Beware of scam using fake Paypal ID

[Jan Van Laethem]

I just received a message which apparently comes from Paypal but is sent by service@paypay.com (clever use of an almost identical name). The message came into my Spam folder.

It basically says that access to my Paypal account has been limited and that I need to take action to correct this. Apparently this has been around for a while, you can read all about it here:

http://www.millersmiles.co.uk/identitytheft/paypal-email-scam.php

This makes me wonder how safe Paypal really is. I mean, if these crooks know that I am using Paypal, and they have my email address, how safe can it be to use Paypal? I'm seriously thinking of closing my account.

For me, the safest way has always been to order something with a shop or company and then fax them my credit card number. I never reveal my credit card details through email or online.

What are your thoughts on this subject?

 

[sevo]

I mean, if these crooks know that I am using Paypal, and they have my email address, how safe can it be to use Paypal? I'm seriously thinking of closing my account.

What would it change? Anybody has your email address, and a quarter of all active email addresses in the Western world are associated with a Paypal account - given that any amount of spamming from a botnet is free for the spammer, they cannot fail with plain trial-and-error, and will do so again with your next account.

 

[ruby.monkey]

I just received a message which apparently comes from Paypal but is sent by service@paypay.com (clever use of an almost identical name). The message came into my Spam folder.

It basically says that access to my Paypal account has been limited and that I need to take action to correct this. Apparently this has been around for a while, you can read all about it here:

http://www.millersmiles.co.uk/identitytheft/paypal-email-scam.php

This makes me wonder how safe Paypal really is. I mean, if these crooks know that I am using Paypal, and they have my email address, how safe can it be to use Paypal? I'm seriously thinking of closing my account.

Chances are that they know nothing whatsoever about you - they're just sending the same e-mail to every address they can and waiting for a fish to bite.

In other news, the president of the National Bank of Burkina Faso isn't really your friend. 😉