If you use paypal the scammers are getting better

bearcave · January 25, 2005 1:15AM

Here is email I just got and sent to spoof@paypal.com. They said it was not real. Notice it has my correct email address as a lead in. I changed the link in this message so it will not work. I moused over the link in the real message and it looked real good at a glance, you had to look close to where it was really taking you. Also notice the language used, it's not very good grammer.

Dear bearcave@(my real address was here)

In response for your PayPal account security we have to report that your
password may be is compromised. Your account is marked for too many
successful logins last week (January, 17-24, 2005). It is more interesting
that the hostnames are from different countries:

United States (c-67-160-224-80.client.comcast.net)
Canada (HSE-Toronto-ppp304429.sympatico.ca)
Russia (32.122-140-213.telenet.ru)
Sweden (c213-100-93-27.swipnet.se)

Your account is limited for security reasons.

Follow the link to make sure you are on a secure PayPal page and login with currently password.
Please reauthorize your account information on or before January 31, 2005.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr98664jkl?!!!!cmd=login-run

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team

Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be
answered. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose the
"Help" link in the header of any page.

mrearlygold · January 25, 2005 1:22AM

Wow it addressed you the same as though it were a legitimate paypal inquiry?

That's scary!

Tom

K6AZ · January 25, 2005 1:33AM

The way to immediately tell that the email is bogus is that real PayPal emails will always address you by name, not your email address or "Dear PayPal User".

bearcave · January 25, 2005 2:40AM

<< <i>The way to immediately tell that the email is bogus is that real PayPal emails will always address you by name, not your email address or "Dear PayPal User". >>

Yes, I know you are right on this but the scams I have always got in the past addressed me by "Dear Paypal User" , and this one had my legitimate email address which other messages from other companies I have written to come addressed to me that way and it can fool you for a minute if you are not paying attention.

All I was trying to do was say to not let one addressed to your email address fool you as some legitimate email does come that way.

hookooekoo · January 25, 2005 3:12AM

this one had my legitimate email address

Having a legitamate email address in the body of the message doesn't mean a blasted thing. Of course they know your email address, how else do you think they sent it to you? The only "magic" here is that they have to send a unique email to each person they are trying to scam rather than the same email message with multiple To: addresses. But with speeds of computers and the internet, that still isn't a big deal.

As K6AZ pointed out, the "magic" is that real PayPal emails include your real name, not just your email address.

The other "obvious" sign that this was a scam is that large companies like PayPal don't include links to login screens. They already know it's more secure if every accesses their secure data by manually typing the real address.

tlhoy · January 25, 2005 3:19AM

Its simple.

NEVER use an eBay or a PayPal link in a email.

etexmike · January 25, 2005 3:39AM

I get one of these bogus emails every week or two.

I just forward all of them to ebay and then delete.

-----------

etexmike

relayer · January 25, 2005 3:46AM

You mean they sent it to your email address AND used your email address in the greeting.

It boggles the mind on how they knew to greet you that way. It's amazing!

JrGMan2004 · January 25, 2005 3:51AM

I recently got a PayPal spoof... but, it just didn't look right... plus, you can usually tell, when you look at the "To:" box, it should just have your e-mail, but it had several other e-mail addresses... forwarded it to spoof@paypal.com and it was confirmed...

bearcave · January 25, 2005 4:11AM

<< <i>You mean they sent it to your email address AND used your email address in the greeting.

It boggles the mind on how they knew to greet you that way. It's amazing! >>

Thanks relayer, that was the point I was trying to make. email just sent to me and the greeting to me. I get plenty of legitimate emails greeting me using my email address as a salutation. This message wasn't sent to multiple addresses.

topstuf · January 25, 2005 5:31AM

Makes one wonder how much an ebay auction for all your personal info would bring.

If you use paypal the scammers are getting better

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