PayPal users who have received emails like the one below that claim their accounts have been temporarily limited are asked not to follow the instructions in them. This is because the fake emails are phishing scams being sent by online scammers, and not by PayPal. The aim of the scammers is to steal the recipients' PayPal usernames, passwords, and credit card information, which they(scammers) will use to hijack their accounts and use them fraudulently.
The "Your Paypal Account is Temporarily Limited" Scam
From: service@paypaI.com
Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2020 6:57 AM
To: support939602@paypal.com
Subject: You just signed in using another device.
Your PayPal account is temporarily limited
Why is your account limited?
We noticed some unusual activity in your account and we want to make sure no one has logged into your account without your permission.
Date and time : {date}
IP Address : {CustomIP}
Platform : {CustomOs}
To ensure that your account remains secure, we need you to take action on your account.
We've also temporarily limited certain features in your PayPal account.
Currently, you won't be able to:
Receive money
Send money
Withdraw money
What should you do?
Log in to your PayPal account and perform the required tasks.
Log in to PayPal
What happens next?
Once youre completed, we will review and get back to you regarding the status of your account within 5 business days.
We appreciate your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
PayPal
Please do not reply to this email. We are unable to respond to inquiries sent to this address.
Copyright © 1999-2020 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131
If the instructions in the phishing scam are followed, the potential victims will be taken to a fake PayPal website and ask to sign-in with their PayPal usernames and passwords. They will then be asked to update their credit card information by entering it on the bogus PayPal page.
All the information entered on the bogus PayPal page will be sent to the online scammers behind the scam. Once they have their potential victims' PayPal credentials, they use it to hijack their accounts and use them fraudulently. This includes stealing money from their accounts, using their PayPal accounts and credit cards to make fraudulent purchases. Victims who have already entered their PayPal user names, passwords and credit card information on the fake website are asked to change their PayPal password and contact PayPal and their bank immediately for help.
Please note that PayPal will always address their users by name and will never refer to them using the following:
- Dear [Email Address]
- Dear PayPal customer
- Dear Valued Customer
- Dear Member
- Dear User
- Dear Customer
To avoid getting tricked by these phishing scams, PayPal users are asked never to click on a link in an email message to sign into their PayPal accounts. They should always go to www.paypal.com and sign into their accounts from there. After signing in, PayPal will display important messages or notifications to them.