PayPal

marthajoy · September 2005

I opened a PayPal account a while ago, but recently closed it because they asked for my social security number. I don't use the account all that much, and I wasn't comfortable giving them that information.

I reopened my account recently because I kept getting emails about $8.00 that they wanted to give me as part of a class action settlement. When I reopened it, they did not ask me for my social, so I was cool with it.

Then today I got an email saying that there was some suspicious activity on my account (which I haven't used at all) and they wanted me to complete a form. I went to the site and they asked for my PIN for my debit card. That does not seem right to me!

Am I being overly cautious here? It seems to me that PayPal is a handy thing to have... but do they really need this private information? Do you have an account and are you comfortable with this?

**As a hilarious side note -- on the page with the form they wanted me to fill out today was the following line, which I just had to share: Protecting the security of your PayPal account is our primary concern, and we apologize for any incontinence it may cause.

sje · September 2005

Thats a scam email! It leads you to a spoof site. Delete those emails immediately. I've been usung Paypal for many years already, with no problems, and no SS#. PayPal will NEVER email you for that info.

anonymous · September 2005

Ok, first of all DO NOT REPLY OR INTERACT WITH THOSE EMAILS!!! They are NOT from Pay Pal. This is an internet scam known as phishing, and if you go to the Pay Pal site they have information on their site about it. I've gotten several of these myself. Just forward them to Pay Pal - the email address is on their site. Never give your Social Security # out online!!!!

Here's the info:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/general/SecuritySpoof-outside

marthajoy · September 2005

Thanks very much! I still find it hard to believe it is a scam, because they really make it look like you are dealing with paypal! But you are absolutely right... thanks for the link!

I will send those spam emails to paypal when I get them and forget about them... which will leave me more time to investigate the many interesting overseas investment opportunities I have been offered.

emily · September 2005

The "incontinence" thing is hilarious--oh, if only those phishers would learn to spell!

Note that, as I mentioned on the other thread, phishers also like to pretend to be the Red Cross.

If I were you, I'd monitor your credit. Luckily, TODAY is the day that people in the NE can start taking advantage of annualcreditreport.com, which is the result of a new law requiring the three credit bureaus to allow consumers to see their credit report once a year for free. (Because it was expected to be so popular, they rolled it out one region at a time, and we were last.) In fact, everyone should take advantage of it, whether they've had problems or not.

anonymous · September 2005

EmilyM wrote: The "incontinence" thing is hilarious--oh, if only those phishers would learn to spell!

Note that, as I mentioned on the other thread, phishers also like to pretend to be the Red Cross.

If I were you, I'd monitor your credit. Luckily, TODAY is the day that people in the NE can start taking advantage of annualcreditreport.com, which is the result of a new law requiring the three credit bureaus to allow consumers to see their credit report once a year for free. (Because it was expected to be so popular, they rolled it out one region at a time, and we were last.) In fact, everyone should take advantage of it, whether they've had problems or not.

that's awesome. i hate that i have to pay for my own credit report.

jack · September 2005

Here's how I deal with PayPal and eBay scam/phishing e-mails.

Mostly, I ignore or delete them. They are obviously invalid in many cases.

If you somehow are worried that what they are saying is real DO NOT click any link on the e-mail. Go directly to PaPal or eBay and login to your account and see what's up. If there are any issues, PayPal or eBay will tell you right away after you login what is up.

9 times out of 10, you will NEVER get an e-mail from PayPal or eBay that is that panicky in any way. You will also never get 'unauthorized access has been detected". In general educate yourself as to what the scam/phishing e-mails are warning you about and you'll start to realize the scam aspect.

Man I miss the early days of the Internet when stuff like this was rare at best.

PayPal

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