How do I really know if an e-mail is from paypal? - WickedFire - Affiliate Marketing Forum

Jan · 11-23-2006, 04:05 PM

I just started with PayPal and got a wierd e-mail right before leaving today. It looked like a "real" paypal e-mail. When I checked the "source" the link in the mail was to what looked like a phone #. I went to paypal (I did NOT use the link in the e-mail) and clicked on my account-no problems, alerts, or questions!

Is there a way to know the difference between real and fake spam paypal e-mail?

Here's the e-mail without the link that was this (except with numbers) www(dot)###-###-####(dot)com

Quote:

Unauthorized access to your PayPal account!

We recently noticed more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign IP address.
If you accessed your account while traveling, the unusual log in attempts may have been initiated by you. However, if you are the rightfull holder of the account, please visit Paypal as soon as possible to verify your identity:

Click here to verify your account

You can also verify your account by logging into your PayPal account at (paypal site address?). If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choise but to temporaly suspend your account.
We ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated and we strongly recommend to verify your account in that time.

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose the Help link located in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

To receive email notifications in plain text instead of HTML, update your preferences here.

PayPal Email ID PP468

OK, I really need to get to work

arz · 11-23-2006, 04:11 PM

One simple way is to google a portion of the text.

For example, We recently noticed more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign IP address - Google Search will show you that this one is a scam.

Arc_Con · 11-23-2006, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arz

One simple way is to google a portion of the text.

For example, We recently noticed more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign IP address - Google Search will show you that this one is a scam.

Right. The easiet way I know as well.

gillian · 11-23-2006, 04:26 PM

THIS IS NOT PAYPAL!!!! I had the same email -I copied and pasted it into PayPal's link about strange emails and they confirmed it was fake. I constantly monitor my PP account so I know what's going on and I knew this ws fraudulent. Do not reply, do not send them your info!! On PP they give you hints for what to look at in the address and the email itself to verify the legitimacy of the content. But this is a fraud!!!!

J.P · 11-23-2006, 04:46 PM

If the e-mail is addressed to "Dear paypal user" or something else i.e not your actual name it's always going to be spam. Probably the easiest way to check.

illusion · 11-23-2006, 04:56 PM

Plus they never ask you to click on links. They will ask you to go to paypal and login. Not click this link to login.

Jathan · 11-23-2006, 05:00 PM

Since they spelled 'choice' as 'choise' , 'temporarily' as 'temporaly'.....

I think it is safe to assume that is not Paypal

waz67 · 11-23-2006, 05:07 PM

And if you're using outlook, you can usually hover your mouse over the link and see that the real link that shows in the tooltip popup is not actually paypal.com - usually it's something like paypal-securityx.com or something.

mason · 11-23-2006, 05:29 PM

paypal will almost never email you.

TheCableMonkey · 11-23-2006, 08:19 PM

Actually, you FORWARD the email to paypal. Do not include the main juicy ip info. They'll reply back and say yes it was a scam. Please send all the juicy details.

dastuff · 11-23-2006, 09:05 PM

Well my philosophy is paypal will never send me anything important, so i never read any mail they send

May get me in trouble down the way but, keeps me out of the tricks. Also most scams send you to some address like paypal.1kkl2jh.net or some crap.

Scheme · 11-23-2006, 09:14 PM

When it is like support@paypal.com ?

waz67 · 11-23-2006, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scheme

When it is like support@paypal.com ?

What, you mean the "from" address? Anyone can type anything they like as the from address on an email, it doesn't mean it actually came from that person or company.

CreationNation · 11-24-2006, 12:17 AM

Simple to do, and many people int he thread have hit on the key things.

1) If they address you as Dear Paypal user, trash it.
2) A real Paypal email will address you by name and by email address.
3) Hover over the link and look at where it is coming from, look carefully. It will contain something like blah.23423.paypal.support.com.blahjunk.scammerurl. com/junkcrap - if it is a scam.
4) If you get one and want to make sure anyhow, do like you did and log into Paypal and you will get a notice there is there are any issues.

LazySEO · 11-24-2006, 03:36 AM

Yeah, I got a similar one today that scared the crap out of me. The subject line had something about "limited access account" right after a legitimate email from them about a chargeback.

Whoever tried this one was stupid, though - the return address was sercice@paypal.com instead of service@paypal.com...oops!

Jan · 11-24-2006, 02:04 PM

Great help everyone, thank you!

There "dear paypal user" is sure a helpful quicky!

