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EDITORIAL: "PayPal email scam. Beware!"
I received a troubling email from PayPal this morning and feel
compelled to warn you about its contents.
Actually, it wasn't from Paypal, but it sure looked
like it was.
Turns out there are some undesirables out there posing
as PayPal and asking for just about every piece of
personal information you can imagine. Here is a small
sample of the information requested on the form:
Social Security Number
Driver's License Number
Date of Birth
Mother's Maiden Name
Credit Card Number
ATM PIN Number
Bank Account Number
The tricky part is that the email itself looks
fairly harmless with just one benign paragraph stating
that PayPal is performing regular maintenance on their
security measures. So I complied with the instructions
and clicked.
Once inside, the pages mimic PayPal's design perfectly.
I got skeptical as soon as I saw the information that
was being requested. I then looked at the URL in my
browser and noticed there was no paypal.com in the
address, only an IP address.
At this point, I brought up PayPal's website and
called customer support to report the email and see
what was up.
I got a less-than-helpful Cynthia as my support
representative. I asked her about the email. In her
best monotone voice, Cynthia stated "That email is
not from us, but we are aware of it. Our security team
is investigating it".
I asked if PayPal was going to notify their customers
so they don't fall prey to the fraud?
Cynthia stated there was something on the website
that informed PayPal members about this issue.
I asked Cynthia to email that to me since I had
already been looking on the website and couldn't find
any news about the email scam.
She emailed me alink which had the following small
paragraph (buried two levels down in the navigation)
referencing this issue.
"If you receive an email and are unsure whether it
is from PayPal, come directly to the PayPal site
at www.paypal.com. Don't click on any link in an
email which seems suspicious to you. These security
measures will help ensure that you are logging into
PayPal. The only site you should ever type your
username and password into is at www.paypal.com."
I was thinking to myself, that's it?! Someone is
doing an excellent job of duping your customers and
all you have to say is basically 'We warned you'.
I probed and prodded for more information but Cynthia
was unconcerned and silently waited for me to give
up and hang up. So I did.
If I were PayPal, I would be all over this scam with
a news blast on the home page of PayPal and a personal
email warning from the president of the company to
each PayPal member. I would also show samples of the
bogus email and website.
Since PayPal isn't doing that, I will. I've put
together a basic page which shows screengrabs of the
email and website pages in question. Pass the page
on to friends and associates so they will be
prepared if they too receive the bogus email.
If you are a PayPal member, email support and ask
them why they haven't addressed the issue publicly.
Better still, call them. Here is the number.
PayPal Customer Support - 402-935-2050
Written by
Ralph Hilliard
Stinkage Factor Editor
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