Warning about a phishing email that looks really good!

[vintagenorth]

I rec'd an email yesterday that said I had purchased an item from eBay in Australia. Being shipped to some other address there. Of course I knew it wasn't my purchase but the email gave a line that it wanted me to click on if I wished to cancel the order. Of course that is the first thing you want to do. I DID NOT click on anything, called PayPal and they confirmed that it was not a legitimate order or email. Whew!

Anyway, just letting you all know about this one, the grammar is almost perfect, but the PayPal address doesn't look quite right. It was also addressed to me with my name and email. And yes, I have excellent over-the-top security so I assume the info came from someone that I have sold to whose security isn't so great. Possibly someone from Australia since I do ship there fairly often. Be very careful out there!

[lukey9]

I got the same one this morning from Oz for a  HTC Desire 510 4G/LTE Grey - Unlocked ~100% Au Stock for 177.80.

I don't ship to Oz or buy from there so I new right away what it was so I forwarded on to PP.

[vintagenorth]

Yup, same item as was on my email. Stupid scammer sent it to me multiple times last night too. Email was forwarded to PayPal and they confirmed it was not from them. Looked good though, didn't it?

[lukey9]

I got the same Invoice three times, I got hacked just before Christmas so I an twice as careful as I used to be, even changing my pass word once a month.

[ricarmic]

I too have gotten AU ones but it has been a while, yesterday were some a couple other ones:

"You just need to confirm your billing address."

"PayPal concerned about unauthorized access your account."

I seem to have a popular email, as I am getting a variety of these all the time.

If you ever have concerns that it might be real, just exit the email and log directly into your PAYPAL account (not through the email) and you'll discover whatever they're trying to scam you on, isn't actually happening.....

I must fess up that I don't even bother to pass them along to PAYPAL anymore......

[ricarmic]

Sigh, apparently this mornings coffee hasn't hit yet, and after reading the first sentence you'll know why most of my english assignments in school were primarily "red" when they got handed back.... 😉

[cumos55]

At times I have received a notice about an item  that I had bought.

The eBay ID number was checked   doing a search  with the... Advanced ....option at the top right of this page... right beside the Search button....

These are phishing emails.... Always be careful

and... Hackers are getting better with each passing year... or is it each passing day....

Never respond to the email... check eBay... check Paypal

or wherever the email supposedly came from.

Sometimes  they do get your name right  and your associated email....    This I have seen

always... always ...  be careful

Recognize what is correct... always be vigilant...  especially if it looks too good to be true....

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I used to answer all questions from eBay members   with my name  and ID .... Now I only respond  with my eBay ID.....

eBay does protect us when questions are asked on eBay... our email is not shown to the person asking the question.

Your name and associated email address can do a lot of damage.

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[cumos55]

Many times  a buyer  has had an unusual looking address.

I have used Mapquest,  and Google Maps... to confirm the address

There have been times I have started with a name  and general information about where someone lives

and tracked  the address... the telephone number.... and then through Google Maps  I have stood on the street looking at where the person lives

This is not always perfect.....  

But a hacker  can get enough to make the hack work....

[realjazz-123]

This morning I received an email from PAYPAL to answer a survey on some research they are doing. Looks real and authentic but now I am concerned about hitting the 'yes' button . Has anyone else received this survey invitation?

[ricarmic]

Hi Real!

My rule is simple: "never click on links in an email"

If you want to participate in the survey, if there really is one, log into your paypal account, if they are running one you can probably execute it from there.

[reallynicestamps]

Sometimes  they do get your name right  and your associated email....

There are at least two kinds of hackers.

This one seems to be collecting contact information. Those are (usually) grammatical and properly spelled. It's scarey that they sometimes also have your name.

The ungrammatical ones are more likely setting the recipient up for a financial scam. Those are looking for recipients ignorant enough to fall for the message without noticing the poor grammar.

Which is why media studies should be part of every curriculum starting around Grade Eight. With a refresher before university graduation.

And why we Grammar Police nag eBay sellers. Poor language skills are bait for scammers looking for the stupid and the ignorant.