Examples of Suspected Fraud/Fake Emails

[PayPal_Adrian]

Hello everyone!

One of the greatest strengths consumers possess against fraud and phishing is education and collaboration.  To help support your safety online, I'm going to open this special thread up for you.  Here, you can post examples of what you believe to be attempts by individuals to defraud you or others of their hard earned valuables and money. 

Before we begin, a few housekeeping points:

• We will be using this as a "master thread," so if we find an example in other areas of the boards, we may merge the post into this one.

• For everyone's safety, please remove any last names or contact information (including email addresses) from your examples.  In many instances, the names provided by fraudsters are fake or may actually be the name of someone they already defrauded. 

• On that same note, please don't ever attempt to confront a fraudster or attempt to track them down.  Instead, turn the information you do have over to your local authorities. 

• Please also remove any links from your posts, as these could potentially go to spoofed or phishing websites.

Other than that, we only ask that you keep it productive and stay within the Forum Decorum and posting guidelines.  I'll be stopping in on a regular basis to clean house and comment on posts, so don't be surprised if you see my mug - or another moderator - stopping in to say hello! 

With that said, I'm going to start moving posts in, so you might see some older examples mixed in with the new posts.  I hope this thread becomes a great resource for everyone!

Stay safe,

Adrian

[minty1]

Hi Bphone

Paypal always address you by your full name, never ask you to click on any links or ask for sensitive info

You can forward them to spoof@paypal.com and delete them or just delete them

Always log in to the official site to check your account

[Thisguy32]

I recieved an email saying somebody was try to access my account and needed me to click the link below to verify my account is the paypal or a scam

[Scarecrow74]

I have been getting this e-mail and was wondering is it's real or fake

Notification of Limited Account Access

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system. We recently noticed one or more attempts to log into your PayPal account from foreign IP address and we have reasons to believe that your account was hijacked by a third party without your authorization.

For your protection, we have limited access to your account until additional security measures can be completed.

To get back into your PayPal account, you'll need to follow the instructions.

It's easy:

1. Click the link below to open a secure browser window.
2. Confirm that you're the owner of the account, and then follow the instructions.

We regret any inconvenience, and we would like to restore your access as soon as possible.

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page."

Copyright © 2013 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved.

PayPal Email ID PP283

[mumzee]

I have been receiving these emails too and have ignored them.....  I have sent PayPal emails asking if this is real or what is going on as there is and has been no activity on my accounts.... Today another email arrived and shortly after my server send a notice of undelivered mail return to sender from the paypal address... I did not try to send, did not open and have been largely ignoring these emails as fake/spam but now think it maybe some sort of computer spam or virus?????

Today's email said

Information Regarding Your account: Dear paypal Member:

Attention! Your paypal account has been limited!

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the paypal system.We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.We requested information from you for the following reason:

Our system detected unusual charges to a credit card linked to your paypal account.

Reference Number: PP-

This is the Last reminder to log in to paypal as soon as possible. Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access.

Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety.

 


We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologise for any inconvenience..

Sincerely,
paypal Account Review Department

---

  Copyright ? 1999-2013 paypal. All rights reserved. paypal Ltd. paypal FSA Register Number: 226056.

[Luvs2shop]

I just recieved an email i think it is fraudulant Does paypal usually send attachments?? I checked my account and seems fine. Should I do something? Dear PayPal user, As part of our security reasons, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account. We requested information from you for the following reason: We recently received a report of unauthorized credit card use associated with this account. As a precaution, we have limited access to your PayPal account in order to protect against future unauthorized transactions. Case ID Number: PP-???-472-??? This is a reminder to restore your account as soon as possible. Please download the form attached to this email and open it in a web browser. Once opened, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety. In accordance with PayPal’s User Agreement, your account access will remain limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if access to your account remains limited for an extended period of time, it may result in further limitations or eventual account closure. We encourage you to restore your PayPal account as soon as possible to help avoid this. We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologize for any inconvenience. Sincerely, PayPal Account Review Department ---------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999-2013 PayPal. All rights reserved.

[Luvs2shop]

I just recieved an email i think it is fraudulant Does paypal usually send attachments?? I checked my account and seems fine. Should I do something? Dear PayPal user, As part of our security reasons, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account. We requested information from you for the following reason: We recently received a report of unauthorized credit card use associated with this account. As a precaution, we have limited access to your PayPal account in order to protect against future unauthorized transactions. Case ID Number: PP-???-472-??? This is a reminder to restore your account as soon as possible. Please download the form attached to this email and open it in a web browser. Once opened, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety. In accordance with PayPal’s User Agreement, your account access will remain limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if access to your account remains limited for an extended period of time, it may result in further limitations or eventual account closure. We encourage you to restore your PayPal account as soon as possible to help avoid this. We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologize for any inconvenience. Sincerely, PayPal Account Review Department ---------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999-2013 PayPal. All rights reserved.

[olivierica]

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/what-is-phishing#what_is_phishing

no attachment from paypal ever!

[Trojin501]

the file to be downloaded was a virus

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are writing you this email in regards to your PayPal account. In accordance with our "Terms and Conditions", article 3.2., we would like to kindly ask you to confirm your identity by completing the attached form.
Please print this form and fill in the requested information. Once you have filled out all the information on the form please send it to verification a along with a personal identification document (identity card, driving license or international passport) and a proof of address submitted with our system ( bank account statement or utility bill )

Your case ID for this reason is PP-H

For your protection, we might limit your account access. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Thanks,

PayPal

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic mail transmission and any attached files contain information intended for the exclusive use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and may contain information belonging to the sender (PayPal , Inc.) that is proprietary, privileged, confidential and/or protected from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any viewing, copying, disclosure or distributions of this electronic message are violations of federal law. Please notify the sender of any unintended recipients and delete the original message without making any copies.  Thank You

PayPal Email ID PP 0

[Trojin501]

no they don't ,  do not reply

[rpeacock]

I have had three of these purportedly Paypal emails. Exactly the same wording. With an ending about how ,if I did not follow instructions, my Paypal account could be closed!  i HAVE ALWAYS ASSUMED PHISHING.