What the Tech: Beware of a scam that targets PayPal
By JAMIE TUCKER Consumer Technology Reporter
PayPal is a popular and generally safe online payment system with over 400 million users. However, scammers are exploiting its popularity to trick people, even those without PayPal accounts.
Law enforcement warnings across the country say the scams are surging with some victims losing tens of thousands of dollars.
These scams often involve emails claiming you made a large purchase through PayPal. These emails may appear legitimate with the PayPal logo and the URL is similar. The goal is to get you to call a number to dispute the charge or to sign in with your PayPal username and password to a fake website.
If you call the number immediately upon receiving the email, you will connect with a scammer. They might try to get you to say “yes” to a question such as “Can you hear me okay?”. If they capture your voice saying “Yes”, they will record it, and use your voice to authorize fake charges.
When I called the number in a fake PayPal email, the scammer offered a free life alert device. When I declined the offer and asked to speak to someone about the PayPal notification, the scammer hung up the phone.
I called the number on yet another PayPal scam email an
d was told they would refund the cost of my fake purchase. First, they said, I needed to enter a code into a box on the desktop. Their instructions were clear to walk me through the process step-by-step. Had I hit “Enter” after typing in the code, the scammer would have had full access to my computer.
Think about that for a second. Full access. They could install malware on my computer to record every keystroke. They could open my emails, log in to my Facebook account, and see all of my saved passwords and usernames.
PayPal is a safe way to pay online, offering purchase protection and refunds for undelivered or misrepresented items. I recommend using PayPal for any purchases you make online. It’s safe and the company uses bank-level encryption to keep your information safe.
If you receive an unexpected PayPal email about a purchase you didn’t make, log in to your official PayPal account to check and dispute it. Do not open suspicious emails. Warn young family members, as they are often targeted by these scams and are more likely to fall victim to these scams than their parents and grandparents.
Don’t be tricked by emails that look official. Scammers will use any means necessary to trick victims. And popular payment and shipping options will always be one of the vehicles they use to get past your better judgement.
