** Spoof / Phishing Emails - Tips on how to identify & stay protected **

[PayPal_Siobhán]

Due to the increase in Phishing /Spoof Emails being reported to PayPal I thought I would post a few tips on this topic that might help.

You’ll know that an email is not from PayPal when:

• The email uses a generic greeting like ‘Dear user’ or ‘Hello, PayPal member.’ We'll always address you by your first and last name.
• The email requests financial and other personal information. A real email from us will never ask for your bank account number, debit or credit card number etc. Also we'll never ask for your full name, your account password, or the answers to your PayPal security questions in an email.
• The email asks you to provide the tracking number of a dispatched item, before you've received the payment into your PayPal account
• The email includes a software update to install on your computer.

Here are some security tips to help you stay protected online:

• Even if a URL contains the word 'PayPal', it may not be a PayPal webpage.
• When using PayPal, always ensure that the URL address listed at the top of the browser displays as https://www.paypal.com. The 's' in ‘https’ means the website is secure.
• Look for the 'lock' symbol that appears in the address bar. This symbol indicates that the site you are visiting is secure.

If you think you’ve received a phishing email, forward it to spoof@paypal.co.uk and then delete the fake email from your mailbox.

Hope this helps,

Siobhán 

[iuliana14]

Hi I've got the same email checked my pay pal account couldnt see no notification still making payments ... I really don't know if this email is real ... Did u sort yours out ... Kindly Juliana

[Cali504]

Received this email today but noticed that when I clicked on the link a secure bar wasn't on the address and it said paypel....

so glad I didn't enter my bank account information but I did enter my password. I hope they can't hack into my email.

our Ρaypal account has been Iimited because we've noticed significant changes in your account activity. As your payment processor, we need to understand these changes better.

This account Iimitation will affect your ability to:

• send or receive money
• withdraw money

Also, you won't be able to:

• remove any bank accounts
• remove credit cards
• close your account

What to do next

Please log in to your Ρaypal account and provide the requested information before March 31, 2015 through the Account Review. If we don't receive the information before this deadline or we notice additional significant changes in your account activity, your account access may be further Iimited.

[removed]

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. If you need further assistance, please click Contact at the bottom of any Ρaypal page.

Sincerely,

Ρaypal

[NekoDae]

This is what the email I recieved today looked like. 

[removed]

[removed]

It is very clean and well presented, and I would have fallen for it if I hadn't checked the email it came from and saw that what had looked correct when I initially saw it in the email list was actually showing up as [removed] once I got into the actual email. That is a capital I, rather than a lowercase L, and is not supposed to be there.
Going through my bookmarked page rather than the link provided showed there was nothing wrong with my account, and thankfully I knew already to send it to spoof@paypal.com.

This is mainly just to show what I recieved, cause paypai be phishin.

[iuliana14]

I keep receiving these annoying emails and keep using PayPal got no restriction whatsoever ... So definetly they are dodgy emails

[Frub]

Like others I received an "account limited" type of email as follows.

Dear (My real name),

We've noticed that you've almost reached the payment or 'sending' limit on your PayPal account. Once you've reached your sending limit, you won't be able to use your account to make purchases. There's no need to worry, to lift this limit simply verify your account. Why do I need to get verified now? When you open a PayPal account we want to get you up and running as quickly as possible, so we only ask for essential information. However, as a financial institution, we have to comply with laws and regulations, including limits on new accounts. These limits are in place as we haven't verified certain information about you. How do I verify my account and lift my sending limit? To verify your account simply follow these steps:

Go to (PayPal Australia hyperlink), log in to your account.

Add a bank account by clicking 'Profile' and then 'Add or edit bank account'. Alternatively, click 'Add your bank account' in the notifications window.

Click on 'Get verified' on the left hand side of your Account Overview page. When prompted, enter your bank details.


Confirm your bank account - PayPal will deposit two small amounts into your bank account, which will appear in three to five working days. When you see your next bank statement, make a note of these amounts, then log in to your PayPal account and tell us what these two amounts are and review our bank funding agreement. This confirms that you have control of the bank account.

Verify your account today and ensure that you get uniterrupted use of your PayPal account. If you have any further questions, we're here to help. Call us on [removed] and we will be glad to assist you.

The PayPal Australia Team

While my initial reaction was that it read like a phishing attempt, it was addressed to me, not "Dear Member" etc. What I did not do is click the link. Instead I found my way here.

The link to Paypal apparently goes to an email page. (email-edg.paypal...) All the same it next mentions clickable buttons by which I am to add bank account details.

Then it says Paypal will deposit two small amounts in the given account. I have never seen this before, at least in non-Nigerian emails!

When I read "However, as a financial institution, we have to comply with laws and regulations, including limits on new accounts," I was a bit surprised. I didn't think of PayPal as a financial institution. Nor do my banks worry how many purchases I make online via their cards - other than to take an excess transaction fee.
It does, however, quote a correct phone number.
All in all, ambiguous in my opinion. Perhaps the plethora of scams has made me paranoid. In the worst case, if my account was limited because I fail to reply to a genuine email, I can still shop using my cards.
I guess there are three questions -
- Is the email genuine or not?
- How can PayPal make us scam-era paranoids believe their emails are real?
- It it's a scam, have the scammers read up on PayPal and now found fixes to such things as the generic greeting?

