another Paypal scam

A few months ago, I wrote about a Paypal scam here (along with a screenshot of a sample e-mail). For the past months, I’ve been getting these malicious e-mails again claiming to be from Paypal. As always, these e-mails get sacked at the Spam folder. But just this morning, I was alarmed when I saw the following email from Paypal:

Of course this is a scam. I logged on to the official Paypal site using another browser to check if I really have “unusual charges to my credit card linked to Paypal.” None. Nada. Zilch.

When reading e-mails from sites that even look legit, better confirm that by manually typing the address on your browser instead of using the link(s) provided. We can never be too careful when it comes to giving sensitive info over the Internet. One minute we’re using our hard-earned money for term life insurance quote, and the next thing you know, it’s all gone. Be careful. Be safe.

Again, here are some important reminders to take note.

PayPal doesn’t address its clients as “Dear Customer”, “Dear PayPal User”, “Dear Member” or “Dear Valued Client.” They always address their members by their complete registered names.

Don’t give out any information such as your name, account number and password, credit card details, etc. that the email asks for. Once you do that, it’s goodbye to your account for these scammers act very fast, emptying accounts the minute they receive the vital information they need.

Don’t click on any link provided in the email. Hover your mouse over the link and check for its URL. If in doubt, don’t touch the email. What I did when I first received such scams was to contact PayPal and forward the email to them. I then received a prompt reply to my query together with a verification of the email and guidelines on how to avoid being scammed in the future.

If you have already entered valuable information, or clicked the link provided, you take immediate action to protect your identity and data. Report it to PayPal at once. If you only clicked on a link inside of a spoofed email, you may also want to run a security scan on your computer. eBay has a help page with valuable information regarding the steps you should take to protect yourself (http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/index.html).

Tell your friends about it and publish your experience as much as possible. This will help disseminate valued information and, more importantly, always make others aware of this ongoing threat in cyberspace. This scam has been as old as the internet itself but many are still being victimized because of complacency. The email scam syndicates will never stop as long there are “willing” victims out there.

Please be reminded that this scam does not only happen to PayPal clients. eBay, bank clients (especially those involved in online transactions) and credit card holders are also a prime target. But let us always remember that awareness is the key to fight this. Rina has learned her lesson, and I hope this post will serve as a reminder to other out there to be more careful next time.