Pay-Pal e-mail scam ---- potential credit-card ID theft..............

John Lewis · Nov 5, 2003

If you get an e-mail purportedly from PayPal with text requesting verification of your credit-card information ---- watch out !

If you wish to check your PayPal credit-card status or make any changes, log on to Pay-Pal directly via your user-ID and password.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL !!! You have been warned !

John Lewis

jeffc · Nov 5, 2003

"John Lewis" wrote:

If you get an e-mail purportedly from PayPal with text requesting verification of your credit-card information ---- watch out !

If you wish to check your PayPal credit-card status or make any changes, log on to Pay-Pal directly via your user-ID and password.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL !!! You have been warned !

I got this email and of course ignored it. What's interesting to me is that people would go to so much trouble to come up with this scam, which does require some smarts, and then get little things wrong that can tip people off. For example, and I don't have the email right in front of me, instead of "PayPal" it actually read "PayPaI". Now PayPal wouldn't ask you to do this anyway, but if they did, they'd surely know how to spell their own name!

Daniel Ganek · Nov 5, 2003

jeffc wrote:

"John Lewis" wrote:

If you get an e-mail purportedly from PayPal with text requesting verification of your credit-card information ---- watch out !

If you wish to check your PayPal credit-card status or make any changes, log on to Pay-Pal directly via your user-ID and password.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL !!! You have been warned !

...

Depending on the font you're using PayPal and PayPaI may look very similar. Try it with a san-serif font; e.g ariel - the lowercase l and capital I are the same.

/dan

0_Qed · Nov 5, 2003

jeffc wrote:

I got this email and of course ignored it. What's interesting to me is that people would go to so much trouble to come up with this scam, which does require some smarts, and then get little things wrong that can tip people off. For example, and I don't have the email right in front of me, instead of "PayPal" it actually read "PayPaI". Now PayPal wouldn't ask you to do this anyway, but if they did, they'd surely know how to spell their own name!

Funnier yet ...
. Ebay 'items' available 'only' via PayPal payment ...

Qed.

jeffc · Nov 5, 2003

"Daniel Ganek" wrote:

Depending on the font you're using PayPal and PayPaI may look very

similar.

Try it with a san-serif font; e.g ariel - the lowercase l and capital I are the same.

OK, but they are still not the same on the keyboard. In other words, they hit the I key when they meant the L key. I mean, I can understand if it were your garden variety urban legend, but this guy is risking going to jail over stealing money. Think of what else he might have gotten wrong that could lead to his arrest... Playing for these stakes, I'd just think they'd be a little more careful if they have the knowledge to do it in the first place.

Graeme Ellis · Nov 5, 2003

Please send these to .

They closed the sites I sent down in 15mins last time.

"jeffc" wrote:

"John Lewis" wrote:

If you get an e-mail purportedly from PayPal with text requesting
verification of your credit-card information ---- watch out !

If you wish to check your PayPal credit-card status or make any
changes, log on to Pay-Pal directly via your user-ID and password.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL !!! You have been warned !

I got this email and of course ignored it. What's interesting to me is that people would go to so much trouble to come up with this scam, which does require some smarts, and then get little things wrong that can tip people off. For example, and I don't have the email right in front of me, instead of "PayPal" it actually read "PayPaI". Now PayPal wouldn't ask you to do this anyway, but if they did, they'd surely know how to spell their own name!

patrickp · Nov 5, 2003

"Graeme Ellis" wrote:

Please send these to .

They closed the sites I sent down in 15mins last time.

Possibly that's why the misspelling of PayPai - it looks similar enough to fool people, but is not in fact the same name as PayPal. That could prevent PayPal from taking action against them - or at least make it much more difficult.

patrickp

"jeffc" wrote:

"John Lewis" wrote:

If you get an e-mail purportedly from PayPal with text requesting verification of your credit-card information ---- watch out !

If you wish to check your PayPal credit-card status or make any changes, log on to Pay-Pal directly via your user-ID and password.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL !!! You have been warned ! ... people off. For example, and I don't have the email right in front of me, instead of "PayPal" it actually read "PayPaI". Now PayPal wouldn't ask you to do this anyway, but if they did, they'd surely know how to spell their own name!

