I'm not sure if an email I got from paypal is legit.

[ericaspinky]

I got an email supposedly from paypal saying that they have limited the access to my account. It said that I have to follow a verification process and provided me with a link (that didn't work). It also said that this was a final reminder to log in asap, or else my account would be eventually closed. I never found other mail from paypal mentioning this, and somehow this email ended up in my spam (which happens sometimes accidently).

I logged into my account via the paypal homepage and found no mention of this on my account. I was wondering if I should be worrying or if this is some kind of scam. I would appreciate any advice!

[PayPal_Adrian · Accepted solution]

ericaspinky -

Welcome to the boards!

Hmmm, that sounds like a fake email all right.  Did it address you by the name on the PayPal account?  If it doesn't, that's a sure fire way to tell it's fake.  Anytime you run across a questionable email, feel free to send it to us for review - spoof@paypal.com is where it goes.

If you get an email, saying it's us, and asking you to click on a link, always open a separate browser window and go to https://www.paypal.com and log in there.  If a purchase has been made or there is an issue with your account, you'll be notified on log in.  No need to worry about clicking a link - which we seldom ask our members to do, and not without letting you know in advance. 

Also, you may want to run a virus scan just in case.  Clicking on a link in a fake email can sometimes download malicious software onto your computer, so it wouldn't hurt to be safe.

Take care,

Adrian

[ericaspinky]

Thank you so much for the helpful advice. I had no issues whatsoever when I logged into my account, so I guess it was fake. I will send it over to the place you suggested; perhaps someone can shut down whoever's sending the mail. I will also change my password and do a scan like you suggested.

[LL25]

Thanks. I did not click the link. It sounded fake to me. I will forward it to spoof. To see what they think.

[motti_b]

Hi,

For a bout amonth now I have been receiving many e-mail supposedly from PayPal letting me that this is a last reminder to log in and that my account is being limited. I did not use the link in the e-mail body and instead opened my account through the regular link. I saw nothing mentioned and no strange transactions. The intersting thing is that the e-mail seems to come from Paypal.

However, and this is important, if there are e-mails like that circulation around shouldn't PayPal issue a wornings? I have been receiving these emails for about a month now. Paypal should get public with it, right?

Motti

[peashooter]

I received the same e-mail on the same day also it is a fake so I changed my passwords just in case and ran a virus scan also to be sure .

                                  Peashooter

[ericaspinky]

Thank you very much for the advice; I will do the same!

[johnkr]

I got an email today as well, but it wanted me to download a document.

It looks like it's from Paypal though, it has a Paypal email address.

Dear PayPal customer,

During our regularly scheduled account maintenance and verification procedure we have detected a slight error in your billing information.

This might be due to the following reasons:

1. A recent change in your personal information (ie. change of address, email address)

2. An inability to accurately verify your selected option of payment due to an internal error within our systems.

Please verify your information. To do this we have attached a form to this email. Please download the form and follow the instructions on your screen. NOTE: The form needs to be opened in a modern browser which has javascript enabled (ex: Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3, Safari 3, Opera 9)

We are requesting this information to verify and protect your identity. This is in order to prevent the illegal activity of PayPal accounts.

Please do not reply to this email.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Sincerely,
PayPal Security Team.

[beverleylamont]

I just received this e-mail, and I also am assuming it is a scam to access my information.

Dear beverleylamont@,

This e-mail has been sent to you by PayPal  to inform you that your account will be deactivated within the next 48 hours due to several unsuccessful login attemps on your account.

To prevent this to happen please login securely to our activation link below : 

htps://www.paypal.com/ch/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8deaa7...

If you have already confirmed your information then please disregard this message.

Regards,
PayPal 2011  

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