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The Pay Pal Scam Strikes Again


joeking27

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I've just had an email, apparently from paypal, asking me to update my bank details.

 

 

Here is the email, with my address removed:

 

Dear *********@******.****** 

During our regular update and verification of Accounts, we could not verify your current information. Either your information has been changed or incomplete, as a result your access to use our services has been limited. Please update your information.

 

To update your account information and start using our services please click on the link below: Click Here to Update your Billing Records

 

Note: Requests for information will be initiated by PayPal Business Development; this process cannot be externally requested through Customer Support.

 

Note for Hotmail users: Hotmail has applied anti-fraud plug-in. When users click on a link on webmail

it displays a Pop-Up Window with message: "You have clicked a link that leads to unsafe site" ... follows.

Please click "OK" to be able to update your billing records.

Sincerely,

PayPal Accounts Department.

 

This makes me laugh, for many reasons. The author appears to be incredibly stupid. The only details that relate to me are the email address it was sent to. The link is nothing to do with pay pal.

 

anti fraud? Why would they have a stupid thing like that?

 

So, kids, remember this, pay pal do NOT send these emails. They are a hoax that will lose you lots of money.

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Agreed. Paypal and any other financial service (eg online banking services) make a point of never sending e-mails requesting information such as card / account numbers etc. If you should ever receive on the best thing you can do is actually contact the legitimate alternative informing them of the e-mail you've received any other information you are able to offer them (e-mail address - although this will most likely be fake, and possibly other things such as IP address, though again this will be of limited use), and leave it in their hands.

 

That way even if, for some strange, exceptional reason, they had sent the e-mail they will inform you of the situation, and - much, much more likely, they will have the information with which to deal with the issue as they see fit. :)

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I've just had an email, apparently from paypal, asking me to update my bank details.

Here is the email, with my address removed:

This makes me laugh, for many reasons. The author appears to be incredibly stupid. The only details that relate to me are the email address it was sent to. The link is nothing to do with pay pal.

 

anti fraud? Why would they have a stupid thing like that?

 

So, kids, remember this, pay pal do NOT send these emails. They are a hoax that will lose you lots of money.

 

 

The funny thing about this is that when you inform or complaint to Paypal about this via their website, they do not respond to it. I got this 2 months back

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Email has been forwarded to spoof@paypal.com

 

On the paypal site mentions this kind of thing.

 

PayPal emails will address you by first name, last name, or business name and NOT by 'Dear PayPal User' or 'Dear PayPal Member.

 

On that note, the spoof email started with my email addy.

 

If you click on a link included in an email you're not sure is from PayPal, make sure the adress at the top of the browser window you're brought to reads exactly www.paypal.com/uk

 

This is probably the most important bit, the link I got went to a different domain. However all the links on the false site were to paypal. I'm not going to post the link, in order that these scammers have the least success possible.

 

I currently have two leads on this guy, an IP in the headers of his email and a web space host. I'm not sure what the IP points to but I'm looking into the host.

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Ya I always wondered why it always a nigerian? On that other thread in the off topic section about scammers, they had the guy that sold like cart parts, and had a lot of scammers like the "Do you eat sheet?" they obviousily didn't know english very well seeing they fell for the trick. There was also a link to those guys that found ways, that they could be the ones taking from the scammers. One guy, would post up his telephone conversations with the scammer, and he sounded of that area of the world. Is it where as Spedz fx said that they're poor, so there lookin for a way to make a quick buck. Just my 2 Cents!

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I am a diplomat from a third-world country, and am of an ethnic minority. Please furnish me with your most confidential details, so that I may transfer ridiculous and illegal amounts of money, and steal your cash in the process.

 

Done.