Jerry Polyak · Nov 6, 2003

Here is another one that I just reported to yahoo and FBI that came to me in an e-mail claiming it needed my immediate attention:

http://www.yahoo-billing.com/

This guys is not to bright as his name is available under the WhoIs search.

"John Lewis" wrote:

If you get an e-mail purportedly from PayPal with text requesting verification of your credit-card information ---- watch out !

If you wish to check your PayPal credit-card status or make any changes, log on to Pay-Pal directly via your user-ID and password.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL !!! You have been warned !

John Lewis

Daniel Ganek · Nov 6, 2003

jeffc wrote:

"Daniel Ganek" wrote:

Depending on the font you're using PayPal and PayPaI may look very

similar.

Try it with a san-serif font; e.g ariel - the lowercase l and capital I are the same.

OK, but they are still not the same on the keyboard. In other words, they ...

Go to jail?? All these scam artist are in Russia or other Eastern European countries. They won;t be caught for years if ever.

/dan

jeffc · Nov 6, 2003

"patrickp" < - take five to email me> wrote in
message

"Graeme Ellis" wrote:

Please send these to .

They closed the sites I sent down in 15mins last time.

Possibly that's why the misspelling of PayPai - it looks similar enough to fool people, but is not in fact the same name as PayPal. That could

prevent

PayPal from taking action against them - or at least make it much more difficult.

Nope, that's not it. It's spelled correctly in several places, only wrong in 1 or 2. In fact there's another word they spelled wrong - ended in "L" and they used "I". Another nasty thing about this scam is that the entire text is hypertext. In other words, normally you'd expect only the web site hyperlink to be a link. Let's say you wanted to cut and paste the link. Any time you click anywhere in the email to position your cursor, it is automatically accepted as a click and goes directly to the web site.

Jerry Polyak · Nov 6, 2003

"jeffc" wrote:

"patrickp" < - take five to email me> wrote in
message
"Graeme Ellis" wrote:

Please send these to .

They closed the sites I sent down in 15mins last time.

Possibly that's why the misspelling of PayPai - it looks similar enough to fool people, but is not in fact the same name as PayPal. That could prevent
PayPal from taking action against them - or at least make it much more
difficult.

Nope, that's not it. It's spelled correctly in several places, only wrong in 1 or 2. In fact there's another word they spelled wrong - ended in "L" and they used "I". Another nasty thing about this scam is that the entire text is hypertext. In other words, normally you'd expect only the web site hyperlink to be a link. Let's say you wanted to cut and paste the link. Any time you click anywhere in the email to position your cursor, it is automatically accepted as a click and goes directly to the web site.

If you want to cut and paste anything out of that site, all you have to do is select View>Source from your menu bar and just select the text you need.

jeffc · Nov 6, 2003

"Jerry Polyak" wrote:

Nope, that's not it. It's spelled correctly in several places, only wrong in 1 or 2. In fact there's another word they spelled wrong - ended in

"L"

and they used "I". Another nasty thing about this scam is that the entire text is hypertext. In other words, normally you'd expect only the web site
hyperlink to be a link. Let's say you wanted to cut and paste the link.
Any time you click anywhere in the email to position your cursor, it is
automatically accepted as a click and goes directly to the web site.

If you want to cut and paste anything out of that site, all you have to do is select View>Source from your menu bar and just select the text you

need.

First, you wouldn't be cut and pasting from a "site", it would be from the email itself. And second I know how to do it, I was just pointing out what cheeseballs those guys were.

Jerry Polyak · Nov 6, 2003

"jeffc" wrote:

"Jerry Polyak" wrote:

Nope, that's not it. It's spelled correctly in several places, only wrong in 1 or 2. In fact there's another word they spelled wrong - ended in "L" and they used "I". Another nasty thing about this scam is that the entire text is hypertext. In other words, normally you'd expect only the web site
hyperlink to be a link. Let's say you wanted to cut and paste the

link.

Any time you click anywhere in the email to position your cursor, it is automatically accepted as a click and goes directly to the web site.

