PayPal Customer Review Team Warning of Unusual Charges-Fiction! & Phishing!
Summary of eRumor:
This is an email allegedly sent from PayPal that says they have detected unusual charges on the credit card that is linked to the PayPal account. The email warns that the account has been limited and comes with a compressed file attached for the reader to open and confirm the account.
The Truth:
This is an impressive looking phishing scam with a sense of urgency that could trick the reader into replying and divulging all sorts of personal information.
Take a look at the image below then scroll down for tips to help you spot a possible phish:
How to Spot a Phish:
We found some clues in the message that helped us to determine that this was a fraudulent email.
The first one was obvious, the sender address was not from a PayPal.com email address.
The email said that there were unusual charges on the credit card linked to the PayPal account. Usually, it is the bank who issued the credit card that would send such a notice, not PayPal.
Also, PayPal does not normally send emails to a customer using BCC or undisclosed-recipients. PayPal would never send such a notice address to “Dear Valued Member.” If the online payment site sends an email notification to a client they will address the recipient by the name that the customer used to register the account.
Paypal.com has a comprehensive guide on their site on how to spot phishing. Click here for guide.
This email is a new and improved version of and older phishing scam disguised to look like it came from PayPal. Click here for old scam.
updated 06/07/12