Received invoice from one seller which I didn't make any purchase. Is it a scam?

[MichaelCHK]

Hi all. I received a notification from PayPal that someone sent me an invoice to make a payment of USD 500 for purchasing a anti virus software which I didn't make. Could I just leave it like that with out paying or how do I cancel or report this?

[Glimball]

@kernowlass  Many thanks for that. I am very cautious with any such communication and didn't call the number. I did cancel. What I wasn't sure about was if such notes were added by the scammer or by PayPal - now I know!  This kind of scam is a bit of a double bluff and I am sure that many people will call that number. Hope fully they realise their error when they are asked for information that they shouldn't.

[famish1964]

I got a request for $699.99 from Alex Scott, who I have never heard of.  Paypal did notify me that it was suspicious but the notification said if I did not respond right away they would pay the request.  What the hell is that?!?!?!?   If I missed the email I would have been charged?!?!?  That is crap.  I canceled the transaction on my account.  I tried calling customer service but the guy barely spoke English so I gave up as I could not understand him.  Really not happy with Paypal right now.  So random people can just request money and I don't have to approve it for that to happen?  How is this possible? 

[kernowlass]

@famish1964 

Read my post 2 above, the scammers send fake paypal emails saying it will be paid if you don't cancel within say 24 hours OR phone a number to cancel........all fake, its not paid unless YOU pay it.

[D700]

Hey PAYPAL, 

You're going to start losing massive amounts of customers if you don't get a handle on fraudulent payment requests. Con artists are phishing by loading the note field with comments like this: 

"You made a Payment of $549. 77 to TREND MICRO® LLC. You should dispute this unauthorized payment within 24 hours if you were not involved in it or if you wish to remove it. Please call Customer Service at[Removed. Phone #s not permitted]to request assistance."

When that comes through in email, casual users may just call the number to attempt resolution.

So 2 vectors:

-People accidentally clicking pay on the fraudulent request

-People calling the bogus 800 number and likely getting into worse circumstances.

This is complete crap and I've had 5-6 of these. I expect to see spam in my email but not in my banking transactions. If this isn't resolved, I will close PayPal account and stick with my own credit cards which afford me better protection via use of virtual card numbers and such.

Do better.

[Bets777]

Interesting that it us the exact same amount, $547.99.  In the last few months, I have had so many issues with my PP account, I have just about had it.  I changed my password yesterday, and now have to review my card and address for the second time in less than a month.  Nothing has changed.  I recently had a hold put on the account for which I was not given a reason or resolution date and could not transfer money.  I could withdrawal it or spend it, just not transfer it.  How it that even remotely logical?  For years, I’ve had no problems with them.  I’ve since moved all funds out of the account and will most likely close it.  I don’t have the time or the patience to deal with something that is so small in the bigger scheme of things.  PP was just kinda my extra money account that was easy to use to transfer money to my kid or keep track of extra money.  But Zelle and/or Venmo has since made PP about obsolete for me.

[Bets777]

Yesterday I received an actual PayPal notification on my phone stating there was a request for me to send money. I went to my PP app and found the request. No clue who the guy is. The notification included a phone number[Removed. Phone #s not permitted] to confirm or deny the transaction. So I called that number. I was a bit distracted when I made the call. Seemed like a simple thing to resolve. It’s when he started telling me I had to download “TeamViewer” to my PC so he can review the cancellation form with my ears perked up. With the amount of background noise on his end, not only did he sound as if he was on the street in downtown Delhi, I realized this guy just answered the phone without any type of customer service recording. Being nosey, I kept asking him to explain why I had to do certain things and how do I know he’s legit. He really tried, I’ll give him that. I already knew he was a scam. His manager tried too. I could go on, but the point is that if this was my mom or millions of other people, they would go ahead and do all this. After a quick search, this seems to be a new twist to an old trick. Tried to actually tell PayPal, but they seemed disinterested. At a minimum, this should be listed somewhere so people don’t get robbed! Being an actual notification on my iPhone and grouped with PP notifications gives it a bit of credibility. I’m a bit embarrassed I fell for it as far as I did! In the end, I went on the app, chose the transaction and declined. But PP isn’t stepping up to protect their clients.

[kernowlass]

@Bets777 

Scam money request or invoice that show in your Paypal account..

Scammers harvest email addresses and send out money requests or invoices hoping that some of those email addresses are linked to an open Paypal account.

The unsuspecting recipient is given a fake Paypal phone number in the 'notes' section added by the scammer.
If you did call that number (DO NOT) to query the transaction the scammer tells you that they need to access your computer / Paypal account to cancel that transaction for you.
They will then hack your computer or Paypal account.

Paypal never put phone numbers on emails or in money requests/invoices, they tell you to contact them via help/contact bottom of their website pages.

If there is a cancel option then cancel it, if not ignore it and it should time out at 30 days.
As long as you don't click to pay it then no money would be transferred.

[Kayteeconner]

The same thing happened to me from an individual claiming to be Kelwynn [removed]. “ We noticed unauthorized transaction from your PayPal account If This Transaction Is Not Made By You Then Kindly Call Us[Removed. Phone #s not permitted]For Cancellation Of This Order Otherwise, your $499. 00 USD Will be Charged Today. We've detected that your PayPal account has been accessed fraudulently. If you did not make this transaction, please call us at toll-free number [Removed. Phone #s not permitted]to cancel and claim a refund. If this is not the case, you will be charged $499. 00 USD today. Within the automated deduction of the amount, this transaction will reflect on PayPal activity after 24 hours. Our Service hours:(06:00 am. to 06:00 pm. pacific Time, Monday through Saturday)” PayPal should do something.

[Bets777]

While I did see and email after the fact, my response was based on a notification on my phone and not an email.  That gave it more credibility in my view.

[D700]

Respectfully, its crap that anyone would have to "Reject" a spam request for a large financial transaction. It debases the very meaning of a financial transaction. What if I click the wrong button by mistake from my phone, in a hurry? What if they land on something plausible enough that I think it's legit? What if they find out what accounts I do pay regularly and mimic that?

Paypal is propagating their own phishing attacks through the notes field and the resulting automated emails, app alerts and what not that their system generates. It's part hack/part social engineering.

**bleep** that, I'm done.