Hi elisabeth-
First of all, send the email to spoof@paypal.com to confirm whether or not it is actually from PayPal. It's a common method of phishing emails to send a notification to someone, requesting they click on a link or download and fill out information about their PayPal accounts that is not sent to PayPal, but someone looking to get the needed information to access your PayPal account and/or steal your identity.
Do not click on any links or download any forms or attachments in this email. If your PayPal account has a legitimate issue, you can find out by opening a new browser window, typing in www.paypal.com and logging in from there. If there is an account limitation, you will see what steps are needed to lift it by going to your account's Resolution Center. Sometimes we do want to confirm the identity of the account holder based on account activity that's outside the normal transactional activity for the account holder; sometimes we place a limitation in response to a complaint from the other party in a transaction.
However, it's important to understand that just because an email says it's from PayPal doesn't mean that it actually is. To that end, we've put together a multiple part Identity Theft Protection Guide in our Security Center, covering some of the high-tech, and even low-tech ways that scammers use to try and get your personal and financial information from you. Part I starts at this link, and there are other parts as well: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/securitycenter/general/UnderstandIdTheft-out...
By the way, that information is great for anyone who browses or shops online, even if they don't have a PayPal account, so feel free to share it. Also, I understand that I mentioned above not to click links and then provided two links in this email message! If you'd like to get to the information without clicking links, just follow this path.
Go to the main page of PayPal in a new browser window. > Click on the Security Center link at the top of the page > Click on the Online Safety Essentials link in the box in the upper-left corner of the Security Center landing page > In the "Tips For Everyone" box, click on the Identity Theft Guide. (Note that this page is part 1 of a 3 part series, so check the additional links!)
Thanks,
Jason
