Phishing .... Be Careful Out There

I haven't had one of these in my inbox in some time, but received it this morning in my inbox. Forwarded to 'spoof@paypal.com.' 

The miscreants expect me to click on a link in the email, which no doubt will take me to a page that looks identical to the official paypal page.

From there I'll be asked to fill out my password, bank info ... you know what happens then. 

If you get an email like this from paypal, ebay .... whoever. Don't click any links. Go directly to your account and you'll find the email is a scam. 

It has happened to me several times. Rule of thumb never open up the link. You did exactly the right thing. The other fraud is when you get an email saying a distant relative has died and left you money. The want your bank info.

These seem to be dramatically increasing - not just PayPal but any number of other scams - one may show up on your phone message service from the "DMV" asking you to verify your driver's license info, or an email from your "bank," asking to verify your account info or your account will be frozen, or from "Amazon."  They're increasingly sophisticated, and where formerly the communications or websites may have had multiple misspellings and errors, they increasingly look like the real thing (although you can sometimes click the email address and see the suspicious origin "emailpirate@fakeamazon.de" or some such).  And rest assured, almost everyone's name, email, phone numbers and addresses are now public property, traded in bulk at a discount.  Best practice is to verify any suspicious contact directly with the institution in question - not via an email link or voicemail or text.  Chances are none of your financial institutions or vendors will request personal information by phone, email or text unless you have initiated the contact.  And if you have provided any information to the scammers, notify the institution immediately and they may be able to head off disaster.  Bottom line is don't trust any unsolicited communication related to your finances, online orders or trading, or personal accounts of any kind.  Run anti-malware on all of your electronic devices connected to the Internet, get a phone blocker, or use what's available from your service provider.  It's a different world we live in now, and electronic warfare on you is a huge and profitable business.

These seem to be dramatically increasing - not just PayPal but any number of other scams - one may show up on your phone message service from the "DMV" asking you to verify your driver's license info, or an email from your "bank," asking to verify your account info or your account will be frozen, or from "Amazon."  They're increasingly sophisticated, and where formerly the communications or websites may have had multiple misspellings and errors, they increasingly look like the real thing (although you can sometimes click the email address and see the suspicious origin "emailpirate@fakeamazon.de" or some such).  And rest assured, almost everyone's name, email, phone numbers and addresses are now public property, traded in bulk at a discount.  Best practice is to verify any suspicious contact directly with the institution in question - not via an email link or voicemail or text.  Chances are none of your financial institutions or vendors will request personal information by phone, email or text unless you have initiated the contact.  And if you have provided any information to the scammers, notify the institution immediately and they may be able to head off disaster.  Bottom line is don't trust any unsolicited communication related to your finances, online orders or trading, or personal accounts of any kind.  Run anti-malware on all of your electronic devices connected to the Internet, get a phone blocker, or use what's available from your service provider.  It's a different world we live in now, and electronic warfare on you is a huge and profitable business.

So you’re saying I should NOT give those fine folks who contacted me from Tanzania about my recent lottery winnings? Honestly, I didn’t even know I played but my name was drawn and they knew how to contact me so it’s true.  All they want is my banking info to wire transfer me my winnings. I’m thinking about how many new razors I can purchase……

I get the usual 'we've been trying to reach you, your car warranty is about to expire.' Lately many calls claiming to be from the local electric provider, FPL ... 'your electric will be turned off in 45 minutes due to non payment. Press 1 to speak to a representative.' Mine is paid automatically through my bank, so I've never been anything but amused by these. I'm tempted to press 1 to tell whoever is on the other end of the line what I think of them, but I resist the temptation and wait until the call hangs up.

My favorite was the day I got a call from an man with an East Indian accent. He said, "Hello!" Congratulations, you've won a million dollars and a new car!"

Really I replied. 'Yes, didn't my associate call you to arrange for you to pick up the car?' No, he didn't, but I have one question ... 'Yes, what is that ?"

"What is my name ? " There was total silence for 10-20 seconds before he hung up. 

These seem to be dramatically increasing - not just PayPal but any number of other scams - one may show up on your phone message service from the "DMV" asking you to verify your driver's license info, or an email from your "bank," asking to verify your account info or your account will be frozen, or from "Amazon."  They're increasingly sophisticated, and where formerly the communications or websites may have had multiple misspellings and errors, they increasingly look like the real thing (although you can sometimes click the email address and see the suspicious origin "emailpirate@fakeamazon.de" or some such).  And rest assured, almost everyone's name, email, phone numbers and addresses are now public property, traded in bulk at a discount.  Best practice is to verify any suspicious contact directly with the institution in question - not via an email link or voicemail or text.  Chances are none of your financial institutions or vendors will request personal information by phone, email or text unless you have initiated the contact.  And if you have provided any information to the scammers, notify the institution immediately and they may be able to head off disaster.  Bottom line is don't trust any unsolicited communication related to your finances, online orders or trading, or personal accounts of any kind.  Run anti-malware on all of your electronic devices connected to the Internet, get a phone blocker, or use what's available from your service provider.  It's a different world we live in now, and electronic warfare on you is a huge and profitable business.

So you’re saying I should NOT give those fine folks who contacted me from Tanzania about my recent lottery winnings? Honestly, I didn’t even know I played but my name was drawn and they knew how to contact me so it’s true.  All they want is my banking info to wire transfer me my winnings. I’m thinking about how many new razors I can purchase……

Tanzania and Botswana are OK, as long as the President has your funds left to you by your Uncle in his account, waiting to be picked up when you verify your bank account....