sold me the watch. 

Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've had the one from PayPal, also similar from ebay. Both of them well done but too obvious its phishing. Both were caught by my ISP's spam filter (BTInternet).   Sadly, some people still fall for these bogus e-mails...

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central
Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #28 from JoeUser Forums Top
I always delete emails that claim to be from any source that might want money without even thinking about it.

I am convinced that whoever really wants me to pay for something will eventually send me a real letter. And I would notice if I did pay 300 quid for something when I look at my bank statements online in the evening.

I don't know why anybody would even consider relying on email messages for keeping track of expenses. And I don't recommend that anybody do that.
Reply #29 from JoeUser Forums Top

How would you react if you got an email receipt from your bank, confirming a withdrawl for $300, telling you that if you clicked on the link within the email you could see the details of the transaction?


Constantly get those, always delete them without any further thought. My banks don't send me emails to keep me informed. They have online banking, phone banking, branch offices (with phone lines), and snail mail statements for that.

All four are more difficult to tamper with and it is almost impossible to forge two of them in the same way.

Never, ever follow links in emails! Always type the link yourself (copying from whatever ad the bank sent you) or use a bookmark you yourself created.

I follow these guidelines for all my bank accounts and credit cards. I also occasionally call the phone banking mechanism and the branch office to see whether everybody agrees about the status of my accounts.
Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top
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


Thanks! I can't be reminded of this enough, and still have to form the habit of following thru w/these procedures. Also, after re-reading this article and replies today, I found d'girl's mention of contacting authorities to report the offense (D.O.J.?, etc.) to be sound advice. Happy Halloween, all, from Eastern Idaho
Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top
And I would notice if I did pay 300 quid for something when I look at my bank statements online in the evening.


How much is a Quid in relation to a pound?
Reply #32 from JoeUser Forums Top

How much is a Quid in relation to a pound?

Roughly $2 for one pound.

Reply #33 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yeah, some of you may think that it's frivilous, that I'm making a big deal out of nothing -


Not here, dharmagrl.....it's a serious and too far widespread an issue to ignore, and you're to be commended for doing something about it
Reply #34 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have been hit with this little scam about 3 times in the last month, beleive it or not the only place I have ever used my credit card, is at this great place. because like another thread I was reading I am addicted to this great place.
Reply #35 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I STILL can't reach the company that supposedly sold me the watch.

Contact them....saying goods were not received....demand them to be sent ASAP....quoting email/receipt.

If you get a watch you're 300 ahead.

If you don't you'll at least have the Watch Co pissed-off and chasing the scammers as well....

Reply #36 from JoeUser Forums Top

couldn't you call your bank and stop the payment, or at least find out if anything had been charged to your account?

Nope.  See, my debit card that is linked to my checking account is Visa protected.  Which means that the bank guarantees the payment, and I can't stop the payment.  The best I can do is dispute it, which can take WEEKS to resolve.

Reply #37 from JoeUser Forums Top
Wow Dharma~ Thanks for the warning! I use Paypal all the time!
Reply #38 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Almost the very same thing has happened to me several times! So be vigilant everyone
Reply #39 from JoeUser Forums Top

How much is a Quid in relation to a pound?


A quid is one Pound Sterling in Britain and was one Irish Pound here in Ireland. Now it's one Euro here.

Basically a quid is a buck.
Reply #40 from JoeUser Forums Top

A quid is one Pound Sterling in Britain and was one Irish Pound here in Ireland. Now it's one Euro here.

Basically a quid is a buck.

No, basically, one quid equals 2 bucks. 

 

Reply #41 from JoeUser Forums Top

A quid is one Pound Sterling in Britain and was one Irish Pound here in Ireland. Now it's one Euro here.

Basically a quid is a buck.

No, basically, one quid equals 2 bucks.

Thanks both for the answer.  I would make a very bad Englishman cause I have never gotten the hang of the British monetary system.  I know Francs, and Pfennings, but Pounds and pence are greek to me!

Reply #42 from JoeUser Forums Top
I know Francs, and Pfennings, but Pounds and pence are greek to me!


Nah, it's all about slang.

There are one hundred pennies in one pound. Just like there are one hundred cents in a dollar.

A pound is also called a quid, much as a dollar is called a buck.

Over there, they have 5 pence pieces, 10 pence pieces, 20 pence and 50 pence pieces, and even the pounds are coins.

Over here, you got your nickles, dimes and quarters...and dollar coins too.

See how easy that was? Welcome to British currency 101. You passed with a 'A' grade.
Reply #43 from WinCustomize Forums Top
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.


Lighten up will you. I don't think Z71 was saying you are stupid or anything like that. You read way too much into it. Remember what you said "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." Maybe you shouldn't post things if your ego is so fragile

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.


Thanks Z71 I could not have said it better, and Thanks dharmagrl for proving Z's point.
Reply #44 from WinCustomize Forums Top
See how easy that was? Welcome to British currency 101. You passed with a 'A' grade.


Thanks for the lesson. Now I wont have to learn English when I visit the old Country!

I guess to non-Americans, Nickles, Dimes and Quarters (maybe not the last) are greek since we dont display monetary amounts, except spelled out, on our coins.
Reply #46 from JoeUser Forums Top
Thanks D for this article,sorry it took me so long to find it and read it so i will save it in a special file


YVW and I hope that it helped you and you didn't fall for it!
Reply #47 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Of course, pounds, shillings and pence wasn't always decimal....think feet and inches for complexity...12 pence to a shilling, 20 shillings to a pound...or 10 florins....then with pennies there's halfpennies and farthings.

Of course, if you then get into the Anglo/Aussie slang for it all it gets worse....

Reply #48 from JoeUser Forums Top
...12 pence to a shilling, 20 shillings to a pound...or 10 florins....then with pennies there's halfpennies and farthings.
Of course, if you then get into the Anglo/Aussie slang for it all it gets worse....


Yeah...decimalization came into play when I was 2 and I STILL can't get my head around it!