When it comes to e-mail, I am a very wary, cynical and untrusting bastard. Anyway, I just received an e-mail which I am 99.9999% certain is a scam. The remaining 0.0001% being what is left of my trust in Humanity in general.
I'll spare you the image and just copy over the text,
Text in bold are mine.
Quote:
Account System Cleanup
IMPORTANT
Dear PayPal Member, Alarm! Alarm! I have a name, doofus...
Due to overwhelming reports of fraudulent transactions and account abuse, PayPal now requires all active members who have an account to verify that they rightfully own it.
You must click the link below and enter your email, password and reference code on the following page to verify your account.
This is NOT a SCAM or HOAX(I feel so reassured). Please check your address bar to make sure you are on the authentic PayPal website.
https://www.paypal.com/accountcleanup/
 What the heck is this?
Your reference code is : PPA-2546-5437
You will be guided through a series of steps which will require you to enter personal information, such as credit card number and/or bank details.
ALL accounts not re-verified within 5 days of receiving this email will be automatically frozen.
PayPal is doing this to protect it's valued members from fraud and scams(the irony). Paypal will not share your personal information with other companies and corporations. Privacy Policy
Thank you for your co-operation,
PayPal
Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. Due to security reasons your name and personal information cannot be mentioned in this email.
To receive email notifications in plain text instead of HTML, update your preferences here.
Protect Your Account Info
A genuine PayPal link will always begins with "http://www.paypal.com"(and I know ways on how to fake it. The URL is never a guarantee. Even the IP can be suspect, but rarely)
Remember to check your browser's Address/URL Bar to be sure you are on an authentic PayPal site.(cue alarm)
Please make sure the link you click on starts with "https://www.paypal.com"(repetition tends to make me suspicious)
Paypal will never ask for sensitive information. PayPal sites that ask for Passport information, Driver's licence details are definitely scams.(and credit card numbers, bank accounts, etc... *Gasp!* didn't you just ask for them in a previous paragraph?)
For more information on protecting yourself from fraud, please visit the Security Center.
Protect Your Password
You should never give your PayPal password to anyone, including PayPal employees.
|
So that's that.
Anyhoo, here's a link to the real Paypal website, and what they have to say on protecting yourself from e-mail scams. It's worth a read.
Click Here