suspicious email from [Removed]

[jamesburden]

Hi - hope someone can give some advice on this. 

I've just received a suspicious email from [Removed]. I checked the html source of the email and it does appear that it is from that email address. But there are several really weird things about the email. 

1. It's addressed to 'killo Carter' (not my name)
2. The email starts with 'Billing Department of paypal sent you an invoice for £600.00 GBP'
3. Underneath a button to view and pay the invoice the email says 'According to the information, your PayPal account may have been illegally accessed. GBP 600. 00 has been deducted from your account to cover the cost of AMAZON E GIFT CARD.'
4. The email also says 'If you think you did not make this transaction, call us right away at [Removed] or visit the PayPal Support Center for assistance'. This is a number in mid Wales which is pretty strange.

I've logged into my PayPal account and of course there are no signs of anything related to this. I'm sure it's a fraud (wrong name, not capitalising PayPal, grammatical mistakes etc) and I've forwarded it to phishing[at]paypal.com, but I'm puzzled that it does appear to be actually from [Removed]. And that the links in the email are all paypal.com links.

Am I right that this is a phishing email? Anyone seen this one before?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

[SarahCatherine]

I also received this email to and think that confirms it's a scam. 

[NancyGorman]

I got the same name and email, except it was £675 for marks and spencer gift cards

[PayPal_JonK]

Hello @jamesburden, @SarahCatherine, and @NancyGorman, 

Thanks for writing in and welcome to the PayPal Community! Thank you for all that excellent information @jamesburden, that's greatly appreciated. In that case, it does sound like it may be a phishing email. The best way to deal with a fraudulent or phishing email is to forward it to the email you've referenced, phishing@paypal.com. You can find more information about phishing emails and websites here: How do I spot and report a fake, fraudulent, or phishing PayPal email or website?
 

Best wishes and have a great day!

 - Jon K

[Jmac_15]

How has this been sent from the legitimate PayPal account? You guys must have been hacked???

[red_hot_chili]

I got (almost) the same email, but clearly aimed at an American, as it stated the amount in dollars, and was for a supposed gift card from a store called Best Buy. I suspected it was a scam, but decided to call the 800 number (those are toll-free numbers in the US)—and I called from an untraceable virtual phone number. (Note: DO NOT CALL ANY NUMBER IN A SUSPICIOUS EMAIL. I took a calculated risk, but it is highly inadvisable to do this.) Indeed, on the other end of the phone was what was clearly a scam-call center, most likely situated in India. I called five or six times, and each time, a different guy speaking English with an Indian accent answered, and I could hear lots of chatter in the background, some of it in Hindi. Once I was certain it was a scam-call center, I couldn't resist letting the scammer know that I knew, and sure enough, he lodged a long string of verbal abuse at me before hanging up on me. I furthermore got callbacks twice from these scammers, and each time, it was a different number with a Pennsylvania area code. I suppose it's possible that the scam-call center is in Pennsylvania, but highly doubtful. The vast majority of these scam operations are in India—it is a literal industry there, so you simply have to educate yourself to spot scams and not fall for it. If you suspect a scam. notify the respective authority in your country that is responsible for investigating scams and other types of fraud, particularly of the online or via-phone variety. (P.S. This post is in NO WAY meant to disparage all people from India or of Indian extraction. I am only referring to the handful of dirtbags who willingly work for these organized crime syndicates.)