- Joined
- Oct 18, 2001
- Messages
- 20,978
I got a very disturbing email this morning that said there might be security concerns with my Paypal account (indeed I have been taxing it heavily lately ~$2000 over the last 3 days).
So, to be careful, I did a little "investigating" and found out it was a bonified scam intended to grab your password. After they have your password, they can access your account and charge the heck out of it.
Here's how it goes:
First you get an email like this:
(I have added the **** marks)
------------------------------------------------------
Dear ***@********.com,
We recently reviewed your account, and suspect that your PayPal account may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party. Protecting the security of your account and of the PayPal network is our primary concern.
Therefore, as a preventative measure, we have temporarily limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. Click below in order to regain access to your account:
'https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run
For more information about how to protect your account, please visit PayPal's Security Center, accessible via the "Security Center" link located at the bottom of each page of the PayPal website.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your assistance in helping us maintain the integrity of the entire PayPal system. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
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.
PayPal Email ID PP198
PayPal Email ID PP316
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If you click the link, it takes you to this window - which looks like a bonified Paypal login screen:
----------------------------------------------------
It's very clever and quite tempting indeed.
I went back to my email and when I moved the mouse over the link, I get this link instead:
'http://arturoshinias.com/images/hide/index2.htm
(go ahead, have a look....
)
So, back at IE......just for kicks, I hit Ctrl+N (for a new window, using Internet Explorer) and this is what came up:
-----------------------------------------------------
See how it "hides" the real web address? The top address is the real one that was hidden on the first page (just as you can disable toolbars using View >> Toolbars). The 2nd web address is the "fake one" that is part of a webpage designed to look like a toolbar at the top with a Paypal entry page below. Follow what I'm saying? (may require a few re-readings to get what I'm talking about)
------------------------------------------------------
Here's what the real Paypal login looks like:
------------------------------------------------------
Please beware of any emails you get requesting this information. I have checked my paypal account (using the correct login, of course) and there is nothing wrong with it.
I can only imagine that the malicious spammer grabbed my email somehow from the interenet. Perhaps from whois.net or maybe even from paypal itself. Who knows....
Just be careful.
Dan
So, to be careful, I did a little "investigating" and found out it was a bonified scam intended to grab your password. After they have your password, they can access your account and charge the heck out of it.
Here's how it goes:
First you get an email like this:
(I have added the **** marks)
------------------------------------------------------
Dear ***@********.com,
We recently reviewed your account, and suspect that your PayPal account may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party. Protecting the security of your account and of the PayPal network is our primary concern.
Therefore, as a preventative measure, we have temporarily limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. Click below in order to regain access to your account:
'https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run
For more information about how to protect your account, please visit PayPal's Security Center, accessible via the "Security Center" link located at the bottom of each page of the PayPal website.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your assistance in helping us maintain the integrity of the entire PayPal system. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
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.
PayPal Email ID PP198
PayPal Email ID PP316
----------------------------------------------------
If you click the link, it takes you to this window - which looks like a bonified Paypal login screen:
----------------------------------------------------
It's very clever and quite tempting indeed.
I went back to my email and when I moved the mouse over the link, I get this link instead:
'http://arturoshinias.com/images/hide/index2.htm
(go ahead, have a look....
)So, back at IE......just for kicks, I hit Ctrl+N (for a new window, using Internet Explorer) and this is what came up:
-----------------------------------------------------
See how it "hides" the real web address? The top address is the real one that was hidden on the first page (just as you can disable toolbars using View >> Toolbars). The 2nd web address is the "fake one" that is part of a webpage designed to look like a toolbar at the top with a Paypal entry page below. Follow what I'm saying? (may require a few re-readings to get what I'm talking about)
------------------------------------------------------
Here's what the real Paypal login looks like:
------------------------------------------------------
Please beware of any emails you get requesting this information. I have checked my paypal account (using the correct login, of course) and there is nothing wrong with it.
I can only imagine that the malicious spammer grabbed my email somehow from the interenet. Perhaps from whois.net or maybe even from paypal itself. Who knows....
Just be careful.
Dan
