Just got this in my email. I got -edited- when I read it at first, because I knew nothing of any case opened against me. So of course I never follow a link from an email to a financial institution, but I logged into my paypal account and of course it was just a scam. PP.Resolution of Buyer Complaint Case # PP-329-190-311-137 Hello, After careful consideration of the evidence provided in the case detailed below, we have completed our investigation and decided in favor of the buyer. Under terms of our User Agreement, we have debited the following amount from your PayPal account as a refund to the buyer: $15.00 USD ----------------------------------- Transaction Details ----------------------------------- Buyer's name: Yraptoveria Buyer's email: yraptoveriasp@yah Transaction ID: 6TV5558937648187D Transaction date: Jun 17, 2015 Transaction amount: $15.00 USD Your PayPal account is now limited ! ----------------------------------- What to Do Next ----------------------------------- Please log into your PayPal account : View the case details #PayPal Log In Thank you for your patience and cooperation in this matter. Thanks, PayPal Protection Services Department.
Moderators need to edit that post and remove the links from this forum. Just forward it to the paypal phishing email address.
I've actually been getting phishing emails more or less like this for a couple of months now. I did receive the "Yraptoveria" one just today. Fortunately, none of them contain my actual name, which makes them easy to ignore. They don't try very hard to disguise their bogus links, either.
They don't. That's why they call it 'phishing'. Put out thousands, millions of emails (chum), someone will bite.
They most probably don't know there is a PayPal account associated with your email address. I've received phishing emails from merchants that I don't have accounts with. For example, department stores (Target, Sears, etc) or stock brokerages (Fidelity, TDAmeritrade, etc.). A lot of times it's a real shot in the dark for them (the scammers). This is the most likely scenario. If the scammers are sending emails only to PayPal emails, then it's possible they breached PayPal's security. It's also possible they hacked eBay and got your email from there. Or any other online site that you have your PayPal account tied with. If neither of those two, then the scammer(s) could have gotten your PayPal email from a transaction you made with them previously. This is the least likely scenario and would most likely mean it's a small scale phishing operation. @-jeffB said he received the "Yraptoveria" also. So it could very well be a large email blast.
I would go along with those who say "they don't", but as a matter of fact, the messages I've been getting are addressed to an email that I use solely for PayPal. If they were scattershot, I'd expect to see them coming to my other emails as well. I figured that there's some malware somewhere that scans its victims' email for PayPal transactions, and gathers the email addresses of the other parties. Hard to say, though. If it were a PayPal leak, I'd expect them to have gotten our real names as well. But, really, these are pretty crude phishing attempts; whoever's behind them isn't very good at this.
IMO, the major "red flag" is in not having any of the links or reply emails going to the "paypal.com" domain.
I get similar one frequently. Two clues to avoid any problem. First, if they do not have your name, ignore it. This is rue for both PayPal and eBay. Second, NEVER EVER click on the link from any similar email. If there is a question that it might be real, access your own account to see if there is a problem. Assuming you actually have an account, the links there are safe.
Thanks. Was a worried someone might click the link and was not sure you could get back in quick enough to edit the post. I used to get these once in a while - been years since I have seen one.
Just always look at the address chain on any email on this nature. I get ones all the time saying my BOA, Chase, NFCU, Paypal etc is having issues please long in (using this link) and blah blah blah. I don't even have half the accounts I get emails about but the address chain always reveals they're not real even if they try and spoof it the best they can. I am however waiting 10.5 million from a man who managed to slip it out of Iraq before the U.S. invasion. He just needs a U.S. citizen and a few thousand dollars to claim it from customs. If that falls through I've apparently also won some European lottery that I never even knew I entered lol.
Email address lists are cheap. A thumb drive can hold millions. Plug it into your computer, create a phony site, write a phishing email, click on 'send to all', and I'm sure that many on that email list have an account with the company you're trying to spoof. Some of them will click on the link. If one person logs into the phony site and provides info, you've at least made your investment back.
