Examples of Suspected Fraud or Fake Emails

[PayPal_Andy]

Hey Everybody!

In an effort to make things easier to find and research, I'm going to consolidate as many threads as possible where we have examples of people trying to defraud hard working sellers (Craigslist emails, 'PayPal' emails asking you to send money outside of PayPal, etc).  This will also be used as a master thread for future posts regarding this same situation.

When you post your examples here, please remember to not include last names or contact information of whoever is sending these emails.  There's no way to confirm if that person has been defrauded as well and the name is being used fraudulently.

Thanks for your cooperation and remember, keep the conversation productive, on task, and above all, keep it clean. I know these things can be difficult and frustrating, but bleep filled posts or posts that look like government redacted files will never benefit anyone. 😄

Andy

[dblaze911]

You are welcome. I am new here also and had trouble doing a new post where I had made some comments about the email so after awhile I ended up just posting it as a reply to someone elses post and never typed all the comments over again. So, I will add them now. I did read all the "Getting Started info" several times.

When I first looked over the email it was hard to determine if it was a fraud. One thing I noticed in scam emails is there is usually bad grammar and misspelled words. My email in the first sentence said "services of the PayPal Inc. are" When you say that out loud a few times it just doesn't sound right, to me. I also am very dubious of any time I am asked to download something into my computer. I decided to log on to the PayPal website and figured if it was a legitimate email I would see a message or something on the website. Instead, I found the page that talked about scams and phishing and the email and instructions to send questionable emails to. I figured it was better to let someone who was educated in this area look at the email and let me know instead of taking the risk myself. It was a win-win situation.

I wish more people would take the time to educate themselves by reading these helpful insights and forums, then there would be less misdirected anger and victims of scams.

Glad you caught yours!

[Xiaoshuchong]

I am new comer here and don't know how to post new topics and solve problems.

The problem trobles me now is similar to the following one.

Yesterday,  one guy finally "agreed" to pay the money which has been delayed for some 9 months.  I have sent him(them?) invoices for times, but no others but always excuses !

Later, he sent me an email, saying that

*****

"...

Dear XXXXX,

Just thought you'd like to know Coral Knowledge Services Private Ltd. sent you $xxxxUSD.

Clami Your Money Now

Once you've received payment you can:

   Withdraw it to your bank account or request a cheque (takes about four to six working days).

Button not working?

To claim your money, sign up for an account using this email address: XXXXX. If you already have a PayPal account, just add this email address to it.

When that's done ?and you've confirmed your email address ?this payment will show up in your PayPal account.

Yours sincerely,
PayPal                                                                                                                                   "

****

I opened my account, but nothing was found!

Sincerely hope someone could kindly advise me what the problem is on earth!

Millions of thanks in advance!

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi Xiaoshuchong,

Welcome to the forums! 🙂 To learn about posting new threads, check out the Getting Started post in our Community Guide.

I moved your post into this thread, which contains many examples of fake or scam emails. I definitely suggest taking a look at some of the examples others have posted.

One of the earmarkings that stands out most to me in your example is the line "Clami Your Money Now". Misspellings in legitimate automated emails are exceedingly rare.

I hope this helps! 🙂

Olivia

[skiizim]

I just got this email, seems totally fake!!!! This one looks like the best scam email I've received though. I've never tried reporting scam emails or know where to report or forward such things. If this is sufficient or if anybody can please point me in the right direction please do so, Thanks!

From:PayPal (service@account-paypal.com)

Notification of Limited Account Access RXI033‏

Dear XXXX XXXXXXXX ,
 
As a security measure, we regularly screen PayPal activity. Recently, we noticed a problem with your account.
 
We determined that someone may have tried to access your PayPal account without your permission. For your protection, we have limited your account access. To lift this limitation, click here:

<link removed - the target did not match the text>

 
Reference Number: 
 
We've limited access to your account temporarily .We'll review the limitation once you respond with the information we've requested.
 
Thank you for helping to resolve this problem.
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
PayPal Account Review Department
 
Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.
 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1999-2012 PayPal. All rights reserved.
 
PayPal Email ID PP522

[andyclax27]

I got a text MSG to my cell asking about a craigslist ad. It was for a cell phone. They wanted it to send to West Africa. They requested the price of the phone + $200 to ship it. Could this be a scam? Or sending them a request-could that hurt me in any way?

[TomMartinATL]

Not sure if it is a scam but this is the second version of this sort of email I received.

Recieved from this email address:  service. @ paypal.comwindow @ live.com

Identity Issue PP-658-119-347Secure Transaction 

Please complete the attached form to verify your Profile information and restore your account access.

Personal Information Profile

Make sure you enter the information accurately, and according to the formats required.
Fill in all the required fields.

Dear customer ,
As part of our efforts to provide a safe and secure environment for the online community, we regularly screen account activity. Our review of your account has identified an issue regarding its safe use. We have placed a restriction on your account as a precaution.

To lift the restriction we will require some further information from you.

If, once we review your further information and we're confident that the use of your account does not present a safety risk to our service and customers, we'll be happy to reinstate your account.

We have sent you an attachment which contains all the necessary steps in order to restore your account access. Download and open it in your browser. After we have gathered the necessary information, you will regain full access to your account.

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Very sincerely,
PayPal Review Department

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi everyone!

I definitely recommend taking a look at Your Guide to Phishing if you haven't seen it yet. It's got some great tips for recognizing phishing emails.

I hope this helps!

Olivia

[Anavg04]

I got cheated..

 Girl going by Stacie.

I kept getting messages saying the money was on hold and something about the  system being upgraded but I sent out the phone and never saw a penny. I have never used Paypal before and probably never will now.

[loonlake]

I just got an e-mail message saying my PayPal account has been "Limited" and until I fill out the attached form to "update" my account information,  access to my "sensitive account information" will be limited. The e-mail itself looked pretty good but me thinks its a scam. 

[bowzerbird]

I think you're right. If you mouse-over the link, [DON'T CLICK IT] you'll see it's not from Paypal. Also, you can forward the email to Paypal's fraudulant checking dept. [forgot the link but you'll find it at Paypal's main site]. And Paypal has a phone # you can call anytime to ask questions.