Beware: PayPal Email Fraud
I recently received an email that came under the guise of PayPal. It was asking me to activate my PayPal account and looked VERY convincing, however, there are some clues that you could benefit from should you get something like this one.
The first tip was that it had a completely different recipient’s name. This could have been easily overlooked because one might have thought it was a simple mistake.
The second tip was that it was sent to an email address that I don’t use. So how did I get it? As webmaster, I receive copies of emails that have been forwarded from a site I’m responsible for. It may be unlikely that you would have the same sort of red flag to catch, but anytime you get something that looks important — and coming from PayPal — your radar should be kicked up a notch.
Third tip: it was asking me to activate my account. I’ve already activated my account!
The content was very convincing in that it included tips on how to protect yourself from fraud and reaffirmed that PayPal would never ask you for your password. It even used links to PayPal’s site!
Like I said: very convincing.
Another thing that I usually look for are the real links that are used. Just because a link may look like www.paypal.com/us doesn’t mean that code that makes it a link goes to the same place. So how do you know? You simply roll your cursor over the link and look in the lower left corner of your browser. That’s where it will show the true destination. When I did this it didn’t match the site that you read on screen. If you do this, be sure not to click on the link, so you may just want to adjust your grip on the mouse to ensure your finger doesn’t accidentally click the button.
Do yourself a favor and scrutinize your emails especially when they come from financial entities.
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Comments
photos of my email and how it linked me to PayPal check here. What do you think? Fraud or legitimate business? If banks break with this tried and true practice, what can only be described as chaos will certainly ensue. *Family WebWatch Blog -PayPal email fraud *Royal Bank – The Powell River Peak – Royal Bank warns of bogus emails “The bank has been working to educate clients, both online and through other means, that it would never communicate with them in this manner, Rodeck added.
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