Convincing spam is the new normal
It looks like an email from PayPal, but a closer look reveals it’s a fraud! Who did it really come from? Where does it really lead? What is this emails real purpose?
Check out the version I received, and let me explain what this email shows me.
This is a fake spam email that looks pretty convincing, but when I mouse over the links I see that it actually directs me to some weird blog site URL.
That’s a big tip: in any email you receive, before you click a link in it, just hover over the link (in outlook at least ) and the actual link URL will pop up… and then if it is not Paypal.com or whoever else the email says it’s supposed to be from, you KNOW it is fake.
The next thing I notice is how this email is addressed to “Dear PayPal User” instead of to me personally. The REAL PayPal KNOWS and USES your name, or at least they do when you have a PayPal account like I do. Any business or shopping site or anybody that you have a real account with will address their emails to you in a more personal way than this. Don’t get fooled.
Below you’ll see the email I recieved. Check out the links, check out how it’s addressed, take a close look at it and you’ll see that it’s junk. If we are just glancing at it, and not taking the time to look closely, we might inadvertently click on a bad link automatically in our haste.
Taking a minute to review our emails in a thorough and careful way can save all of us a lot of trouble.
NOTE: DO NOT click on any of the links displayed below. Just enjoy looking at the totally bogus spam email I received.
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Dear PayPal User,
This payment was sent using your bank account.By using your bank account to send money, you just: – Paid easily and securely – Sent money faster than writing and mailing paper checks – Paid instantly — your purchase won’t show up on bills at the end of the month. Thanks for using your bank account! Your monthly account statement is available anytime; just log in to your account at https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_history. To correct any errors, please contact us through our Help Center at https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_contact_us.
Sincerely, | ||||||||||||
| Help Center | Resolution Center | Security CenterThis email was sent by an automated system, so if you reply, nobody will see it. To get in touch with us, log in to your account and click “Contact Us” at the bottom of any page. Copyright © 2012 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.PayPal Email ID PP118 |
