"PayPal Account Suspension" Phishing Scams Being Sent by Scammers
PayPal users, be aware of phishing email messages like the one below which claim that your accounts have been suspended. The fake and fraudulent email messages were sent by cybercriminals to trick PayPal users into visiting a phishing website that will steal their usernames and passwords. This is why PayPal users should never click on a link to sign into their accounts, they should instead, go directly to www.paypal.com and sign in from there to view their account status or view important notifications if there are any.
Sample of a "PayPal Account Suspension" Phishing Scam
Subject: Alert: Action Required
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2017 15:48:42 -0700
From: PayPal - paypalsup@openmailbox.org
PayPal
Your account needs to be verified!
Dear Customer,
We noticed some strange activity in your account
We are always here to protect our customers accounts.
We believe that there are some strange activity in your account
We have temporarily suspended your account
Please continue to your account by clicking the button below to verify your identity.
Confirm your identity
Your verify your paypal
The link in the fake email message goes to a fake PayPal website which was created by cybercriminals to trick their potential victims into entering their PayPal username, password and credit card information on it. If the requested information is submitted by the potential victims, it will be sent to the cybercriminals, who will use it to steal their money and use their accounts fraudulently. The cyber-criminals/scammers behind the phishing email message will change the website's name, so look out for similar phishing email messages with links that go to different phishing websites.
If you are tricked into submitting your PayPal credentials and credit card information on the fake web page, please change your PayPal password immediately and contact your bank and let them know that you have submitted your credit card information on a phishing website.
Remember, never click on a link to sign into your PayPal account, always go directly to www.paypal.com and log in from there to check your account status or view important notifications.
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Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.