How's this for SPAM

[cottonwoodindustries]

Please Restore Your Account Access RXI019
Saturday, March 7, 2009 11:21 PM
From:
"service@paypal.com"
Add sender to Contacts
To:
"BCs Cottonwood Industries"

Dear BCs Cottonwood Industries,

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal
system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.

We requested information from you for the following reason:

A recent review of your account determined that we require some additional
information from you in order to provide you with secure service.

Case ID Number: PP-452-933-296

This is a second reminder to log in to PayPal as soon as possible. Once you log
in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access.

Be sure to log in securely by using the following link:
Click here to login and restore your account access


Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your
account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account
safety.

In accordance with PayPal's User Agreement, your account access will remain
limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if access to your
account remains limited for an extended period of time, it may result in further
limitations or eventual account closure. We encourage you to log in to your
PayPal account as soon as possible to help avoid this.

To review your account and some or all of the information that PayPal used to
make its decision to limit your account access, please visit the Resolution
Center. If, after reviewing your account information, you seek further
clarification regarding your account access, please contact PayPal by visiting
the Help Center and clicking "Contact Us".

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that
this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We
apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department

PayPal Email ID PP638

I DECIDED (even though it was addressed to me personally) to SPAM it to PAYPAL.

GUESS WHAT:

RE: - Your recent report to PayPal (KMM108642419V83228L0KM) :kf1
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 8:28 AM
From:
This sender is DomainKeys verified
"spoof@paypal.com"
View contact details
To:
"Loré"
Hello Loré,

Thanks for forwarding that suspicious-looking email. You're right - it
was a phishing attempt, and we're working on stopping the fraud. By
reporting the problem, you've made a difference!

Identity thieves try to trick you into revealing your password or other
personal information through phishing emails and fake websites. To learn
more about online safety, click "Security Center" on any PayPal webpage.


Every email counts. When you forward suspicious-looking emails to
spoof@paypal.com, you help keep yourself and others safe from identity
theft.

Your account security is very important to us, so we appreciate your
extra effort.

Thanks,

PayPal

WHAT'S NEXT, you can't trust anything on the web now.

[cgcgraded]

I DECIDED (even though it was addressed to me personally) to SPAM it to PAYPAL.

Actually I don't think it was addressed to you personally. Any correspondence I've received from ebay or paypal about account info always is addressed to me personally, not by account ID.

WHAT'S NEXT, you can't trust anything on the web now.

Unfortunately you never could. I can't even trust speaking to anyone on the phone these days either. I've been getting a lot of calls lately by people phishing for business and personal info. Very dangerous. I've had to educate my employees about how and what to answer on the phone. Everybody wants the owners name so they can call back and sound legitimate.

Oh, BTW. There had been a price increase in paper for your Telex machine. Because you are an outstanding business customer, we are holding a box for you at the old price.... Remember the Telex? LOL

And yes.... I am on the Canadian no call list.

Cheers
Andrew

[pierrelebel]

"Actually I don't think it was addressed to you personally."

"Any correspondence I've received from ebay or paypal about account info always is addressed to me personally,"

While that may be true, it does not mean all email messages addressed to you by name are legit.

I have received several scam attempts over the last two years, pretending to be from PayPal, and addressed to me by full name, including middle initial.

The information (full name matching email address registered with PayPal) was available from PayPal a few years ago through a security breach. That information has been sold and resold and is still there in cyberspace.

The fact an email message "from PayPal" addressed to you by full name is no evidence the email actually came from PayPal.

NEVER, EVER, click on a link going to your account from an email message, regardless where it comes from. Go to your account directy using your browser. .

[pierrelebel]

For more information about the 2006 PayPal security breach:

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m03/i27/s04 .

[dipmicro]

As far as scams go:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9124558&intsrc=it_blogwatch

What that means? In a nutshell, it's possible via to create website, that will have proper PayPal address (or your bank websiteor any other site) will have proper SSL padlock and it will still be a scam.

If this happens, I guess we have no way to detect this unless we record the PayPal IP and verify it before each login 😉

[cottonwoodindustries]

I always send everything back to ebay or paypal, I think that there has only been 1, where it was actually legit.

[craftycatsattic]

The golden rule of not falling for spam is as Pierre mentioned:

NEVER, EVER, click on a link going to your account from an email message, regardless where it comes from. Go to your account directy using your browser.

They almost got me once with what looked like a forwarded ebay message asking if I had more than one item to sell. I clicked the link, entered my information and ALMOST sent it before I did the double take and realized it was spam.

NEVER, EVER, click on a link going to your account from an email message, regardless where it comes from. Go to your account directy using your browser.