Paypal Phishing Scams

With the holidays rapidly approaching, the scammers, phishers and other scrooge-types are stepping up their cons in the hopes that with all the holiday hubub people won't be so vigilant when it comes to emails. I already posted about the Zapchast trojan hidden in Hallmark (and other) E-Cards, now Paypal phishers are stepping up their efforts to steal your info and, in turn, your hard earned cash.


For those of you who use Paypal to shop on-line, be aware that the scammers are sending out the following types of email:


Dear PayPal Member


This email confirms that you have sent an eBay payment of $47.75 USD to

mailto: johnsput81@ xoxo
for an eBay item.
-----------------------------------
Payment Details
-----------------------------------
Amount: $47.75 USD
Transaction ID: 2LC956713J776333Y
Subject: Digimax 138
Note:
If you haven't authorized this charge ,click the link below to dispute transaction
and get full refund
Dispute transaction (Encrypted Link )
*SSL connection:
PayPal automatically encrypts your confidential information
in transit from your computer to ours using the Secure
Sockets Layer protocol (SSL) with an encryption key length
of 128-bits (the highest level commercially available)
-----------------------------------
Item Information
-----------------------------------
eBay User ID: scrchandgnaw22

----------------------------------------------------------------
Edward Harrell's UNCONFIRMED Address
----------------------------------------------------------------
Edward Harrell
211 David St.
Springtown, TX 76082
United States
Important Note: Edward Harrell has provided an Unconfirmed Address. If
you are planning on shipping items to Edward Harrell, please check the
Transaction Details page of this payment to find out whether you will
be covered by the PayPal Seller Protection Policy.
----------------------------------------------------------------
This payment was sent using your bank account.
By using your bank account to send money, you just:
- Paid easily and securely
- Sent money faster than writing and mailing paper checks
- Paid instantly -- your purchase won't show up on bills at the end of
the month.
Thanks for using your bank account!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team
PayPal Email ID PP118


I have received quite a few over the past few weeks, and if I happened to use Paypal frequently this might go unnoticed, particularly during this busy time of year. It certainly looks legit, however Paypal will never ask for any personal information like:


full name
password
social security number
driver's license number
credit or debit card numbers
pin or bank account numbers


They will also always address the email in your name.


They will never send an attachment or update software.


Never click on the link in an email, it might look legit, but it will take you to a fraudulent website.


Check out Paypal's Security site for more info and take their Anti-Phishing challenge.



If you receive one of these emails, help bring them down by reporting them to Paypal. Forward the emails to:


spoof@paypal.com

They keep perpetrating this kind of fraud, so someone is falling for it!!