Dear PayPal Member

[wrmineo]

Ever get these emails? Ever wonder if maybe you're trying to be scammed? The fact is YES - it's a spoof.

Actually, the subject line is the first hint right there. PayPal will always use your first and last name, else the business name, associated with any account.

I've been flooded recently with more scams and attempts. Here's a few sample Subject Lines:

PayPal Support(Your account will be deleted)

Problems regarding the Information of your PayPal account.

A few signs it's a spoof:

Addressed to PayPal Member, not personalized.

Mouse-over the links, most go to IP address or completely different url.

False sense of security or scare - your account will be deleted or is in jeopardy.

Asking or stating they'll need personal information in order to secure your account - never done by PayPal via email.

What to Do:

DO NOT click on anything in the email if you suspect it's spoof.

REPORT IT - foward the email to spoof@paypal.com - they'll send you a confirmation within 24 hours usually confirming it as a spoof and it will add to their investigation file; hopefully it will help them track down the criminals preying on others not so informed.

For more information about spotting these type of fraud's and how to protect yourself, check out PayPal: Protect Yourself from Fraudulent Emails - no login required - so no scam here :)

[KeithO]

I get alot from "CitiBank" even though I'm not a member. Not sure where they want me to report to though.

[wrmineo]

I found this link for Reporting Citibank Scam Emails that might help; it won't stop you from getting the emails necessarily, but you'll feel better for helping them triangulate the search and find the litte *bleeps*
:)

Later,
w®m

[ctabuk]

Our Accountant told us that one of her clients had £2,000 taken from her Bank Account as she foolishly replied to an e-mail supposedly from her Bank. The Bank made good the money, but it took months of Police interviews etc.

[KeithO]

Originally Posted by wrmineo

I found this link for Reporting Citibank Scam Emails that might help; it won't stop you from getting the emails necessarily, but you'll feel better for helping them triangulate the search and find the litte *bleeps*
:)

Later,
w®m

I guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend. :)

[wrmineo]

Go get 'em Keith!

Let me know if you get a reply or any results.

PayPal gets at least five emails a week from me alone regarding spoof's sent to my many email accounts. I like to think I helped in being a catalyst in their recent mass email to users about this exact subject just a few days ago. Not bragging, just pointing out that we shouldn't ignore the emails, but forward and report them to help others from being scammed AND to help hopefully stop and catch the little - can I say pricks?

[cyanide]

Ebay and Aol are large targets of these phishing scams too.
We've had many hosting signups with the sole purpose of running a phishing site. Ofcourse all info is bogus... pretty hard to catch them too... they just jump from host to host.

Most of them originate from the far-east targetting north americans, knowing it'll be hard to catch them

[wrmineo]

Got a whole new one today ironically!

This time from (allegedly) Washington Mutal Bank with all the telltale signs:

Fear Factor: We recently have determined that different computers have logged in to your PayPal account, and multiple password failures were present before the login. One of our Customer Service employees has already tryed to telephonically reach you. As our employee did not manage to reach you, this email has been sent to your notice.
Therefore your account has been temporary suspended. We need you to confirm your identity in order to regain full privileges of your account.


Notice the bad grammer and misspellings

More Clues:

Call to Action: If this is not completed by June 13, 2005, we reserve the right to terminate all privileges of your account indefinitly, as it may have been used for fraudulent purposes. We thank you for your cooperation in this manner.
To confirm your identity please follow the link below:

I immediately sent to spoof@paypal.com and got the typical response within minutes, confirming the spoof:

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.

Be Aware, Educated and Reactionary! Help others from being scammed please.

[brian.mark]

I've met a few of their "Investigators". They take their job seriously and are constantly trying to stay one step ahead of the phishers (is that a word?)

In any event, they do have real people that look at the accounts, investigate the phishing scams, and even stay in contact with authorities trying to track down the people that really do try to scam other consumers.

Having seen some of their facilites, I'm fairly impressed with their organization.

Brian.

[ADAM Web Design]

Note 1: for those in Canada, there are similar phishing scams going around from CIBC and Royal Bank. Neither one of these companies communicates via email, nor will they contact you at all without your permission.

Note 2: Got a real gem today from a phisher named "Audrey". It made me laugh, so I just had to share:

Please accept our apologize but our main server was down for several security updates !!

Due to recent activity, including possible unauthorised transactions placed on you account, we have temporally suspended activity on you account in order to allow us to investigate this matter further. If you belive that this action may have been taken in error, or if you feel that your account may have been tampered with, please respond to this message so that we can porvide additional information and work with you to resolve this issue.

After responding to the message, we ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated. Emailing us before that time will result in delays. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause you and we would like to thank you for you cooperation as we review this matter.

If you are the rightful holder of the account you must click the link below and then complete all the steps from the following page as we try to update your account billing records


Click here to activate your account

You can also confirm your Billing Information by logging into your PayPal account at https://www.paypal.com/us/.

Sincerely,
Audrey
PayPal Resolution Services

Rather than write back to Audrey directly, I decided to post my response publicly for you all to enjoy:

Dear Audrey,

Please accept my apologize for allowing me account to process unauthorised transactions. Thank you for bringing this important matter to my attention, and for your several security updates with two exclamation marks !! I know you take my security needs seriously when you use two exclamation marks, Audrey, and I'm very impressed.

I have temporally stopped using my PrayPal account, as I belive in a house with no locks on the doors and don't want me account information to be breached.

Please porvide me with any additional information so that I can solve this issue and belive safely again in my house with no locks on the doors. I will wait 72 hours for the investigation to take place and ignore any other large transactions for purchsaes such as diamond rings and electronics, since I'm sure that's part of your offshore testing process.

Thank you very much, Audrey, and I hope to meet with you sometime soon and buy you a coffee for helping keep my PrayPal account safe. You're like the Internet's version of Wonder Woman (and by that, I mean you probably don't wear a bra.)

I'm one twisted bastard. :)

[Ne0]

I got the same email from Audrey and I wish I had read your reply prior to getting back to her LOL too funny Adam! :)