Paypal Scam warning!

[hyunelan2]

I received a suspicious email that was apparently from paypal. It spoke about verifying my account, but as i followed the links, it wanted me to enter name and password, I did. Right after that is when I noticed the scam, as it wanted me to re-enter all my credit cards and the secret numbers on the back. I closed the window, went to paypal and immediately changed my password.

Don't follow the email scam. It'll say something about needing to verify the account, even though mine is already verified.

[BlueGT]

Thanks for the warning, Mike!
Same thing with bank accounts. I constantly get emails from "Sun Trust" and "Citibank" saying that I need to verify some personal info or my account would be closed. Well, the thing is that I don't even have accounts in those banks.

Be careful when you get those scam emails asking you to verify info.

[HatchetMan]

I got one just like that from eBay saying my account was going to be suspended if I didn't immediately put my credit card on file. I said **** that, went straight to "my eBay", checked out "My Account", and it said nothing of the sort. So I didn't. That was over a month ago, no more emails, and my account has not been suspended, no should it ever be. Watch out people, especially if it is in an email, go directly to the source (as opposed to clicking on links in email).

[punkrocker3_00]

Both eBay and Paypal said when you signed up that they will never send you an e-mail telling you to verify anything. They only do that at there website. Don't even worry about reading those type of e-mails. They are scams trying to steal your money and info.

[SuperGLS]

Right right. Discover has had problems as well. Be careful everyone.

[Jlivan]

Yeah, I had a email sent to my work address from citibank. Weird thing b/c my mortgage is through them. I never gave them my email address at work so thought it was a scam and delteted it.

I did get that one from paypal but I never went through w/updating. Good thing, now I can delete it from my saved mail. Thanks :)

[XTRAWLD]

Huge email is circulating from Citibank.....I constantly get one in my account....and I know it means nothing because I don't have anything related to them. It's really sad that people try to do the whole identity theft thing. I recently received an email from a friend of mine for things to do to prevent ID theft.......I'll include it below....it's some valuable info!

"Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of this attorneys advice!

A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company:

The next time you order cheques have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your check book they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name but your bank will know how you sign your checks.

When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have
access to it.

Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a P.O. Box use that instead of your home address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks (DUH!) you can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine, do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad.

We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards, etc. Unfortunately I, an attorney, have
firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the
thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit
card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN
number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.

But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them easily.

File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was stolen, this proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a first step toward an investigation (if
there ever is one). But here's what is perhaps most important: (I never even thought
to do this). Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done.

There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it
in). It seems to have stopped them in their tracks.

The numbers are: (Canadian Info, but if anyone has the US numbers for others, please add it in.)

* Equifax Canada: (Your Credit File): 1-800-465-7166
* Experian: (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
* Trans Canada Credit: 416-465-7166
* In Canada Contact: Human Resources Development Canada (1-800-206-7218)"

[exsailor]

A good trick to use when you receive email scams is to type in ANY user name and password (personally I like "F...you" as a user name). When you submit it, instead of getting the message "invalid username or password", you will get a thank you for the submission.
If you have time on your hands, you can send in oodles of replies to load the guy down with crap! :D