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

[Ashleyannemarie]

Today I got an email saying that my address was changed, when I longed in, not using the link, my address was my address. Anyone else get this email?

[kernowlass]

@Ashleyannemarie

Firstly how did that email address you? If it was not by your full name then it would be a spoof.
Secondly if there was a link OR attachment in that email to ''cancel'' the transaction then again it would be a spoof.
If there was a problem with your account paypal would not ask you to click on an unsafe link in an email, they would direct you to log in normally and go to the resolution or the message centre for more information.

More info here >>
https://www.paypal.com/us/selfhelp/article/how-to-spot-fake-emails-faq2340/2

[Ashleyannemarie]

I did click the link, but didn't log into PayPal threw that way. I was like to myself this seems fishy so I googled PayPal and went into it that way. I also, after posting, checked out the details of the sender and the email wasn't even paypal support. I'm so glad I didn't log into PayPal with the link not thinking.

[kldscribe]

I'm getting a lot of emails purportedly from PayPal asking me to update my info for your new servers and take surveys. I don't trust this and will not ever log into any of my business sites from an email. Is this phishing or is this legitimate?

[DPCreations]

You can learn a lot by looking at the REAL email address of the sender rather than the spoofed display address.

You can learn a lot by analyzing the text of the email.

You can learn a lot by checking your PayPal activity AND messages on the summary page of your PayPal acocunt.

[Jcmauro]

I received an email that was notifying me of a suspicious transaction. This transaction is not mine. I clicked on the Resoultion center link at the bootttom and it flashed a warning. This transaction is not listed in my transaction for that date or any dat that week. What should O do from here?

Thanks for your help.

[kernowlass]

@Jcmauro

NEVER click on any suspect links in emails, that is how scammers get to hijack your log in information or financial information.

Firstly if the email addressed you as ''Dear Member'' / ''Customer'' / ''Client'' OR your ''email address'' then that confirms its a spoof as paypal would address you by your full name eg Dear John Smith.

Secondly if there was a link OR attachment in that email to ''cancel'' the transaction or ''confirm'' any details then again it would be a spoof.

If there was a problem with your account paypal would not ask you to click on an unsafe link in an email or by downloading an attachment, they would direct you to log in normally and go to the resolution or the message centre for more information.

More info here >>
https://www.paypal.com/us/selfhelp/article/how-to-spot-fake-emails-faq2340/2

[Xzibit2short]

I recently made a paypal account and needed money desperately. I sold my game system to a buyer last week. I thought i was recieving payment updates from paypal stating that the transactions had been approved considering everything looked legit. The emails stated that "paypal" couldnt fund my credits to my bank until the delivery had been made to the buyer. Im so upset that i was scammed out of $350 it doesnt make any sense. I have every screenshot thats been made in my emails as well as conversations between me and the buyer. I also have the delivery address. I really need help from paypal with this problem. I have absolutely no money left and no way of getting the item i sold back. Please can the right Paypal authorities respond so that i may be able to get back my item or money that was owed to me. Again the emails looked legit and was not in the spam folder. Please and thank you

[DPCreations]

As there is no PayPal transaction, there is nothing PayPal can do.

You advertised an extremily high risk virtual item for sale.  There are a lot of smart people looking for free stuff.  You need to educate yourself before you try to sell anything.

Furthermore, even if it were a PayPal transaction, you would lose a non-delivery disptue as virtual items are not protected.

You are advertising high risk virtual items and you are doing it as your own risk of extreme loss.