Posted: 3/10/2004 2:07:36 AM EDT
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[Moderators, please consider tacking this for a while, since there are so many PayPal users among us.] Arfcommers, I have been using the Internet since long before there was the World Wide Web. I hate tedious urban legends and feel-good inspirational email hitting my inbox as much as anybody. And I expect that there are a few of you who will label this a "Welcome To Last Month." I hope not, because this is really scarey. I have to preface this by noting that I use SpamArrest to filter out spam, and this one got by my filter. "PayPal" had sent me an email, formatted in HTML, looking EXACTLY like any email I receive from them, directing me to log into their site and "confirm my account information." Every last detail of the graphics, style and hot links on the page are 100% PayPal. But it is 100% bogus, and a trapdoor to identity theft. It got by my spam filter because the scammers had edited the email headers to make it look like the email came from PayPal (not difficult to do.) The degree of sophistication in this scam is frightening. I am absolutely certain it is a scam, but unless you look at it very, very carefully, you would never know. I am posting this here in text only form for the same reason you might post a pic of an exploded firearm or a sad story of a negligent discharge. Look carefully at it and BE WARNED. I am posting only the text here:
If you follow the link to: LOOK, BUT DON'T USE!!!, you will see a page carefully constructed to look exactly like PayPal. Be careful with the link, finger off the trigger, point in a safe direction. You might want to show family members as an example of Internet fraud, accompanied by a lecture about scams like this. You can bet a pile of NIW Labelle's that there are some poor slobs out there that will be taken-in by this, and will be driven to personal financial ruin. Notice that it even has a couple security warnings on it, and asks you to fill in the form to INCREASE your security! People be careful out there! |
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I receive tons of these emails purporting to be from both Ebay and Paypal. I always forward them to either [b][email protected][/b] or [b][email protected].[/b] This informs them of who is trying to pull the latest scam and they will also email you back and let you know whether they are real or scams. So far, they have all been 100% scams. What I don't understand if why people aren't tracking these jokers down and giving them a trip to ass-rape prison. |
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Quick follow-up, If you don't know what to look for, how do you know its a scam?[list][*]Like the man sez, PayPal (or any legitimate financial service on the Web) will never ask you for this information.[/*][*]The server in the URL (218.62.43.30)is a hardwired to an IP address. Real commercial Web sites almost never do this.[/*][*]The site uses non-secure HTTP (thats the "http://") vs. secure HTTP: "http[u]s[/u]://"[/*][*]Notice the trapdoor itself, which nervously directs you to "Follow this link located at PayPal server to fill needed information." Why would they redundantly tell you its a PayPal server?.[/*][*]Just look at all the info they ask for! Why on earth would PayPal want your mother's maiden name? Or your email account password?[/*][/list] Don't be distracted by the fact that the links on the Web site direct you to real PayPal site features. Its just part of the camoflage. C_M p.s. Please don't whine at me about how PayPal is part of eBay, and is anti-gun. |
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I got the E-Bay scam last week telling me my account had been de-activated at that I needed to "click here" to log on and reactivate my account. The page it linked me to was VERY well made (unlike some of the ones I have seen with spelling and grammer errors). I went directly to the E-Bay site and logged on there with no problem, so I junked the email and notified E-Bay of the scam attempt. Dave |
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Quoted: I receive tons of these emails purporting to be from both Ebay and Paypal. I always forward them to either [b][email protected][/b] or [b][email protected].[/b] This informs them of who is trying to pull the latest scam and they will also email you back and let you know whether they are real or scams. So far, they have all been 100% scams. What I don't understand if why people aren't tracking these jokers down and giving them a trip to ass-rape prison. Great. I didn't have the address you listed, and I forwarded the scam to them, thanks! If you track the IP address, its probably at some shady Inernet service in Singapore or Malasia. Maybe I'll do that tonight when I have time just for fun. |
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I get 4 or 5 of these a day. I never get it at the address of my registered paypal account. On a lark, I followed the link of one of them, and it turned out dead. The ISP's of these douche-bags get wind of the scam pretty quick and shut these down in hours. Geoff |