PayPal Scams
Author: Trend Micro
This article is from Trend Micro.
On the whole, PayPal provides a great service in safely transferring money online. It is simple and secure and comes with many checks and balances to help protect users. Nonetheless, given its popularity, scammers aggressively utilize the platform’s name in their criminal activity. In this article, we’ll provide a run-down on common PayPal scams, how they work and what you can do to avoid being a victim.
Common Examples
1. PayPal Account Problems
This is perhaps the most common scam. Scammers get in touch via email to “inform you” that there is a problem with your account. In the email there will be links which you are instructed to follow in order to resolve the issue. These are phishing links, the aim being to get you to enter personal information on the criminal’s fake log-in webpage. See below example.
PayPal email scam and fake PayPal login page. Source: Twitter
Text: Your account has been limited
Dear Customers We’ve limited your account. After a recent review of your account activity, we’ve determined you are in violation of PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy. Please log in to confirm your identity and review all your recent activity
Secure your account
If you have questions about any of these activity or your account, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Thank you for being a PayPal customer
Sincerely, PayPal
1. Advance Payment Fraud
This is another common PayPal scam. In it, victims will receive the miraculous news that they are owed an amount of money: inheritance, lottery, compensation etc. The victim will be asked to make a small advance processing payment (using PayPal) and perhaps fill out a form with their personal data.
If you are unlucky and/or inexperienced enough to fall for this, the sender disappears upon payment, and any personal data you shared will end up on a database — most likely on the dark web.
2. Overpayment Refund
This one is more humanly complex than the above — and particularly crafty. In this scam, a buyer sends a seller (you) the payment for goods. However, they send more than the sale price. The buyer points to the “accident” and asks for a refund of the difference.
As soon as the seller/you do so however, the buyer/scammer immediately cancel the original transaction — thus making a profit with the difference you refunded.
3. Fake Charities and Investment Schemes
This horrible scam involves malicious requests sent out asking for donations to a fake charity. Often it will be requested via PayPal. Canceling the payment is no help if the scammer can withdraw the funds promptly —so you will need to check in advance. These schemes increase in frequency during/after a natural disaster.
Similar is the investment opportunity, seducing with promises of great risk-free profits. Again, the investment will be paid via PayPal.
Steps to Take
The following are some useful guidelines to help protect yourself:
- Always pay attention to the sender email addresses.
Source: PayPal
- If you are offered free money, there WILL be a catch.
- If there is a problem with a transaction when using PayPal, it’s better to cancel the whole thing and start afresh.
- In regard to charities, always do your research into the body. These are good links: Charity Navigator & Charity Watch.
- Keep an out for tell-tale signs: grammatical mistakes, grand claims, exclamation marks (!).
- You can also report fake emails to PayPal directly to help more people:
-
- Visit the PayPal Resolution Centre
- Click Report a Problem.
- Select the transaction ID you want to dispute and click Continue.
- Select I want to report unauthorized activity.
- Follow the instructions to report the issue.
- We would also recommend a cybersecurity product such as Trend Micro Check which is designed to combat things such as disinformation and scam emails.
So to summarize, keep your eyes peeled for these PayPal scam attempts! And if you’ve found this article a useful and/or interesting read, please do SHARE with family and friends to help keep loved ones secure and protected.
Report a Scam!
Have you fallen for a hoax, bought a fake product? Report the site and warn others!
Scam Categories
Help & Info
Popular Stories
As the influence of the internet rises, so does the prevalence of online scams. There are fraudsters making all kinds of claims to trap victims online - from fake investment opportunities to online stores - and the internet allows them to operate from any part of the world with anonymity. The ability to spot online scams is an important skill to have as the virtual world is increasingly becoming a part of every facet of our lives. The below tips will help you identify the signs which can indicate that a website could be a scam. Common Sense: Too Good To Be True When looking for goods online, a great deal can be very enticing. A Gucci bag or a new iPhone for half the price? Who wouldn’t want to grab such a deal? Scammers know this too and try to take advantage of the fact. If an online deal looks too good to be true, think twice and double-check things. The easiest way to do this is to simply check out the same product at competing websites (that you trust). If the difference in prices is huge, it might be better to double-check the rest of the website. Check Out the Social Media Links Social media is a core part of ecommerce businesses these days and consumers often expect online shops to have a social media presence. Scammers know this and often insert logos of social media sites on their websites. Scratching beneath the surface often reveals this fu
So the worst has come to pass - you realise you parted with your money too fast, and the site you used was a scam - what now? Well first of all, don’t despair!! If you think you have been scammed, the first port of call when having an issue is to simply ask for a refund. This is the first and easiest step to determine whether you are dealing with a genuine company or scammers. Sadly, getting your money back from a scammer is not as simple as just asking. If you are indeed dealing with scammers, the procedure (and chance) of getting your money back varies depending on the payment method you used. PayPal Debit card/Credit card Bank transfer Wire transfer Google Pay Bitcoin PayPal If you used PayPal, you have a strong chance of getting your money back if you were scammed. On their website, you can file a dispute within 180 calendar days of your purchase. Conditions to file a dispute: The simplest situation is that you ordered from an online store and it has not arrived. In this case this is what PayPal states: "If your order never shows up and the seller can't provide proof of shipment or delivery, you'll get a full refund. It's that simple." The scammer has sent you a completely different item. For example, you ordered a PlayStation 4, but instead received only a Playstation controller. The condition of the item was misrepresented on the product page. This could be the
