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

[ann20]

I read somewhere about paypal scam...a woman allegedly got an email from fake paypal asking her to verify and change password but as she clicked the link and did as instructed, She got scammed £1500 as she just provided the scammer her password !!!!please do not click any link you do not trust and certainly don't put your details in..

[minnalevine]

The email I posted was obviously fraudulent. The spelling errors are a give-away and the fact that I hadn't used the account was another. The sender email address was also in appropriate. All things to look for when you get phishing emails.

[Seymour-]

For clarity, it might have been helpful if you'd started your message with:

Got this email. The sender was (supposedly) paypal. I know this is a scam due to the spelling errors and the fact PayPal never ever asks you to click on links in emails to login to your account...

[DonCornholio]

I've been getting a LOT of PayPal errors, stating that: "YOUR ACCOUNT HAS BEEN LIMITED". I have just gotten an account so that I can post this scam. I know it's not PayPal, because the e-mails show up in my junk folder, and I've NEVER gotten a activation E-Mail when I was getting them.

They come in days of 2, all the way from the 16th of this month, this year. I'm thinking of blocking it, as I am probably going to get a 4th one today.

[Seymour-]

I got 4 (so far) today. All went to my Junk folder. 1st one @ 5:40 AM, 2nd @ 9:42 AM, 3rd @ 10:02 AM, and the most recent one @ 1:12 PM.  All from different email senders, all pointing to different servers (NONE of them PayPal) where I could (falsely) validate my account to prevent my being locked out.

Blocking them doesn't help a lot because they're constantly changing their email addresses but, feel free to try.

NEVER click on PayPal links in an email! It's simple really. if you want into your account for ANY reason, open a web browser, type paypal in the URL (address) window, press CTRL + Enter, and login to your account through the 'front door'.

[bigais121]

I received an email from a site, paypal @ support dot com, claiming that my account will be limited unless I update my information. There was a link attached, but I never clicked it. At first sight, the email looks legit. It even says "Service PayPal" in the "from" line of the email.

Folks, be very aware of these and other types of email scams as they will attempt to gather your personal and banking information from fradulent websites.

[Bambaana1]

Fraudaulent Email:

This is what the email said.

I sent it to junk mail. There should be a button for fraud mail.

We emailed you a little while ago to ask for your help resolving an issue
with your account.

What's the problem?

Before we can offer you certain products and services, federal regulations
require that we collect specific information to verify your identity. This
information includes your name, address, date of birth, and National Tax ID
or Social Security Number. We haven't been able to verify your identity
using the information you provided, so we need some additional
documentation from you.

Until this issue is resolved, you'll be able to log in to your PayPal
account but you might not be able to add money to it or use some of your
account features.

Case ID Number:
How you can help

It's usually pretty easy to take care of things like this. Most of the
time, we just need a little more information about your account or latest
transactions.

Please log in to your account and go to the Resolution Center to find out
what you need to do. If we don't hear from you soon, we may limit what you
can do with your account until the issue is resolved.

Sincerely,
PayPal

[Alliexdean]

I received an email some time today supposedly from paypal. The logo was identical. I forward it to PayPal just incase. Reading through these comments I saw someone say they put in their password wrong and it accepted it. I decided to sign in with a completely bogus email and password. It accosted it. Scam for sure. Will be changing my info anyhow.

[GremlinsMom]

I got 2 of these today.  

PayΡal

Dear Customer,

Your account has been Suspended, as an error was detected in your  informations. The reason for the error is not certain, but for security reasons, we have suspended your account temporairly

We need you to update your informations for further use of your PayPal account.

 NOTE: If this is not resolved within 72 hours, we will be forced to susupend your account as it may be used fraudulently. The purpose of this verification is to ensure that your account has not been fraudulently used.

[geniusjunior]

Is this fraudulant? i seem to remember that PP will only address u by ur full name, not "customer" correct?

[MSG}{Your PayPal account has been limited.PP:799310||24.hours.for.confirmation|28.Dec.2014|

  Your Account PayPal Has Been Limited. Reference #PP-002-809-771-209Reference #PP-002-809-771-209


Account Status Update Response required
Change your password and security questions Upon receipt
Log in to your PayPal account as soon as possible
Dear Customer ,

Recently, there's been activity in your PayPal account that seems unusual compared to your normal account activities. Please log in to PayPal to confirm your identity and update your password and security questions.
To help protect your account, no one can send money or withdraw money. In addition, no one can close your account, send refunds, remove any bank accounts, or remove credit cards.

What's going on?

We're concerned that someone is using your PayPal account without your knowledge. Recent activity from your account seems to have occurred from a suspicious location or under circumstances that may be different than usual.

What to do

Log in to your PayPal account as soon as possible. We may ask you to confirm information you provided when you created your account to make sure you're the account holder. We'll then ask you to change your password and security questions.
You should also do the following for your own protection:

Check your account details (address, email, phone, etc.) to make sure they're accurate.
Click here to activate your account

What's next?

Let's work together to restore your account. After you complete all of the tasks, we should respond within 72 hours.

.

Sincerely,

PayPal


Help Center | Security Center
This email was sent by an automated system, so if you reply, nobody will see it. To get in touch with us, log in to your account and click "Contact Us" at the bottom of any page.

Copyright 2014 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.

Yours sincerely,
PayPal