Surge in Paypal Scam e-mails... am I alone in this?

[kirkCaptain]

I'm getting hit with several "money requests" recently... like these below.  Is it happening to anyone else?

Longwalk Oklahoma Inc. has updated their money request $ 1399.99

Schreiber Group sent you a money request $937

They are just email notifications, no record of these requests exists when I actually login to paypal.

I want to report it, to help protect others.

Thanks Kirk

[Paragon3]

When you call the 888 number it is in India and the person answering is very sketchy and not professional.

[misguidedute]

I'm getting the same amount and Longwalk Oklahoma in the email and the phone numbers they give don't appear on the Paypal site, along with the transaction ID doesn't seem to be with Paypal. Gmail does say the sending email address is verified, however the email starts with "Hello, Billingdepartments1@utmke. onmicrosoft. com" that seems to be a pretty strong red flag indicating this is a scam.

[fortninety]

I too have received the same exact email, three in fact, each representing a different entity: Longwalk Oklahoma Inc. (asking for $1,399.99 USD), Schreiber Group (asking for$9,828.21 USD), and Heart4kids craft (also asking for $1,399.99 USD).

As misguidedute has already pointed out, the emails are addressed to "Billingdepartments1@utmke. onmicrosoft. com" but the fact that they're being received by those who obviously do not utilize that address is a serious cause for concern.

Additionally, an initial search of all three of the aforementioned parties seems to reveal that they are legit businesses. I might gave them a call tomorrow, to let them know that their identities are being hijacked for this scheme.

[PayPal_Chinmaye]

Hello @kirkCaptain 

Thanks for visiting PayPal's Community Forum.
 

I do understand that you want to report scam e-mails. Requesting you to kindly reach out to our customer support team during business hours by clicking the contact us option at the bottom of PayPal page. If your unable to login or are not in access of your PayPal account, you can connect with us via phone call as "as a Guest" (this does not require you to sign in to your PayPal account.
 

Hope this helps you!
 

Warm Regards,
Chinmayee

If this post or any other was helpful, please enrich the Community by giving kudos to its author, accepting it as a solution, and/or coming back to assist others. Members make this Community great!

[kernowlass]

@kirkCaptain 

If its a spoof then NEVER USE ANY LINK OR ANY PHONE NUMBER.

Firstly if the email/text addressed you as ''Dear Member'' / ''Customer'' / ''Client'' OR your ''email address'' then that confirms its a spoof as paypal would address you by your full name eg Dear John Smith.

Secondly if there was a link OR attachment in that email/text to ''cancel'' any transaction or ''confirm'' any details then again it would be a spoof.

Also if they ask you to call the number in the email then it would be fake paypal agents trying to scam you for money to 'fix' something. 

If there was a problem with your account Paypal would not ask you to click on an unsafe link in an email / download an attachment OR phone them on a number in an email, they would direct you to log in normally and go to the resolution or the message centre for more information.

More info here >>
https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/how-do-i-spot-and-report-a-fake%2C-fraudulent%2C-or-phis...
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/suspicious-activity

[sheilahoff]

Recently I rented a getaway via Craig's List. When I went to cancel it I learned they're a scam. BUT immediately after that I started seeing the exact influx mentioned in this post. I've had 4 phishing emails in 2 days and hadn't had one in years. Not sure if they're related. I know to not click on anything and forward to phishing@ PP. But how do we stop them?! Thanks.

PS: We'll see if this helps stop them... I just setup a filter that will block anything with "money request" in the subject.