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PayPal Phishing - What It Is - How To Report It

By in ECommerce, Email

What Is PayPal Phishing?

If you ever receive a suspicious Email that purports to be from PayPal and something about it just doesn’t look right, this is likely to be a Paypal Phishing attack. These types of Emails are likely to contain bad English, claim that your Paypal Account was deactivated for suspicious activity or ask you to verify or update information on your account records.

If you’re unsure whether you’ve received a legitimate or dubious Email from Paypal, keep these things in mind. Emails sent from PayPal will always address their users  by their first and last names or their business name. Paypal never uses salutations such as  ”Dear user” or “Hello PayPal member” when addressing them via Email. Further, Paypal emails don’t link directly to pages that ask you to enter sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, and national identification or Social Security numbers, so if an you are directed to a website such as this, leave the webpage immediately and don’t disclose any information about yourself or your business.

Phishing Emails are used to try and get recipients to click on bad links or a virus infected attachment. Once a user has clicked on the destination links or files, a computer virus can be installed on the users computer that can then be used to send out more infected Emails or to report a users activity to the virus writer.

Paypal Home Page

Spoof PayPal Emails Explained:

Since Paypal is one of the largest online payment processors on the Internet today, it comes as no surprise that they are a preferred target for phishing attempts made to dupe consumers into giving up their information online. By making the Email look like it was sent from a legitimate sender, this spoofing method increases the chance that links will be clicked on or the attachment will be opened, allowing the sketchy operator that sent the mail access to your computer and computer files. Malware, trojans and viruses can pesky internet threats that can result in the need for computer repair or virus removal. A telltale sign that an Email is fake is by hovering over a link and seeing if it displays another link URL in your menu tray. If you see a website address that doesn’t match the one in your message, be sure not to click on it.

How To Report PayPal Fishing

Reporting suspected Paypal phishing attempts is very simple. If you get an Email that looks suspicious, forward the message in it’s entirety to [email protected] without clicking on any links or attachments contained in the message. After Paypal has received the forwarded Email they use it to stop others from getting the offensive mail. In many cases, you’ll get a response within a few days of your report  from an automated, unattended Email box that let’s you know whether or not the message was fraudulent.

Report PayPal Fishing Scams Immediately

It’s always better to be safe than sorry, especially with phishing. If you get an Email from Paypal that just doesn’t seem right, be sure to report it to Paypal immediately. By letting the company know there are Emails circulating on the Internet that purport to be from them, they can take steps to stop it and reduce the risk of online fraud associated with them.