[PayPal_Jessica]

Hi Frub,

Thanks for posting in the forum and for sharing your concern regarding these emails. One way to recognize a genuine email from PayPal is checking the information that is requested.  We will never ask for your personal or account information such as credit or debit card numbers, bank account details, driver's license number, email addresses, or passwords.

Please never click a link in an email that requests personal information.

Any time you receive an email about your PayPal account, the safest and easiest thing to do is to open a new browser, enter https://www.paypal.com, and log in to your account. You can also send us an email by clicking on the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of every PayPal webpage.

Hope this helps. 

Jessica

[PietroKunos]

Hi,

Today I received this email from [removed]

This is a spoof ?

[removed]

[lekica]

I also received a similar message, from service at intl.paypal.com

It really looks very professional, when I went to paypal.com and logged in there were no special instructions or limitation issuess with my account (I did NOT log through their link!).

Very professionally prepared spam and really scary...

But I noticed a few spelling mistakes and it is obviously some fraud...

It would be good to have some online article about this fraud to save PayPal users any possible trouble...

Here is the entire text of message:

Paypal Logo    
Your Account Has Been Limited

Having trouble viewing this email? View Online or Mobile
YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT HAS BEEN LIMITED
AND SIMPLE STEPS TO REMOVE IT

Notice to (my email),

We've sent email to you a little while ago, that we ask for your help to resolving an issue on your account. Your account has been limited until we hear from you. While your account is limited, some options in your account won't be available.

HOW TO REMOVE LIMITATIONS?

Here are only 3 simple steps to remove your limitations:
1    Log into your account at ΡayΡal
2    Click on "Continue"
3    Follow the instructions And Update Account Iformations

Log in to your ΡayΡal account

We aim to review your account within 72 hours. Please log in to your account to see the steps , and you'll need to complete your account. If there is no steps are currently listed, please check back in 24 hours.

If we don't receive the information before this deadline or we notice additional significant changes in your account activity, your account access may be further limited.

Yours Sincerely,

ΡayΡal

ΡayΡal Buyer Protection
Where to shop
How ΡayΡal Works
Recover Your Password or Email
Contact Us

    Copyright © 1999 - 2015 ΡayΡal Inc. All rights reserved.

Please do not reply to this email. We are unable to respond to inquiries sent to this address. For immediate answers to your questions, visit our Help Center by clicking "Help" at the top of any ΡayΡal page.

[Greenhouse95]

I just received an email too, asking to log in into my account to remove limitations.
The email is from "paypa.valid".
And when you press Log In sents you to a website that looks like Paypal.
Here's the text:

Dear X,  

Unfortunately, we can not provide our service until we hear from you.

We've checked your account and found some invalid information.

Please update your information immediately so that you can restore your account. If you ignore this message, you're not able to use our services permanently. 

We are sorry for the inconvenience, but we are working hard to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

[KuraD_Kuruta]

I went through some scary shots today. I usually got lots of scam emails and just normally ignored it. Main reason was that it mostly went straight to my spam folder anyway and the sender emails, the links, etc.., are very suspicious but when I decided to check my spam folder today, I found this. I clicked on it (they camouflaged the link as a button-ish icon) and filled in my info and address and all that but luckily when it asked for my bank account, I got myself suspicious and check the web link and it was written as <p>"‎[removed] </p>I immediately closed the site and proceeded to change my password and security questions right after that. Here is that email I got: <p> <q>Paypal logo Case ID Number: PP-003-523-157-760 <p>Dear (my email), Your account has been limited until we hear from you. We regularly check the activity of yοur ΡayΡal accοunt. Recently, we found that some of the activities yοu are viοlating yοur agreement with us. Therefore, we have limited yοur accοunt and can not offer the service for yοu. <P>What can I do?<p> Update account information Using PayPal logo in the list of auction or website <p>What can't I do? Send or receive money Withdraw money from your account Add or remove a card &amp; bank account Dispute a transaction <P>What to do next? Please click ' Remove limitation ' and log in to your PayPal account by clicking the button below to provide the requested information. If we don't receive this information or we notice additional significant changes in your account activity, your account access may be further limited. Once we receive and review your documentation, we will email you regarding the status of your account. Remove limitation Please do nοt reply to this email. This mailbox is nοt mοnitored and yοu will not receive a response. For help, log in to yοur ΡayΡal accοunt and click Help on any ΡayΡal page. To receive emails as plain text instead of HTML, change yοur Nοtificatiοns preferences. Just log in to yοur ΡayΡal accοunt, go to yοur Prοfile and click My Settings. Copyright © 1999-2015 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., Société en Commandite par Actions. Registered Office:‎[removed]. PayPal Email ID PP120 - ab07b40a857c8