Juicify · 11-24-2006, 04:42 PM

The first line "Unauthorized access to your PayPal account!" tells me it's fake!
They want you to log in immediately at their fake site.

And what was about this part? (paypal site address?) It's easy to see if a url is fake.

11-23-2006, 04:26 PM	#4 (permalink)
gillian Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 157	THIS IS NOT PAYPAL!!!! I had the same email -I copied and pasted it into PayPal's link about strange emails and they confirmed it was fake. I constantly monitor my PP account so I know what's going on and I knew this ws fraudulent. Do not reply, do not send them your info!! On PP they give you hints for what to look at in the address and the email itself to verify the legitimacy of the content. But this is a fraud!!!! __________________ Maximize your CPA income with www.maxbounty.com Exclusive CPA offers and over 200 campaigns Ready to give us a try? PM me!

11-23-2006, 05:07 PM	#8 (permalink)
waz67 Not Dead Yet Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 508	And if you're using outlook, you can usually hover your mouse over the link and see that the real link that shows in the tooltip popup is not actually paypal.com - usually it's something like paypal-securityx.com or something. __________________ http://www.greatdealsclub.com

11-23-2006, 09:05 PM	#11 (permalink)
dastuff Lovely bunch of coconuts Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: In your head. Posts: 957	Well my philosophy is paypal will never send me anything important, so i never read any mail they send May get me in trouble down the way but, keeps me out of the tricks. Also most scams send you to some address like paypal.1kkl2jh.net or some crap. __________________ Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. - Sir Winston Churchill

11-23-2006, 09:14 PM	#12 (permalink)
Scheme Obey. Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts: 301	When it is like support@paypal.com ? __________________ My Blog - Smoking Weed to my first X,XXX,XXX online

11-24-2006, 12:17 AM	#14 (permalink)
CreationNation Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Manassas, VA USA Posts: 306	Simple to do, and many people int he thread have hit on the key things. 1) If they address you as Dear Paypal user, trash it. 2) A real Paypal email will address you by name and by email address. 3) Hover over the link and look at where it is coming from, look carefully. It will contain something like blah.23423.paypal.support.com.blahjunk.scammerurl. com/junkcrap - if it is a scam. 4) If you get one and want to make sure anyhow, do like you did and log into Paypal and you will get a notice there is there are any issues. __________________ Deron www.creationnation.com www.ultimatemetal.com www.metalages.com

11-23-2006, 04:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
arz Barmed Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 506	One simple way is to google a portion of the text. For example, We recently noticed more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign IP address - Google Search will show you that this one is a scam.

11-23-2006, 04:46 PM	#5 (permalink)
J.P Land Lord Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Lanzarote Posts: 90	If the e-mail is addressed to "Dear paypal user" or something else i.e not your actual name it's always going to be spam. Probably the easiest way to check.

11-23-2006, 04:56 PM	#6 (permalink)
illusion Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,497	Plus they never ask you to click on links. They will ask you to go to paypal and login. Not click this link to login.

11-23-2006, 05:00 PM	#7 (permalink)
Jathan Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 136	Since they spelled 'choice' as 'choise' , 'temporarily' as 'temporaly'..... I think it is safe to assume that is not Paypal

11-23-2006, 05:29 PM	#9 (permalink)
mason Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 810	paypal will almost never email you.

11-23-2006, 08:19 PM	#10 (permalink)
TheCableMonkey Retardation Extreme! Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 228	Actually, you FORWARD the email to paypal. Do not include the main juicy ip info. They'll reply back and say yes it was a scam. Please send all the juicy details.

11-24-2006, 03:36 AM	#15 (permalink)
LazySEO Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 6	Yeah, I got a similar one today that scared the crap out of me. The subject line had something about "limited access account" right after a legitimate email from them about a chargeback. Whoever tried this one was stupid, though - the return address was sercice@paypal.com instead of service@paypal.com...oops! __________________ Automatic directory submission to over 350 SEO-friendly directories for only $19.95/month.

11-24-2006, 02:04 PM	#16 (permalink)
Jan Resident GILF Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Arizona, USA Posts: 1,062	Great help everyone, thank you! There "dear paypal user" is sure a helpful quicky! __________________ Let today turn out better than planned! Jan's Writing Services Jan's Ideas

11-24-2006, 04:42 PM	#17 (permalink)
Juicify Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Europe Posts: 906	The first line "Unauthorized access to your PayPal account!" tells me it's fake! They want you to log in immediately at their fake site. And what was about this part? (paypal site address?) It's easy to see if a url is fake. __________________