March 31, 2008
10 Steps to Recognize the Unsafe Paypal Emails
By admin
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Paypal is a very safe online payment mechanism and it is very popular nowadays. It is one of the main channels of transaction processing and not only Ebayers use the services it provides, but a long list of persons and organizations
Though, the portal itself is very safe and it clearly states that "PayPal does not send emails asking for information", there are still some unaware users that tend to fall into scam cheap tricks from times to times.
The format of the scam email varies frequently, and there have been times when the most advanced inbox spam assassin has been futilely unable to prevent them from falling into the inbox. But, there are some basic points to be taken care of, which are enlisted as follows.
How to recognize a PayPal Scam in 2 Easy Steps or How do the PayPal Scams work?
As you may have noticed, the overstriken title of the section is scam-like, and I must admit - to my full pleasure - that I did it to illustrate the basics behind a PayPal scam message. Though many people believe that hackers and gurus are the guys behind the scams, the fact is that the scams are very simple in structure and require more of psychologic manipulation abilities than of computer expertise.
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The Good Old-School Scammer appeals to induce fear.
The scammer guy knows that when dealing with money in an online channel, you are scared to hell. Then, every and any message that depicts a menace to the user, may and probably WILL be followed after. No wonder if PayPal states so clear that they do not ask for ANYTHING AT ALL, via email.
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Opportunities of Grabbing Free Money,
Best Offers or Gifts.When fear does not work, then the inversed technique might. That involves -basically - throwing the bait and wait for the fish.
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Induce the user to believe that everybody is doing something.
And as the human nature implies that we want all that the others have, or do what the others do, then it is easy to be caught into such a nasty, dirty trick.
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Press the user to do it something NOW.
Most of the scam email messages - not only Paypalers’ - have words and phrases like the following.
- URGENT
- Please respond ASAP
- You have 24 hours to take action
All PayPal Scams have 1 Thing in Common
Once, and old partner asked to me What he could do to recognize a Fake Paypal Email .
If it has even one single link and the message asks you to clic on it, then push the Delete Message button. End of the story.
And that is still true. The most sophisticated of scammers tend to use Javascript to mask the URLs. Even, there are some very smart scammers that use very similar (to Paypal dot com) domain names to commit their crimes. Nevertheless, the rule keeps intact: DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINKS.
10 Most Common Message Templates used to Send PayPal Scam Emails
If a comprehensive list should be made, it might take days to compile it. But, based on my own experience - as a victim of scams in the past - the following is a starting-point list to recognize the templates in a promptly manner.
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PayPal announces there has been a probable fraud using your account.
That uses to shock the user which hurries to follow the links that PayPal provides. What a big mistake.
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PayPal asks for an update of your personal and/or financial information.
Though it is a very old trick, it still catches some April’s fools. Sorry, I myself almost did fall into that.
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Paypal has canceled the account due to misuse.
Barely impossible, but PayPal users tend to be a bit over-tense about their account. After all, it is their money what we are talking about. It has shown to be very effective to trick them into giving the scammers full access by being induced into fear.
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PayPal offers a new product; e.g. Debit Card.
Yes, I have received such kind of message very often. It seems very much realistic and one is so close to follow them sheepishly, that I am pretty sure that this is one of the most successful techniques of scam ever.
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PayPal has detected that your account has been hacked.
(Oh, my God, PayPal server is so close to H.A.L.
) A variant of the first technique, the user gets inducted to give his/her personal information very easily. Fortunately, most of the spam filters recognize these type of email and keeps them away. But, it does not hurt to know, just in case it jumps into your inbox. -
PayPal announces some seasonal offers so fantastic that you cannot miss them and must enter to confirm.
Though the trick is so awfully pathetic, it might work with the very newcomers to e-commerce and online purchase.
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PayPal Server has suffered a crash and you need to enter your information again.
Some of these messages even claim that if you had money in the account, you might come to lose it. Unless, of course you follow the links as a blind, innocent sheep would.
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PayPal is deleting the old inactive accounts, please confirm that yours is active.
Then again, some foes go straight down the slope to crash into the rocks. By the way, Paypal and many other services do not delete account - again, do not delete account - as much as they signal them as inactive.
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John Doe has sent you a gift, please sign in to confirm you are Wisepicker.
First, Paypal is not an online shop, so there is no gift ever bought at Paypal, but paid through PayPal. There are some smarter variations, that change the gift message to Mr. Whatever has paid for your service, please confirm. Be wise, and keep away.
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You must upgrade your PayPal account in the next 24 hours.
This was very common in the past. Basically, because it was believable that PayPal asked their users to upgrade the service. Fortunately, it has been discarded by the scammers. But, one never knows, be cautious.
I hope this post is helpful to the beginner and experienced online buyer. I have not told you, but It does summarize years of experience in the field of Online Purchases with Paypal. If you know of new techniques that those old dirty scammers are beginning to use, please let me know in the comment box.
Topics: Investments |
2 Responses to “10 Steps to Recognize the Unsafe Paypal Emails”
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April 3rd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
[...] Mintrukpare wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMore Related Information:. 5 Tips to purchase Online Music (mp3) and avoid scams; 6 Tips to Avoid the Scammers’ Spell; Pick some flowers; Buy Unlocked Cell Phones; Deal Locker, friends that help get deals. [...]
April 11th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
[...] 10 Steps to Recognize the Unsafe Paypal Emails Paypal is a very safe online payment mechanism and it is very popular nowadays. It is one of the main channels of transaction processing and not only Ebayers use the services it provides, but a long list of persons and organizations Though, the portal itself is very safe and it clearly states that “PayPal does not send emails asking for information”, there are still some unaware users that tend to fall into scam cheap tricks from times to times. The format of the scam email varies frequently [...]