Paypal

Bob Dobson · 10-07-2011, 06:49

A few days ago I received an email which purported to come from Paypal saying that there had been an unau8thorised transaction involving my account, so they had stiopped it. I was invited to open an attachment which asked for details of my account and of things like my National Insurance number. Being suspicious, I logged onto my account and saw that there had been no transactions for weeks. I emailed Paypal and received a very comprehensive automated reply about 'pshishing' which is the practice of people trying to get your bank details. I was invited to send the suspedct email to [email protected] and to look at www.paypal.co.uk -'Safety Advice'

Spare a couple of minutes to read this advice.

Paypal , along with most banks, do NOT send emails to customers asking for information.

Margaret Pilkington · 10-07-2011, 08:10

I have had this e-mail a few times....and it is consigned to the trash can.
I knew it wasn't kosher as when I joined Paypal, I read that if they do send you an e-mail they address you by your registered name....rather than Dear Paypal Customer.
It is always good to get the warnings though.

Bob Dobson · 10-07-2011, 08:57

Yesterday's was addressed to Dear Landy Publishing, so they had got my address from elsewhere to make it look genuine.

jaysay · 10-07-2011, 08:58

I never click on anything that says your account has been stopped and to click the link to reactivate

Margaret Pilkington · 10-07-2011, 08:59

Oh....... Mine have all said Dear Paypal Customer.
You really have to be alert to all of these scams.
The criminals are so damned devious.

Margaret Pilkington · 10-07-2011, 09:03

Most of these things come from financial establishments(banks/building societies) where I have no account...these are fairly easy to deal with I just denote them as Spam and my spamfilter deals with them......I can't really do that with Paypal.....I would never get to know when the terms and conditions had changed....yes I do look at these!

yerself · 10-07-2011, 10:32

I forward any of this type of e-mail to this address:[email protected]. I've posted it before but in case anyone's not seen it here's their website with some helpful advice on scams and how to spot them. Bank Safe Online

Margaret Pilkington · 10-07-2011, 10:36

That is good information.

rishtongirl · 11-07-2011, 18:33

It's important to be aware that if you open one of these emails, it sends a report to the sender saying that your email address is live and it is a real address. Spammers don't necessarily know your email address, but send batches of emails en masse. For example, they will send it to johnsmith, then johnsmith1, johnsmith2, etc and any combinations they can come up with. Their computers auto-generate these emails and slightly change the names to cover as many possibilities as they can.

So as soon as you open your email, they receive a message saying that your email address is genuine, and all of a sudden you are inundated with "special offers", information saying your bank account has been compromised (even if you don't have an account at that bank, as well as the usual stuff saying "I need to get money out of my country" or "someone has died and their money was unclaimed by relatives" as well as variations on this theme.

If the email looks dodgy, particularly if you do not recognise the sender, or it purports to be from an organisation with whom you do not have an account, treat it with suspicion. I would suggest immediate deletion, as if it is genuine information, the company will find another way to contact you.

It is certainly true that banks don't send emails saying things such as "we need you to sign in on the form attached to update your details" and things like that. Would you give all your private information to a random stranger in the street? I think not. That is what you are doing when you fill in online forms of this nature.

It is not for me to tell you what to do, I can only advise you on the best course of action.