World Health Organization COVID Fund Invoice Scam

[HollowKnights2k]

Hey world. Not sure if I'm the only one receiving this invoice but just got an invoice for $20.00 from something called the Respond Fund for World Solidarity from the World Health Organization.  Paypal won't let me dispute this invoice nor would I presume the WHO would send dubious invoices for donations through Paypal so I'm assuming it's a scam. Just curious if this is being sent out to others. Thanks!

[19111952]

I am in UK and received the same email today, I had not requested it.  I tried to contact Paypal but could not find a way to communicate with them, there messaging just sent me to the wrong 'area'.  After Googling the invoice scam I followed your advice and cancelled the invoice.  Unfortunately many people will think it has to be paid and I was concerned it would automatically be taken from my Paypal Account.  Paypal should be blocking this type of request.

[BAMBI5]

YES. IT'S A SCAM.

Somebody is pretending to be the World Health Organization and is using REAL PayPal invoices to do their scamming.

I don't know about the UK, but in the US, it's illegal to bill (invoice) someone for something they didn't agree to.

We've had people sending out fake invoices on fake PayPal pages - but this one really takes the cake.

I wonder how our scammer finds their victims. Is just having my email address enough to submit an invoice on my PayPal account?

Some hackers reportedly managed to get the "cancel" button to disappear. (There are workarounds online, even elsewhere on this forum.) This makes me wonder if the entire scam might not be an inside job.

[ChrisCooling]

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@BAMBI5 wrote:

I wonder how our scammer finds their victims. Is just having my email address enough to submit an invoice on my PayPal account?

Some hackers reportedly managed to get the "cancel" button to disappear. (There are workarounds online, even elsewhere on this forum.) This makes me wonder if the entire scam might not be an inside job.

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YES. As has been endlessly established, anyone can send a Paypal invoice to anyone with an email address.

"Hackers" did no such thing. As we have also established, there is a software bug on the website where the ?action=cancel does not populate in the url when its supposed to. You can reproduce it yourself by invoicing someone. 

[dnapoli22]

I had a phone call with PayPal. It was not very useful. To their credit, they DID instruct me (which I had already seen here) that I could cancel the invoice. They less helpfully tried to redirect me to a government website to register a complaint. 

I told them that the way I will deal with this if they do not is simply to stop using PayPal. PayPal's entire value-add is security. At the point where PayPal is opening the floodgates to "PayPal-assisted" scams (the email letting you know you have an unpaid invoice is legitimately from PayPal), they no longer offer any value add.

So of course, PayPal cannot prevent somebody from randomly sending you an invoice if that person has your email. BUT HERE ARE THE THINGS PAYPAL CAN DO, AND IS NOT DOING, TO PROTECT YOU AND ME:

• The invoice hides the PayPal identity of the billing party. PayPal should NEVER hide the identity of somebody asking you for money.
• Because the identity is hidden, you cannot block this user from continuing to harass you. Okay, so you cancel the invoice--what's to prevent them from sending you another?
• You cannot report this suspicious transaction in Resolution Center. PAYPAL PREVENTS YOU FROM REPORTING IT. PayPal should NEVER prevent you from reporting a problematic or suspicious transaction.

The PayPal agent who spoke with me was very nice. It's a shame that she had no tools to assist me.

So PayPal is preventing me from helping myself, and is preventing its agents from helping me. PayPal is a CONVENIENCE and is supposed to make our online purchases more convenient and more secure. Phishing invoices that PayPal is (accidentally) enabling and assisting are neither, and just the opposite. 

PayPal needs to remember that it's here to protect its customers, not scammers. If I see more of these invoices, from this source or others, I'll speak to PayPal in the only language PayPal is leaving me to speak: I'll take away my business. I'll deregister my credit cards and my bank account, and I'll close my PayPal account. 

[FatesWebb]

I have been unable to find a way to cancel the invoice so you're ahead of me on this. Mind relaying how to do this?

[JKShuttle]

My invoice, in Activity, said it was from Devante <removed>. When I opened it it just showed the WHO email without the name. Did PayPal add this since your post? I canceled and left Devante a message. 

[Dottiegirl]

I received one for $50!

[TheGreen]

Be careful, the WHO is sending out unsolicited invoices to people that look like bills. As far as I know though, as long as you don't click 'Pay invoice' nothing will happen.

Also, even though there is a 'cancel' button on it on the 'Activity' tab, the invoice in not cancelable and will stay in your activity tab as 'pending'.

This whole thing smells of 'scam' but is apparently real.

[HollowKnights2k]

I find it quite amusing and bewildering that no resolution has been made yet despite the constant invoices that have been sent. Nonetheless, hope all of you are doing well!

[ChrisCooling]

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@TheGreen wrote:

Be careful, the WHO is sending out unsolicited invoices to people that look like bills. As far as I know though, as long as you don't click 'Pay invoice' nothing will happen.

Also, even though there is a 'cancel' button on it on the 'Activity' tab, the invoice in not cancelable and will stay in your activity tab as 'pending'.

This whole thing smells of 'scam' but is apparently real.

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Define 'real.' We have confirmed WHO is NOT invoicing people on Paypal or any payment platform. Anyone can create these invoices and attach any logo they want. This is nothing more than some person invoicing random Paypal users.