PayPal is a useful tool for securely buying and selling online. Unfortunately, scam artists have begun taking advantage of the trust consumers have in the services and are beginning to send out email “alerts” that the account has been limited due to suspicious charges. Consumers need to understand the scam to avoid becoming the next victim of the credit card fraud.

The Phishing Scam:

The email alert claiming that the PayPal account has been limited in a type of phishing scam. The scam artist sends a spam email to the account and suggests that they are working for the company. In the email it will claim that the account is limited due to suspicious activity on a credit card associated with the account.

After clicking on the link, it will ask for PayPal information. The goal of the fraud is getting the information to sign into the account. It is not an email from PayPal and is spam that strives to scam individuals.

Red Flags to Watch For:

PayPal will not send emails to consumers when the account has been frozen for any reason. The most obvious red flag is the email itself. If PayPal has a problem with the account, they will send a document in the mail or have an alert directly on the account. At seeing the alert, consumers must call the company’s number from the website to fix the problem. PayPal will not send an email stating that a problem has occurred.

Another red flag to watch for is the email address or link. The email address will not be a PayPal address and the link at the bottom of the email will not show PayPal’s address. These are clear signs that it is a scam and consumers should never click on the link or the hyperlink in the email.

Since legitimate PayPal correspondence in the email will address consumers by name, this is another red flag to look for. The scam will say “PayPal Customer” rather than the individual name. Emails from PayPal will directly say a customer’s name rather than giving out a general line.

PayPal is used by a wide range of consumers and businesses. It is important to understand the phishing scams before opening and clicking on the email. When emails suggesting that the account are limited occur, it is best to delete the email and contact PayPal directly about the problem.

Sample email:

Dear PayPal user,

As part of our security reasons, 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:

We recently received a report of unauthorized credit card use associated with this account. As a precaution, we have limited access to your PayPal account in order to protect against future unauthorized transactions.

Case ID Number: PP-503-472-569

This is a reminder to restore your account as soon as possible.

Please download the form attached to this email and open it in a web browser. Once opened, 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 restore your PayPal account as soon as possible to help avoid this.

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