"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." ~ Benjamin Franklin

You Didn't Buy It! Don't Panic! (A New PayPal Phish)

>> Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I got an email today from "PayPal" that made my heart skip. It was asking me to confirm a purchase that I didn't make. It then told me that, to dispute the charge, click a button.

Now, there were two giveaways that this was fake:
1) It came to an address that is not associated with my PayPal account
2) I have never, in all my days of paying with PayPal, received an email asking me to confirm a purchase.

So I logged on to PayPal and reported the email. They have special email that you forward to. They make it very easy to report fraud. They also have a great quiz to see if you can spot phishing emails. If you're a PayPal account holder check it out. (I would link it but you have to be signed in to access it.)

In case you want to see the email, I copied it below. Just imagine it with all the pretty HTML and PayPal logos...






Dear PayPal Member,

This email confirms that you have sent an eBay payment of $48.75USD to cheryl.blake@yahoo.com for an eBay item using PayPal.



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Payment Details

Transaction ID: 8H293150XN522260H
Item Price: $48.75USD
Total: $48.75USD
Order Description: Digimax 130
Item/Product Number:
(4198025020)


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Note: If you haven't authorized this charge ,click the link below to dispute transaction and get full refund

Dispute transaction (Encrypted Link )

*SSL connection: PayPal automatically encrypts your confidential information in transit from your computer to ours using the Secure Sockets Layer protocol (SSL) with an encryption key length of 128-bits (the highest level commercially available)


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Item Information

eBay User ID: pcheryl.blake34
Name: Cheryl Blake
Address: 1225 Seeneytown Road
City: Dover, DE 19904
State: United States

Important Note: Cheryl Blake has provided an Unconfirmed Address. If you are planning on shipping items to Cheryl Blake, please check the Transaction Details page of this payment to find out whether you will be covered by the PayPal Seller Protection Policy.


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If your email program has problems with hypertext links, then you may also confirm your email address by logging into your PayPal account at www.paypal.com/us. On your My Account page you will find a "Confirm Your Email Address" link. Click on this link and enter the following confirmation number:

1241-2524-9300-3895-5752


Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team

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FOR INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS ONLY
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Commissions and Fees incurred by sender: $0.00

Rate of Exchange: The above exchange rate includes a 2.5% spread above the wholesale exchange rate at which PayPal obtains foreign currency, and the spread is retained by PayPal. If and when the Recipient chooses to withdraw these funds from the PayPal System, and if the withdrawal involves a currency conversion, the Recipient will convert the funds at the applicable currency exchange rate at the time of the withdrawal, and the Recipient may incur a withdrawal fee.

RIGHT TO REFUND
You, the customer, are entitled to a refund of the money to be transmitted as a result of this agreement if PayPal does not forward the money received from you within 10 days of the date of its receipt, or does not give instructions committing an equivalent amount of money to the person designated by you within 10 days of the date of the receipt of the funds from you unless otherwise instructed by you.

If your instructions as to when the money shall be forwarded or transmitted are not complied with, and the money has not yet been forwarded or transmitted, you have a right to a refund of your money.

If you want a refund, you must mail or deliver your written request to PayPal at P.O. Box 45950, Omaha, NE 68145-0950. If you do not receive your refund, you may be entitled to your money back plus a penalty of up to $1,000.00 USD and attorney's fees pursuant to Section 1810.5 of the California Financial Code.

Important Note: The Right to Refund claim process applies only to payments that have not been successfully transmitted to the recipient. With PayPal, almost all payments are transmitted to the recipient immediately, except for eCheck payments, and payments to non-PayPal members.

Please do not file a Right to Refund claim if your payment has already been completed. If you have problems with a completed payment or need assistance with settling a dispute with a seller, go to PayPal's Resolution Center by logging into your account and clicking the Resolution Center sub tab located at the top center of the Account Overview page.

You can also click the Help link at the top right of any PayPal page to look up more information about the Resolution Center and filing complaints.

MA residents only: PayPal holds a Foreign Transmittal Agency license in the State of Massachusetts - License Number FT3345.
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Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.


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PayPal Email ID PP120

7 comments:

Just a gluten free girl living in a Disney world 4:37 PM  

very scary! why can't people just get a job instead of stealing from others?

Melody 5:48 PM  

I am amazed at all the weird emails I get.

But if it involves money I usually never believe it.

The Fritz Facts 8:57 PM  

I too never confirm money related e-mails. All my accounts have never sent something out like this, so I have the idea to be leary of it.

Goody eye Jody!

Anonymous 9:56 PM  

I got one like that about a year ago. I forwarded it to the Paypal fraud people, too!

Anonymous 10:37 PM  

Another good hint that it didn't come from PayPal is that it was addressed to "Dear PayPal user" instead of your name. PayPal will ALWAYS address you by name in their official emails.

JD 3:06 PM  

Might I suggest you remove your personal information from that letter posted in your blog?

1. Bots will pick up your addy and increase the amount of spam you receive.

2. You are leaving your self susceptible to identify teft.

Just trying to be helpful. Have a nice day!

Jody 3:25 PM  

JD- thanks for the comment, but none of that information is mine. It's all fake. And a scam. But thanks for looking out for me!

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