If you want to cut and paste anything out of that site, all you have to do is select View>Source from your menu bar and just select the text you need.

First, you wouldn't be cut and pasting from a "site", it would be from the email itself. And second I know how to do it, I was just pointing out what cheeseballs those guys were.

Sorry, missed what you were pointing out. Don't get your panties in a wad.

Graeme Ellis · Nov 6, 2003

Correct your are they are Scum.

BTW could the mis-spelling be an attempt to avoid spam filters.

"jeffc" wrote:

"Jerry Polyak" wrote:

Nope, that's not it. It's spelled correctly in several places, only wrong in 1 or 2. In fact there's another word they spelled wrong - ended in "L" and they used "I". Another nasty thing about this scam is that the entire text is hypertext. In other words, normally you'd expect only the web site
hyperlink to be a link. Let's say you wanted to cut and paste the

link.

Any time you click anywhere in the email to position your cursor, it is automatically accepted as a click and goes directly to the web site.

If you want to cut and paste anything out of that site, all you have to do is select View>Source from your menu bar and just select the text you need.

First, you wouldn't be cut and pasting from a "site", it would be from the email itself. And second I know how to do it, I was just pointing out what cheeseballs those guys were.

0_Qed · Nov 6, 2003

Jerry Polyak wrote:
...snip...

is select View>Source from your menu bar and just select the text you

...snip...

First, you wouldn't be cut and pasting from a "site", it would be from the email itself. And second I know how to do it, I was just pointing out what cheeseballs those guys were.
Sorry, missed what you were pointing out. Don't get your panties in a wad.

Hey Jerry ...

'Greets' ...

Spoken like a real Boston Mutual Funds Manager ...
nice ... I 'like' that.

Qed.

Jerry Polyak · Nov 6, 2003

"0_Qed" wrote:

Jerry Polyak wrote:
...snip...
is select View>Source from your menu bar and just select the text

you

...snip...
First, you wouldn't be cut and pasting from a "site", it would be from the email itself. And second I know how to do it, I was just pointing out what cheeseballs those guys were.
Sorry, missed what you were pointing out. Don't get your panties in a

wad.

Hey Jerry ...

'Greets' ...

Spoken like a real Boston Mutual Funds Manager ...
nice ... I 'like' that.

Qed.

Thank you for the nice words, kind gentleman.

I think....

JAD · Nov 6, 2003

They almost got me, My CC had to be updated as it had expired, By coinky dink this scam hit at the approximate same time. I noticed that there was no 'padlock' for encryption. and stopped immediately. Went back and changed my pass just in case

"jeffc" wrote:

"John Lewis" wrote:

If you get an e-mail purportedly from PayPal with text requesting
verification of your credit-card information ---- watch out !

If you wish to check your PayPal credit-card status or make any
changes, log on to Pay-Pal directly via your user-ID and password.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL !!! You have been warned !

I got this email and of course ignored it. What's interesting to me is that people would go to so much trouble to come up with this scam, which does ...

jeffc · Nov 7, 2003

"Graeme Ellis" wrote:

Correct your are they are Scum.

BTW could the mis-spelling be an attempt to avoid spam filters.

Yeah - that could be. Although it was spelled correctly in the subject line, but incorrectly in the email text.

0_Qed · Nov 7, 2003

Jerry Polyak wrote:

Thank you for the nice words, kind gentleman.
I think....

Touche' !
ROTFLMFAO!

A 'few' are headed to some, nearby Fed "accomodations" ... the latest in the parade of SM(stock market) types to "travel".

Qed.

Michael W. Ryder · Nov 7, 2003

John Lewis wrote:

If you get an e-mail purportedly from PayPal with text requesting verification of your credit-card information ---- watch out !

If you wish to check your PayPal credit-card status or make any changes, log on to Pay-Pal directly via your user-ID and password.

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL !!! You have been warned !

I got the same type of e-mail supposedly from Earthlink saying that they couldn't verify my information. The e-mail and the site it sends you to look just like Earthlink's, including Earthlink's address and the word secure in the URL. Only by looking at the source for the message was I able to see that it was Not from Earthlink.

John Lewis