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Just a couple more examples of people trying to get money that should be donated to victims of the recent tragedy in the Pacific. Check the name of the organization:

 

Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2005 20:47:25 -0700 (GMT+7)

Subject: YOUR DONATION

From: "RED CROSS WORLDWILD" <redcrossv@ibatam.com>

To:

X-Priority: 3

Importance: Normal

Reply-To: redcross@tsamail.co.za

 

ASIAN COMMUNUNAL RED CROSS SOCIETY WORLDWIDE,

 

EUROPE SECTION,

 

Zanderij 25-27, 1185 ZM Amstelveen

 

AMSTERDAM DE NETHERLANDS.

 

DEAR FRIEND,

 

 

 

YOUR CONTRIBUTION CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

 

 

 

The horror of the largest earthquake in 40 years emerged as

the death toll soared over 55,000 and hopes faded for many

thousands still missing.

 

Sunday's quake, the fourth largest recorded since 1900 and

measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, occurred after a

rupture on the Indian Ocean seabed caused by the violent

grinding of two tectonic plates.

 

Walls of water up to 10 metres (33 feet) high were reported

around Asia, roaring ashore with unstoppable speed,

sweeping people off beaches, flattening hotels and homes,

uprooting trees and overturning cars.

 

The trail of devastation came after an earthquake erupted

off Indonesia on Sunday, triggering giant tidal waves which

battered Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Indonesia, the

Maldives, Myanmar and Malaysia.

 

Please update yourself with

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/3...uake/index.html

 

 

 

Just as we did during the terrible Gujarat earthquake of

January 26, 2001, when we collected Rs. 26 lakhs (more than

half of the total donations collected) in association with

the Indian Red Cross, we appeal again for your

contributions, to help alleviate the sufferings of the

teeming millions along India's eastern coastline.

 

Kindly make your donation for the victims via ASIAN

COMMUNAL RED CROSS SOCIETY, on behalf of the victims.

 

PLS REACH THE SECRETARY THROUGH THIS EMAIL TO OBTAIN THE

INFORMATION TO MAKE YOUR DONATION;

 

MISS TINA KHMELNITSKY

 

EMAIL: redcrossworldwideeurosec11@oleco.net

 

 

Thank you for you kindheartedness and your sympathy. May

God Bless You.

 

 

 

Thank You.

 

RED CROSS SOCIETY WORLDWIDE

 

 

-----------------------------------------

Kunjungi pusat informasi Batam.

 

http://www.ibatam.com/

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This following email I got from fake "paypal". This one almost got me.

 

"From: "PayPal" <aw-service@paypal.com> Add to Address BookAdd to Address Book

Subject: You have added a new credit card home address!

Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 19:27:28 -0800

This email confirms that you have added the following address to your

account:

 

 

1515 6th Street

Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

United States

 

To remove this address go to :

 

https://paypal.com/webscreen=?cmd_remove/va...ookie?newadress

 

Sincerely,

PayPal

 

Did you know:

 

EBAY HAS PRODUCTS FOR YOUR NEW HOME

 

* Lawn Mowers * Faucets * BBQs * Furniture

* Spas & Pools * Flowers * Lamps * Vacuums

* Major Appliances * Plants * Tools * Wallpaper

 

Go to http://home.ebay.com

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

PROTECT YOUR PASSWORD

 

NEVER give your password to anyone and ONLY log in at

https://www.paypal.com/. Protect yourself against fraudulent websites

by opening a new web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape) and

typing in the PayPal URL every time you log in to your account.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

PayPal Email ID PP006 "

 

 

My first reaction was "wtf? Somebody stole my paypal account and add their own credit card? But then I felt funny because wouldn't that mean I could use his/her credit card to buy me stuff? :P Anyways, being an honest person who I am (:P), I clicked on the link thinking about removing the address. (The action of my clicking on the link was stupid enough, and might have compromised my computer, but in this case, I don't think my computer's been compromised yet, I think the scamer is trying to steal my paypal account info instead of infecting my computer with virus.) If you are brave enough, and click on the link (disclaimer: I don't take any responsibility for your clicking on the link), you'll see this is a really well made paypal page. I couldn't tell the difference between this page and the real paypal page until I took a look at the domain name is the URL. It's "196.34.88.250". I checked the registration for the IP address, and it belongs to

OrgName: The Internet Solution

OrgID: IS

Address: The Campus, 57 Sloane Street

Address: Bryanston

City: Johannesburg

StateProv: Gauteng

PostalCode: 2021

Country: ZA

 

I'm going to report this page to the ISP server who manages this IP address, and hopefully, they'll take appropriate action.

