PayPal phishing scam

Be very careful, I had an email to say £42.99 had been taken from my account for a 3 month Sype subscription that was not an authorised transaction..
It wasn't from PayPal as I have a green symbol to show the real paypal emails.
I have looked back and had several but never bothered opening them and only just realised they were also not from paypal, these emails said my credit card is about to expire update details........ Thank god I am lacksidasical and never bothered updating.

I have contacted PayPal and reported this and I have also changed my password and account details too but will keep an eye out. The messages I forwarded to Paypal as spoof.

If you get any forward them to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

be careful as they may not be spoofs, i had money taken from my pay pal account a couple of years ago - 2 payments one for 99c and one for $99 (they were in USD) the standard scamming is to take a small payment to check it clears and then a larger one - but not too large as that would show up and be stopped

my bank, skype and pay pal were all brilliant and i have not used pay pal since by storing my details, on the rare occasion i've used it since it's been a one-off payment only because they wouldn't accept payment any other way

so what i'm rambling toward is - check with your bank first

xx

I am going to check now Mike as I think a couple of small payments for poxy amounts have been taken....... one for£1.12 and another for £1.00 but the £42.99 isn,t showing yet

i am always dubious if the email is not address to me in my name,if it says dear customer etc then its defiantly a scam.I delete all emails from banks,Lloyds told me they will never contact me regarding personal stuff via email and if i do receive one then i should delete it.

helen wrote:I am going to check now Mike as I think a couple of small payments for poxy amounts have been taken....... one for£1.12 and another for £1.00 but the £42.99 isn,t showing yet

helen have you spoken to your bank about this yet? worrying that these people can hack into something that is supposed to be safe

They didn't hack into it Eilis, just sent a few mails with titles like 'your credit card is about to expire please renew your details' and another one today was 'Your payment has been sent' All titled PayPal on this one it was a receipt but said if it was wrong to send them my bank or card details and it would be refunded. I have checked and the money has not been taken out of my account, the £1.12 was for something I sold on ebay (seller fees) and the other £1.00 was also relating to this so looks like it's okay but will keep an eye on it. The reason I got suspicious was because the mail didn't have PayPals normal address on it but what appears to be a private email address. I just wanted to warn everyone that it's so easy to be fooled but I didn't send them any details and only logged in via the official PayPal site so I should be okay

Reply from PayPal and tips regarding this type of thing

At PayPal we aim to provide a safer, easier way to send and receive money online. PayPal has agents that continually monitor accounts and transactions, enabling you to buy and pay safely.

We periodically contact our customers by phone to verify activity on the PayPal account. During these phone calls, we will never ask you for your full debit card, credit card, or bank account information. By speaking to our customers, we ensure you are in control of your account. This further secures our system.

The terms "spoofing" and "phishing" are industry phrases used to describe the act of collecting personal information by using fake emails, websites, or phone calls to entice victims into entering personal information such as birthdays, credit card numbers, bank accounts, and passwords. This sensitive information allows perpetrators to commit identity theft and credit card and internet fraud. Although these emails and sites appear identical to real ones they are not. Unfortunately, some people are taken in by these scams and willingly surrender a wide array of personal information.

PayPal cares about the security of your account and financial information. We offer security tips that allow us to work together to protect against fraud.

I've listed some security tips below to help you stay protected online:
· PayPal will never send you an email with the greeting "Dear PayPal User" or "Dear PayPal Member." Emails initiated by PayPal will address you by your first and last name, or the business name associated with your PayPal account.
· Never give your password to anyone, even to PayPal employees.
· When using the PayPal service, always ensure that the URL address listed at the top of the browser is [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] The "s" ensures that the website is secure. Even if the URL contains the word "PayPal", it may not be a PayPal webpage.
· Don't click on a link in an email which seems suspicious to you. Always log in directly at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
· Look for the "lock" symbol that appears in the lower right hand corner of the browser. This symbol indicates that it is a secure site.
· PayPal will only ask for information after you have securely logged in.
· For your security, PayPal will never ask you to re-enter your full bank account, credit, or debit card number without providing you at least the last two digits of the number. These digits let you know that we already know the full number and are asking you for the rest of it. Beware of any website or email asking for these numbers for "verification" that does not prove that it knows the number by providing at least the last two digits.
· Use Account Guard on the eBay toolbar. If you use Internet Explorer, download the eBay toolbar. Account Guard helps ensure you are on PayPal or eBay.
· Do not download attachments, software updates, or any application to your computer via a link you received in an email. PayPal will never send you an attachment or software update to install on your computer.

If you would like to see more information on spoof emails and additional security tips, please visit our Security Centre. There's a link to the Security Centre at the top of every PayPal webpage.

If you've replied to the email with any personal or financial details, please log in to your PayPal account and change your password and security questions as soon as you can. I recommend that you contact your bank and/or credit card company immediately if you responded to the email with any financial information. I'd also suggest that you take a look at the latest transactions in your PayPal account. Here's what you need to do to see your transactions:
1. Log into your PayPal account at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
2. Click on "All activity" in the Overview page
3. Select the dates and click "Search" to view
4. Click "Details" to view specific information concerning this transaction
If you see a payment that you don't recognise or you can't log in to your PayPal account, you should tell us as soon as possible by clicking "Security Centre" at the top of any PayPal webpage and select "Unauthorised Transaction" in the "Report a Problem" column. Please fill in the webform to file a claim for unauthorised use of a PayPal account. We'll quickly look into any suspicious transactions and you won't be held liable for unauthorised payments sent from your account


Thanks for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team

i think it always pays to be vigilant about these things

dirty little skanks always trying to take hard earned money off people, makes me cross

Had a similar mail today, if you get one of these do not click on the link at the bottom to report it to paypal or any of the other links it's a phishing scam and nothing to do with paypal or skype ....... instead forward the mail to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].


You sent a payment of 26.00 GBP to Skype link removed

Merchant
Skype
link removed

Instructions to merchant
You haven't entered any instructions.
Shipping address - Unconfirmed
United Kingdom

Postage details
The seller hasn’t provided any postage details yet.
Description
Unit price
Qty
Amount
# month subscription

26.00 GBP
#
26.00 GBP

Subtotal
26.00 GBP
Total
26.00 GBP
Payment
26.00 GBP
Payment sent to link removed


If you haven't authorized this charge, open a dispute at:

link removed/open_dispute and get a full refund.

Had one the other day from a right idiot,wanted me to confirm my details

These want you to open a dispute to reclaim the money, to reclaim it they require your details No money has been sent to anyone it's just a way of gaining access to your accounts

reply from paypal

Thanks for forwarding that suspicious-looking email. You're right - it
was a phishing attempt, and we're working on stopping the fraud. By
reporting the problem, you've made a difference!
Identity thieves try to trick you into revealing your password or other
personal information through phishing emails and fake websites. To learn
more about online safety, click "Security Center" on any PayPal webpage.
Every email counts. When you forward suspicious-looking emails to
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], you help keep yourself and others safe from identity
theft.
Your account security is very important to us, so we appreciate your
extra effort.
Thanks,
PayPal