Possible scam re:paypal account...

Randy Walker · Post by **Randy Walker** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 5:52 pm

Hey all,
Just wanted to make you all aware of the below email/spam I got in regards to a paypal account, which I don't have..that I know of.
I know many of you use paypal to buy/sell things, so I wanted to make you aware...just incase! Not saying paypal has anything to do with this, but just to be safe...there was a form attached, that I did not open...if scam, it sounds like I would have had to put my card info down and send it off...I don't think so ~

Dear Customer,
It has come to our attention that a total charge of $107.33 (in fees) was initially made to your paypal account, which we regret.
The refund department has therefore been authorized to make a refund of all deduction not properly authorized.
We will need you to fill the following refund form attached with this letter to have this amount of money refunded to your debit card.
We are sorry for this inconvenience.

Sincerely,
PayPal

You are receiving this email notification because this email address is listed as the administrative contact email for your PayPal account.

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.

Rod Wynn · Post by **Rod Wynn** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 7:31 pm

Just as a head up..
When Paypal send you ANY correspondence it will ALWAYS be address to you are your FULL NAME and not "Dear Customer"

civicrr · Post by **civicrr** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:46 pm

I never click on links in an email. I always just open a new window or tab & log into site. There will be messages there if something needs to be done.

Last month, there were a bunch of bogus emails from 'my bank'. I also got some weird email from 'paypal' last month. The fake paypal ones looked very real.

sTony · Post by **sTony** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:51 pm

I received a similar email, with a link. Learned long ago not to follow the links as they will get your ID stolen quickly. They lead you to some website where they'll ask you to enter a ton of personal info to confirm with their records. Really all you're doing is giving them a ton of info and the next thing you know, whamo, identity stolen.

sTony

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:49 am

Owning a business or trying to operate a business is the worst, you are a target for every scammer out there, from the US to India. Caused us to close Jigs Bait & Tackle in 2008, freeze our credit. Lowered credit score, took almost 2 years to finally get it all stopped and cleared up. Chase Bank and WAMU are the worst for letting your information out to others. Be careful who you do business with ! Watch what you buy and try to avoid credit cards, especially from certian companies.
Phil

b2customrods · Post by **b2customrods** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 3:43 am

It's called Phishing.

I have gotten many many of these letters as well as the Nigeria scams. I used to do some investigating on these and then email the abuse department for the companies these emails represent. It got boring seeing them come from mostly Asia and not receiving any emails back from the companies that hosted the email server the email originated from.

Would you believe me if I said allot of these emails come from China?

Craigs List is another big one for phishing scams as well as Ebay.

meagain · Post by **meagain** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 5:32 am

yeah it sounds like granddad was right.
buy from someone you know,
keep it local if possible,
cash in hand,
get a reciept,

sro114 · Post by **sro114** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:11 am

These emails are actually pretty common and it blows me away that people pull that kind of crap. Definitely lowlife scumbags!

Paypal has an email adress to forward these phishing scams to. I know they follow up because I have been contacted by them after reporting one.

The new ones you have to watch for now are false ones from banks and credit card companies. I just read in the paper where a lot of people are getting their information stolen with these scams.

It would be nice if the authorities would catch some of these guys and really make an example out of them. That might slow them up a bit. I was thinking something like the firing squad!

Texas_bullet · Post by **Texas_bullet** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:30 am

This type of email also may have a link that will download a virus or trojan to your system. My antivirus program caught this last week when I stupidly clicked on the link to receive a "refund" on something from my credit card company.

TB

FROGvsBASS · Post by **FROGvsBASS** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:39 am

i think paypal wants you to forward phishing attempts to spoof@paypal.com...the above post has it right, paypal will only address with your FULL name, never "dear payal customer"