Bill Balcziak
Supporting Actor
- Joined
- Aug 4, 1999
- Messages
- 871
I received an e-mail this week from "PayPal" about money in my account that I supposedly have not claimed. The e-mail directed me to click a link to view the supposed unclaimed payment.
Here is the text of the e-mail:
"On 3/4/2001, [name deleted] sent you $29.54 using
PayPal. This is your final reminder to claim this payment.
"PayPal is the world's #1 online payment service -- we allow people to send and receive money through the Web. Over 11 million people
trust PayPal to:
- Send Money to anyone with an email address
- Make secure and fast payments for eBay (TM) auctions
- Shop at more than 20,000 websites that accept PayPal
"You can also withdraw your money directly into your bank account. It's no wonder that Forbes (TM) honored PayPal as the "Best of the Web."
"So be sure to claim your payment soon. PayPal's policy is to cancel unclaimed payments and return the funds to the sender -- your payment will be returned in the next couple of days unless you register to claim it.
"Click on the link below and complete our one-page registration form to claim your funds:
[LINK DELETED]
"It only takes a couple of minutes to register with PayPal and accept your payment, so don't let your money get away. Claim your cash today."
Although the text shows a link to the PayPal site, I checked the target address and it showed the link went to another site entirely. Obviously something was not kosher about the e-mail, so I contacted PayPay to inquire about the e-mail. I got this response:
"Dear Mr. Balcziak,
"Thank you for bringing this suspicious link to our attention. Please do not click on this link. If you have used the link, please change your PayPal Password, Secret Questions and Answers immediately, as well as review your transactions and account information for any unauthorized
activity. We are aware of the situation and are investigating the matter thoroughly. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused.
"Sincerely,
PayPal Investigations-Omaha"
This morning, I received another e-mail from the supposed account thieves, basically repeating the message from the first e-mail, but reminding me I only have 2 days to click the link to claim the money.
What concerns me is that this sounds--if memory serves--like the same scam that was pulled on PayPal users about a year ago. I am shocked that PayPal has not posted a warning about this to its customers on its site or via e-mail. PayPal is obviously aware of the problem and appears to be investigating for a week now (see their response to my e-mail) but PayPal STILL hasn't made the issue public. I think that shows blatant disregard for the security of its customer's accounts.
Regardless of what PayPay does or doesn't so, if you get an e-mail of this nature, DO NOT click on the embedded link. You will probably unknowingly send your account info to goodness-knows-where and you will see your PayPal balance zero out without your knowledge.
And shame on PayPal for not making this public, even if it is an isolated problem (which I am guessing it is not).
I am posting this in the After Hours category, too. Mods, please feel free to delete the extra post if necessary, but this seems like something that could apply to a lot of HTF members.
Here is the text of the e-mail:
"On 3/4/2001, [name deleted] sent you $29.54 using
PayPal. This is your final reminder to claim this payment.
"PayPal is the world's #1 online payment service -- we allow people to send and receive money through the Web. Over 11 million people
trust PayPal to:
- Send Money to anyone with an email address
- Make secure and fast payments for eBay (TM) auctions
- Shop at more than 20,000 websites that accept PayPal
"You can also withdraw your money directly into your bank account. It's no wonder that Forbes (TM) honored PayPal as the "Best of the Web."
"So be sure to claim your payment soon. PayPal's policy is to cancel unclaimed payments and return the funds to the sender -- your payment will be returned in the next couple of days unless you register to claim it.
"Click on the link below and complete our one-page registration form to claim your funds:
[LINK DELETED]
"It only takes a couple of minutes to register with PayPal and accept your payment, so don't let your money get away. Claim your cash today."
Although the text shows a link to the PayPal site, I checked the target address and it showed the link went to another site entirely. Obviously something was not kosher about the e-mail, so I contacted PayPay to inquire about the e-mail. I got this response:
"Dear Mr. Balcziak,
"Thank you for bringing this suspicious link to our attention. Please do not click on this link. If you have used the link, please change your PayPal Password, Secret Questions and Answers immediately, as well as review your transactions and account information for any unauthorized
activity. We are aware of the situation and are investigating the matter thoroughly. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused.
"Sincerely,
PayPal Investigations-Omaha"
This morning, I received another e-mail from the supposed account thieves, basically repeating the message from the first e-mail, but reminding me I only have 2 days to click the link to claim the money.
What concerns me is that this sounds--if memory serves--like the same scam that was pulled on PayPal users about a year ago. I am shocked that PayPal has not posted a warning about this to its customers on its site or via e-mail. PayPal is obviously aware of the problem and appears to be investigating for a week now (see their response to my e-mail) but PayPal STILL hasn't made the issue public. I think that shows blatant disregard for the security of its customer's accounts.
Regardless of what PayPay does or doesn't so, if you get an e-mail of this nature, DO NOT click on the embedded link. You will probably unknowingly send your account info to goodness-knows-where and you will see your PayPal balance zero out without your knowledge.
And shame on PayPal for not making this public, even if it is an isolated problem (which I am guessing it is not).
I am posting this in the After Hours category, too. Mods, please feel free to delete the extra post if necessary, but this seems like something that could apply to a lot of HTF members.
