PayPal Scam Scares Customers Out of Their Identity

Yet another new phishing scam is going around like a bad cold. This one tries to get users of PayPal to click on a bogus link and enter in sensitive information, including social security numbers. But don’t do it. It’s most definitely a scam.

If you need to update information on any online account, go directly to the company’s website and log into your account. Preferably, you have all the important ones bookmarked so you are sure they are the correct ones. Most companies will not ask you to click a link or an attachment in order to update account information. Instead, they send you an email asking you to make changes directly in your account. PayPal is no exception.

Don’t open any unfamiliar attachments or click links unless you are certain beyond any doubt that it’s legitimate. If you do feel your “spidey sense” kick in, place a phone call to the company to verify. When you do this, get the phone number directly from their website rather than using one that is in an email message. Criminals will put their own information in those messages and go to great lengths to convince you they are real. In fact, if the payout is potentially big enough, they will even set up bogus call centers to field calls from the phone numbers in those emails.

This scam tries to scare PayPal customers by saying they will have “limited access” to their accounts or that the accounts will be locked if the credentials are not verified. An HTML attachment is provided and if it’s clicked, it directs you to a malicious website where you are asked to enter in your personal information such as social security number, name, address, credit card details, and even your mother’s maiden name. Just beware that if you do enter them in that form, you may also be locked out of your own identity.

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