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!

[ChrisCooling]

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@bargainbandido wrote:
Exactly. So where are the paypal support statements calling these genuine requests for donations? Sorry for being lazy. But it still seems to me they've allowed an imposter to penetrate their defenses. And as far as definitions of underhanded spam go, if this politicized org was officially permitted by pp to solicit, it seems far, FAR below standard to pose these requests as 'invoices' instead of simply sending a request as a message, etc.

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They the statements have been verbally told to callers, or in my case, via direct chat. No one has penetrated their defenses. You can invoice someone if you want, all you need is their email address. Per the other poster I just responded to, I am beginning to think these are not legitimately from the WHO, and Paypal reps are handing out conflicting information. 

[FatesWebb]

They're not! The easiest way to tell FOR SURE it's a scam? Go-to invoice . At the top it says about this business and if you click that it lists a webpage. Open that webpage then scroll down and RIGHT THERE IT TELLS YOU THIS IS A SCAM ON THE VERY WEBPAGE THAT THE INVOICE CLAIMS IT COMES FROM IT SAYS... And I quote: Please note: There have been some cases reported of people fraudulently presenting themselves as WHO or the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and/or sending invoices requesting payment on behalf of the Fund. WHO, the UN Foundation, or the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation will never contact you for your credit card or banking details. Please see our FAQ to learn more about the ways you can legitimately give to the Fund. You may also report scams here.

[ChrisCooling]

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@FedUp24 wrote:
From the link in the invoice to a website , I emailed them and got the following reply: Thank you for your message. Please disregard this email. It is a phishing attempt and is in no way associated with the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, WHO, or the UN Foundation have never and will never issue invoices requesting payment. If you receive any additional phishing emails, please report them here.

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It is not a phishing attempt. We all have confirmed with Paypal it is not a phishing attempt. It takes you to TO PAYPAL where the invoice sits in your account. Now, it may be a bad actor is sending these invoices, not associated with the WHO per what you report they say. Paypal Support has told me and others otherwise. They really need to make an official statement on this.

[ChrisCooling]

So I was able to invoice my brother using the WHO logo and similar language. He received it as an email exactly like these we've gotten.

Per the WHO's website:

 There have been some cases reported of people fraudulently presenting themselves as WHO or the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and/or sending invoices requesting payment on behalf of the Fund.  WHO, the UN Foundation, or the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation will never contact you for your credit card or banking details. Please see our FAQ to learn more about the ways you can legitimately give to the Fund. You may also report scams here.

So the info I and others have been given by Paypal Support is false. ANYBODY can make up one of these invoices and send them out. 

[bargainbandido]

@ChrisCooling great research! So the main takeaway for me is maybe whoever this is hasn't and/or doesn't intend to do anything more nefarious (and/or _maybe_ pp has the proper safeguards in place to prevent it) than try to dupe me into paying the invoice. But I can't remove or otherwise dispute the invoice, online or mobile app. And that, to me after 15+ years as a customer, has me questioning why I ever gave this firm my financial credentials. Of course the novelty of Ebay used to be the answer. Not sure if that will hold up!

[ChrisCooling]

@bargainbandido the person I invoiced could not cancel or dispute it either. Only I as the sender could cancel it. This seems to be an issue with their system, and not something specific to these "WHO" invoices. This appears to be nothing more than someone having an email address and using Paypal to send you an unsolicited bill. 

[FatesWebb]

Except ITS NOT THE WHO, THE WHO HAS SAID ITS NOT THEM. also if you look at the website the invoice claims it comes from it SAYS RIGHT ON THAT VERY SITE THAT ITS A SCAM!! it's NOT THE WHO. Literally if you goto the website listed as this invoice and scroll down on the home page it says... Please note: There have been some cases reported of people fraudulently presenting themselves as WHO or the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and/or sending invoices requesting payment on behalf of the Fund. WHO, the UN Foundation, or the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation will never contact you for your credit card or banking details. Please see our FAQ to learn more about the ways you can legitimately give to the Fund. You may also report scams here. https://covid19responsefund.org/en/

[FatesWebb]

PayPal is clearly in on it. Because if you select to open a case the first thing it does is ask you which transaction, and if you choose that transaction it tells you that you violates the community standards and refuses to allow you to open a case. Literally they accuse you of being in violation just for opening a support ticket on said transaction. I've had it with PayPal at this point I'm most likely just going to cancel my account.

[SJacquel]

I have 2 pending transactions on my account totaling $70 for this “Covid fund” and when u click on it it says “pay now” so maybe it’ll just go away on it’s on if I don’t pay it! I also tried to file a dispute and it said I can’t on that type of transaction.... that $70 better not come out of my account

[jb1961]

I had this invoice in  my account as well.  I was able to cancel it.  I suspect that it is not a hack of Paypal but rather an email list some scammer bought and sent out invoices to all the emails.  Some of them were bound to be Paypal account emails.