World Health Organization COVID Fund Invoice Scam

HollowKnights2k
Contributor
Contributor

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!

 

 

 

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483 REPLIES 483

louisemmm
Contributor
Contributor

I am both upset and angry over this WHO bogus invoice. What get me really mad is I see no notification from PayPal anywhere alerting us to this issue, although I hear WHO has and I will check it out. Also, Ive been texting with someone at PayPal but just get candid answers. I tried to report to their fraud department and it replies that PayPal cannot review this type of invoice. There is no e-mail that I can easily find. I texted and asked them for one. If I get answer I'll post it. 

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Dariankay
Member
Member
Just got one today so it seems they're still at it. It's honestly kinda scary
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ChrisCooling
Contributor
Contributor

@Dariankay wrote:
Just got one today so it seems they're still at it. It's honestly kinda scary

...why? Does it scare you when you receive a scam bill in the mail? Paypal allows a user to invoice anyone with an email address. 

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avaku
Member
Member

I’ve had this same activity on my account recently. One from April <removed>/“world health organization” and other two from August 10th from someone whose name is not in English for the same hokey coronavirus relief fund. One is $0, another is $50, and the latest is $35. Super discomfiting as to how they got my information in the first place, and I wish there were a way for PayPal to block invoice requests like these.

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ChrisCooling
Contributor
Contributor

@avaku wrote:
I’ve had this same activity on my account recently. One from April Wilson/“world health organization” and other two from August 10th from someone whose name is not in English for the same hokey coronavirus relief fund. One is $0, another is $50, and the latest is $35. Super discomfiting as to how they got my information in the first place, and I wish there were a way for PayPal to block invoice requests like these.

Paypal allows a user to invoice any person with an email address, whether they have a Paypal account or not. This is a heavily used feature and Paypal has no way to "block" it unless they were to remove it. Your email address is likely publicly available if you have ever signed up for any app, service, or account. A great place to get an eye-opener is https://haveibeenpwned.com/ to see all the places where your information has leaked out.

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Juan_cho97
Contributor
Contributor
I’ve gotten 3 invoices from them in the last month. The first one was an invoice for $0. A date later they sent me an invoice asking for $50. Today I woke up and have another one for $30. Is there a way for me to block this? Is PayPal doing anything about this? I’ve reported it before but keep receiving invoices. I went on the WHO site and they even had an image of an invoice identical to mine and they said it was a scam.
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ChrisCooling
Contributor
Contributor

@Juan_cho97 wrote:
I’ve gotten 3 invoices from them in the last month. The first one was an invoice for $0. A date later they sent me an invoice asking for $50. Today I woke up and have another one for $30. Is there a way for me to block this? Is PayPal doing anything about this? I’ve reported it before but keep receiving invoices. I went on the WHO site and they even had an image of an invoice identical to mine and they said it was a scam.

To new posters:
-Advice from Paypal Support is inconsistent and sometimes outright incorrect.
-Neither your account, nor Paypal, has been "hacked" because you received an invoice.
-An invoice is NOT A DEBIT FROM YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT. You can simply not pay it.
-The WHO is not sending out unsolicited invoices for donations on any payment platform.
-ANY PAYPAL USER CAN INVOICE ANY human with an email address. This is a popular, heavily used feature of Paypal. Paypal allows invoice senders to use any logo or image they attach, as well as link to any website they wish. As you might imagine, this has potential for abuse, just as your physical mailbox can receive a fraudulent bill. Thus, no invoice should ever be trusted on this platform unless it is from a party you are expecting a bill from for the amount you expect the bill to be.
-A Paypal coding bug causes the cancel button to not work on the web. The invoice senders did not disable it. To cancel any unwanted invoice: At the end of the URL after you click the button to cancel the invoice manually type ?action=cancel and enter. Using the website, you should then be able to cancel this fraudulent invoice.

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Kro79
Member
Member
Also to cancel the invoice, just go on a desktop browser and the option to cancel will appear there. For some reason it won’t show on the phone app.
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quietgirl
Contributor
Contributor

Please be sure for forward the notification you received and the fraudulent invoice to spoof@paypal.com for investigation

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VsUrumov
Contributor
Contributor
Hello, In the past few days I have received two pending transactions for donations for world health organisation. Does anyone know what is that about? Have you ever received this kind of invoice? How can I stop the transactions is it enough just to leave them pending? Kind regards
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