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Here's a fake Paypal e-mail I receive, the e-mail account is new (about 1 week old), and worst, I don't have paypal. So here it is:

 

 

 

From: "PayPal" <support@paypal.com> Add to Address Book

To: **************@yahoo.com

Subject: PayPal Flagged Account

Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 06:01:40 -0600

 

 

 

 

 

Dear PayPal Member,

 

Your account has been randomly flagged in our system as a part of our routine security measures. This is a must to ensure that only you have access and use of your PayPal account and to ensure a safe PayPal experience. We require all flagged accounts to verify their information on file with us. To verify your Information at this time, please visit our secure server webform by clicking the hyperlink below

 

Click here to verify your Information

 

 

 

 

Thank you for using PayPal!

The PayPal Team

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose the "Help" link in the footer of any page.

 

To receive email notifications in plain text instead of HTML, update your preferences here.

 

 

 

PayPal Email ID PP478

 

 

Protect Your Account Info

Make sure you never provide your password to fraudulent websites.

 

To safely and securely access the PayPal website or your account, open up a new web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape) and type in the PayPal URL (http://www.paypal.com/).

 

PayPal will never ask you to enter your password in an email.

 

For more information on protecting yourself from fraud, please review our Security Tips at http://www.paypal.com/securitytips

 

 

 

 

 

How stupid do these people think they are? I'm going to fool around giving them a hard time like the mugu's I'm taking time from.

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BTW if you read PayPal's security tips page it clearly says:

 

 

Look for a PayPal Greeting: PayPal will never send an email with the greeting "Dear PayPal User" or "Dear PayPal Member." Real PayPal emails will address you by your first and last name or the business name associated with your PayPal account. If you believe you have received a fraudulent email, please forward the entire email—including the header information—to spoof@paypal.com. We investigate every spoof reported. Please note that the automatic response you get from us may not address you by name.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I got REALLY screwed over by some guy on eBay (he had really good feedback...) who basically stole some other guy's money and deposited it into my PayPal account, then asked me to send it to him. Its a good thing I didn't (due to bank transfer times) send it immediately, 'cause the other guy came and asked why I had $850 of his. I am sorting it out now, and he's getting all his money back, but due to the changing exchange rates I'm getting screwed out of about 40 pounds. Sucks? YES. 40 Pounds was all I had. Not kidding :(. So I'm trying to sort it out with Paypal to get them to use the old exchange rate...

 

Nick

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I've personally come to the conclusion that pay pat sucks. They have their wonderful protection schemes, which aren't all the effective.

 

Nick:

 

found this in the User Agreement:

 

To notify us if you believe there has been an error or unauthorised transaction, telephone PayPal Customer Service at 08707 307 191 or contact us using this report form as soon as you can. We must hear from you as soon as possible after the problem or error has appeared on your online statement.

 

If you initially provide information to us via the telephone, we may require that you send your complaint or question in writing.

 

I would give them a ring, and be very adamant that you are NOT paying £40 because of some scammer. Someone elses account got compromised, and as a result someone else is out of pocket. They have contacted pay pal, and PP are in the process of recovering funds, at no point have you broken any agreement, in essence its PP's problem, not yours.

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Hello, I am a PayPal representative and must inform you that all members of Arnies airsoft forums' PayPal accounts have fallen victim to a newely discovered PayPal bug, please send your paypal details to me VIA a PM and I will sort this bug out imidieatly.

 

Too prove I am a PayPal official, here is a PayPal logo:

 

paypal_logo.gif

 

 

 

 

 

Please, PLEASE, don't send me your details, well, you can if you want. :D;)

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