Received invoice from one seller which I didn't make any purchase. Is it a scam?

[MichaelCHK]

Hi all. I received a notification from PayPal that someone sent me an invoice to make a payment of USD 500 for purchasing a anti virus software which I didn't make. Could I just leave it like that with out paying or how do I cancel or report this?

[Loaddown]

"we escalated our concern by requesting contact from a non-bot agent" You did a lot of footwork. Did you ever get any answer to your chatbot escapade re: your fraudulant invoice? I have resolved myself to just ignore the invoice, since all PayPal has to offer is bots and algorithms, in my experience. I would never humor a criminal by calling or replying to their requests/threats. Please let us know if you have any success otherwise.

[dungeonkeeper]

Just today I got this same email addressed to my email address instead of my name, which I saw and opened using my phone (not the link in the email, just the email).  I suspected it was a scam, but here is the weird thing about it that I plan to call Paypal and clarify:  Because I suspected it was a scam, I decided to open my Paypal app to see if I had any valid notice directly through Paypal.  I did have a notification about it so I tried canceling the invoice but it didn't give me that option.  So I logged into my Paypal account using my computer, through a browser, thinking  that I might be able to cancel it in my account using a computer because I know that smart phone platforms don't always give account holders complete access to make changes through an app.  However, when I logged into my account using a browser and went to my notifications the notification for the fake invoice doesn't appear at all.  It doesn't show any pending transactions that are false, nothing related to the email with the fake invoice.  I'm wondering if the scammers are counting on most people opening the email using a phone to which they can then get access to the phone even if the user doesn't click on the link in the email.  I don't know, but it's weird that my Paypal app shows the notification, but my account logged in through a browser does not.

[mb501]

I received a message on an email that I don't use with PayPal, subject "Billing Department of PayPal updated your invoice ( PP44541233 )." The email claims I'm going to be billed $1000 for a Walmart gift card purchase.

This is a scam, right? It's a convincing one--they've successfully spoofed [removed] as the sender and reply-to address, so part of me is just nervous that I am about to lose $1k!

[Phantom12]

They are getting good!  I called th[Removed. Phone #s not permitted]  It's a call center with a bad phone connection and indian sounding **bleep**.

[slawek2]

I got the same email about 30 minutes ago. I'm in IT and can tell a scam/phish email quite regularly. This one looks 100% legit, including the proper "from" email, with proper signatures, as well as links to proper paypal websites. I called the number listed and also got the Indian call center (with no wait time), which I hung up on immediately because that was the red flag for me. I googled the phone number and nothing PayPal related showed up which was red flag #2. Later I noticed the heading says "Hello, PayPal User" which is red flag #3. 

I stripped the URL to the invoice and opened it in a private browser tab, and it takes it to a legitimate paypal website with the giftcard scam details.

This is extremely suspicions and I'm not sure what to do. PayPal should look into this (respond here) immediately! 

[asthewriter]

I just got the same email! Red flag #4—I checked my account activity on the PayPal app and there is no such invoice. I tried calling PayPal (from the number on PayPal's site, not the number in the email) and hung up after a while because now that I've seen that I'm not the only one, I'm fairly convinced my moolah is safe. But it would be nice if PayPal could confirm.

[asthewriter]

UPDATE: I chatted w/ PayPal support via Twitter DM and the rep confirmed that this indeed is a phishing scam. 

[Chromeronin]

My wife just got a similar mail. The hello PayPal user was the biggest alert as PayPal Should know who she is. This is one of the best crafted phish mails I think I’ve seen.

[Grayeyes1012]

I got the email too and although I'm not in IT I'm not exactly a tech dummy.  This scared me enough to look up and call the actual Paypal phone #.  What scared me is that it appears to come from the actual paypal email, has their logo, etc.  I didn't send the email but hit reply to see what would come up and it does show [removed] but again I'm not in IT.  Also the number it said to call (which I didn't) after googling was not associated with paypal.  The email said Billing Department of PayPal updated your invoice ( PP66759989 )

Invoice updated

Billing Department of PayPal updated your invoice

Note from Billing Department of PayPal:

There is evidence that your PayPal account has been accessed unlawfully. $600. 00 has been debited to your account for the Walmart eGift Card purchase. This transaction will appear in the automatically deducted amount on PayPal activity after 24 hours. If you suspect you did not make this transaction, immediately contact us at the toll-free number +1 (NOT PAYPAL PHONE #) or visit the PayPal Support Center area for assistance. Our Service Hours: (06:00 a. m. to 06:00 p. m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday)

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I forwarded the email to [removed] and I hope everyone else does too.  This is an easy scam for an unsuspecting person to fall pray to.

[billingemail]

I got the same email!

Everything looks so real and legit except when I called the number it rang twice and hung up. Sketch! 

Glad to see I'm not the only one. These scammers are getting good so be careful out there everyone!