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Last week I received a paypal spam email in my inbox.  Here is exactly what it said:

service <update@support.com> to Jul 20
We regret to inform you that access to your account has been temporarily limited.

This has been done due to several failed log-in attempts.

To restore your account please log in correctly.

If you fail to log in correctly your account will be suspended for fraud prevention.

You will be able to register again for PayPal only after you authenticate your profile.

We apologize for the inconvenience, this measure was taken for your protection.

PayPal Security Team

Scams Using Paypal

If you have received this email beware that this is a paypal email scam.  I almost fell for this scam myself.   In the email paypal tells you that your account has been limited because of to many log in attempts.

The fake paypal email will then ask you to log back in after you authentic your profile.  This is where all of these paypal phishing scams get you.  However don’t log  in, this is exactly what they want you to do.  By clicking on the link provided in the paypal email scam they will then be able to track and capture your log in information.

Once inside your account they will be able to lock you out of your account and will have all of you financial information from your bank account number, credit card info, and social security number.

How Do You Know If A Paypal Email Is Authentic

Their are a couple of things you should look for if you want to know if a paypal email is authentic or not.   As in this paypal spam email it raised a few red flags with me right away.  So remember these tips and you can avoid being ripped off by paypal phishing scams.

1. The paypal email address was a fake. In the paypal spam email the address was update@support.com  This made me suspicious right away.  This email address is to plain but it also doesn’t even contain the word paypal in it.
2. No Greeting using your name. In a real paypal email address they will include your first and last name or business name in the greeting of the email.  In this email their was no greeting or name at all.  Often times paypal phishing emails will will say something  along the lines, “Dear Paypal User”, or “Dear Paypal Member.”
3. No safe log in. When logging in to Paypal they would never direct you to a different website other than paypal.com in order to sign in to your account.  In the paypal phishing email the link went to a completely different website.  If someone is asking you to log in through their website don’t do it.
4. Never give your personal information. Paypal will never ask for your personal info no matter what.  They already have it on file and their is no need to ask for it again.  I also want to mention here that you will want to be careful who you give your Paypal log in and password to.  When setting up a Paypal account make sure the log in and user name are completely original form any other password and user name you already have.
5. Never download or click the links of the Paypal spam email. Paypal will never ask you to down load any programs.  These sites may contain viruses that could expose your account information.  The Paypal email scam may also include a link which my use what is known as a tracking cookie to compromise your user name and password as well.

What You Should Do If You’ve Been Hit By This Paypal Email Scam

First off, if you haven’t been hit by this Paypal email scam yet but you have recieved this email and have clicked on the link inside of it you will want to run your anti virus software to make sure they aren’t using any tracking software to hack into your Paypal account.  If you don’t know how to do this talk to a friend of family member who can help you out.

Second, if you have been hit by this scam it is important you take a few quick action to prevent the paypal scammers from getting anything from you.  First, you need to call your credit card company and put a freeze on your credit card account.  This way the hackers can’t use it.

Next, inform any banks involved with your paypal account.  If you have accounts linked to your paypal account it is important that you tell your bank that your paypal account has been hacked and you want the account frozen.

Finally, contact paypal about what has happened to you.  They have some of the best people combating scams and fraud.  Paypal also has a protection policy for those that qualify and will actually fight chargebacks on your behalf.

Have You Been Hit By This Paypal Email Scam

If you have been hit by this paypal spam email we would like to hear your story.  Think you’re at risk for identity theft? Get LifeLock from $9/month. Enroll now. Leave a comment below.

Chris