PayPal scam

[Mick Milakovic]

Hi all, I'm letting you know about a scam that took me in the hard way.  I recently lost 2 grand to an international scam artist so good that I thought it was PayPal asking me to update my informations with them.  All the icons were there, "protection notices", and data base fields looked appropriate, so I filled in the blanks and didn't look back.  Next thing I know, money is disappearing from my checking account!  A fast trip to the bank cancelled my debit card (where the money was being withdrawn from), and began the "fraud" investigation.  Well, the bank verified that it was fraud, and I got my money back, but I have to say I feel pretty stupid.  

The bottom line is to never, ever respond to a notice like that because PayPal will never ask you to give that information out through email.  It was a lesson learned the hard way, and fortunately didn't cost me any money.  Just wanted to share, signed, "Big-Time Embarassed"! [:I]

[OUCWBOY]

I receive those "Notices" all the time. One good way to tell is when you look at the link address, it will not have anything to do with PayPal. There are Fraud "Notices" being sent out representing Banks, Ebay and just about anything where they could steal your money. I use AOL and if you move your cursor over the link address, it shows the true link address. So, if in doubt, don't do it and report it to the company they are saying they are representing.

Donny Smith

[robbersroost1]

Mike, I fell for an ebay scam,(spoof email). It looked just like ebay and I filled out all there information, but stopped short of giving them my MC Pin. I then contacted ebay and they told me it was a fake. They gave me a list of things to look for to spot these scams. It was close, no money lost, had to get a new MC, so be very carefull out there fellow POGers.[B)]

Terry Laible

[desmond197]

I got scammed via internal fraud at Pay Pal a couple of years ago for $4,000 took me for ever to get the money back. This summer I got scammed by selling some musical equipment on Ebay and the jerk did a chargeback on the item and said they sent it back. A week later I got a box of old books sent to me. I am still fighting for my $1200. A guy on the CZ board had the same a chargback scam for a bike he sold on Ebay and never got the bike back he was out $2,500. Pay Pal sucks. Thier customer service is poor.

[bkinnon]

The same thing happened to me. I received an offical looking email with Paypal logos and replied to it. My bank saw an attempt from Romania to access my account and froze it. I called to ask why it was in suspension and was asked if I had been to Romania lately. I am glad I deal with a samll enough bank to get that kind of personalized service. While it wasn't Paypal's fault, I have closed my account and have reverted to money orders like the old dAYS.

Downeast Pentons- Central Division

[Kip Kern]

I get the same crap email from fake credit card scammers, bank scammers and I never will use PayPal, it is worthless.  Never fill out anything personal on the computer no matter what it is.  You never know where your personal info is going. Protect yourself!;)

[Mick Milakovic]

When I get my new debit card I'm going to drain my PayPal account and not accept PayPal anymore.  After all, they charge us for every transaction.  Why should they get our money?

[Mike Lenz]

I used to use PayPal until they said I had to get verified. I paid them by credit card, but they wanted to verify me by my checking account number. They wouldnt let me use it anymore unless I gave them my checking account number. I didnt do it. I know it was them because they cut me off. Very strange!

[Speedy]

quote:Originally posted by Mick Milakovic

Hi all, I'm letting you know about a scam that took me in the hard way.  I recently lost 2 grand to an international scam artist so good that I thought it was PayPal asking me to update my informations with them.  All the icons were there, "protection notices", and data base fields looked appropriate, so I filled in the blanks and didn't look back.  Next thing I know, money is disappearing from my checking account!  A fast trip to the bank cancelled my debit card (where the money was being withdrawn from), and began the "fraud" investigation.  Well, the bank verified that it was fraud, and I got my money back, but I have to say I feel pretty stupid.  

The bottom line is to never, ever respond to a notice like that because PayPal will never ask you to give that information out through email.  It was a lesson learned the hard way, and fortunately didn't cost me any money.  Just wanted to share, signed, "Big-Time Embarassed"! [:I]

I had that request to.It came from my Royal Bank with all the trim and decoration.Just the same as:fill in the blank to update your customer files.I called the Bank and sure enough it was fraud.Investigation is now on.
Speedy---------->>>>>>>>>>>.Never trust anybody ,...with an request like that,...

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[classof74]

I had something along these lines. But the twist was the message said "You have been outbid" Looked exactly like an official EBAY message. Since I was purchasing things at the time, I clicked the link to login to see who outbid me. After entering my username and password, I clicked the login button and immediately I knew I had screwed up.

Withing a few seconds I went over to EBAY and looked for the "Change Your Password" information. Luckily I found it quickly, but it's hidden (Recommendation - Find this link and bookmark it for future reference)

I made the change and then went to PAYPAL to find the change your login screen, also hard to find in a panic (Recommendation - Find this link and bookmark it for future reference) and made the change there as well.

WHEW! All of this in a few minutes. As much adrenalin there as going around the first turn after a start.

So, the lesson learned it that if you get an "Outbid" notice, make darn sure you're going to the correct EBAY address. Better yet, don't click on the link...just go to //www.ebay.com, and from there login.

Mark Holloway