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General => Technical Help => Topic started by: SmallTownGirl on Tuesday 10 February 15 10:32 GMT (UK)
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Hi
I opened a PayPal account in Nov 2014 and one of the steps was that, after I'd put my bank details in, they paid 1p into that account so that I could then repeat the 4-digit code that went with the 1p back to them to complete the registration process. I did that and received confirmation that all was well. All my email communications were from service [-- at --] paypal.co.uk.
Today I've received an email from paypal [-- at --] e.paypal.co.uk saying that my account opening isn't quite complete and I need to find the 1p on my bank statement, log into my account (using the link in this email) and "follow the steps to confirm my bank account".
Am I right to be suspicious, do you think?
Shall I just ignore it, or try reporting it to someone? Perhaps I could forward the message to service [-- at --] paypal.co.uk to see what they say?
Any ideas, please?
Thanks
STG
Moderator Comment: e-mail edited, to avoid spamming and other abuses.
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Advice from PayPal here.
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/helpcenter/helphub/article/?solutionId=FAQ2331
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Hi, "EVERYTIME" you receive a message from paypal it should be addressed to you by name, if it is not or you are in anyway suspicious you should forward it to paypal, I think the address is "spoof at paypal" or something along those lines.
Hope that helps.
Frank.
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It is addressed to me by name, but rather than finding that a comfort, I find it worrying :-\
STG
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Paypal mail should always start with your name, if it just says "Dear paypal member/customer/user" or anything along those lines then it is more than likely a scam, however please don't rely on my say so, if you are in any doubt at all then forward it to paypal, they are really good with anything like that.
Frank.
ADDED: I think that they need to know that you are indeed the account holder and that you have access to the account, you could always log into your account NOT using the link in the email and see if anything is mentioned on your account summary/overview.
But as said if at all suspicious then forward it to PayPal.
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I've forwarded it to spoof [-at-] paypal.com and had an acknowledgement.
Today is obviously my day for carp. Just had someone on the phone claiming to be from the National Accident Helpline about "... a car accident we had in the last three years." Nope! Try some other sucker. >:(
STG
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Rather than reply to that email, I would log directly into paypal from your browser and see if there are any messages there.
The e.paypal.co.uk ought to be a sub-domain of their official site, but I would be suspicious too.
Mike
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I googled that e. address and your question has been asked lots of times on different forums, and it's hard to get a clear answer.
This one http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=245217 (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=245217) seems pretty clear that it's a fake though, and the request for you to "update your bank details" sounds like pretty standard phishing to me.
Mike
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Rather than reply to that email, I would log directly into paypal from your browser and see if there are any messages there.
Mike
My thoughts exactly Mike.
Frank.
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Checked my account and it looks just like I left it back in Nov 2014. £0.00 balance. No messages.
Phew, so far, so good.
STG
PS : Thanks for the link, Mike
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Error for "e.paypal.co.uk".
This domain cannot be registered because it contravenes the Nominet UK
naming rules. The reason is: the domain name contains too many parts.
http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp
Stan
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The e-mail address to forward suspected phishing is spoof@paypal.com. They will always respond and if it was a genuine e-mail they will advise you of that.
As has been mentioned, generally, if the e-mail is addressed to you it is genuine. Phishers don't know your name, they just address their e-mails as Dear Paypal customer, or something similar. It seems to me that you only did part of what was needed to set up your PayPal account and if you buy something on line and want to use PayPal it may not be possible.
By the way, I use PayPal to send small amounts of money to USA for Christmas and birthday presents for my son and granddaughter. Both of us have set up accounts to do this but neither can see each other's account. What happens is I just have to quote my son's e-mail address and the amount I want to send and, miraculously, the money appears in his bank account within a few minutes.
Lizzie
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As has been mentioned, generally, if the e-mail is addressed to you it is genuine. Phishers don't know your name, they just address their e-mails as Dear Paypal customer,
Lizzie
The difference with this scam, and what is especially worrying people is that it IS addressed to the right person, and not to Dear customer.
Mike
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As has been mentioned, generally, if the e-mail is addressed to you it is genuine. Phishers don't know your name, they just address their e-mails as Dear Paypal customer, or something similar. It seems to me that you only did part of what was needed to set up your PayPal account and if you buy something on line and want to use PayPal it may not be possible.
I'm afraid this no longer seems to hold true.
I have received very authentic looking emails recently: from my internet provider and from paypal. Both of them proved to be phishing emails and both were addressed to me personally.
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As has been mentioned, generally, if the e-mail is addressed to you it is genuine. Phishers don't know your name, they just address their e-mails as Dear Paypal customer, or something similar. It seems to me that you only did part of what was needed to set up your PayPal account and if you buy something on line and want to use PayPal it may not be possible.
I'm afraid this no longer seems to hold true.
I have received very authentic looking emails recently: from my internet provider and from paypal. Both of them proved to be phishing emails and both were addressed to me personally.
The difference with this scam, and what is especially worrying people is that it IS addressed to the right person, and not to Dear customer.
Mike
That is most definitely very alarming.
Frank.
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I have received very authentic looking emails recently: from my internet provider and from paypal.
I should of course have said that they purported to come from my internet provider and from paypal.
The email from my 'internet provider' took me to what appeared to be their website but was in fact based on a very clever screenshot of the home page. It only dawned on me that something was wrong when I realised that very few of the links on the page worked. The ones that did took me directly to a spurious 'log in' page. It was so cleverly done that I very nearly fell for it.
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That is most definitely very alarming.
Frank.
yes - the rules keep changing!
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Extreme Vigilance has to be the order of the day.
Frank.
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Somewhat ironic that today is Safer Internet Day, eh what?
STG
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If the phishers are now addressing e-mails with our names, how are we to know whether they are genuine or not? PayPal often send me e-mails suggesting I look at my account - usually when I've actually used it. I tend to delete them and go direct to PayPal.
My bank - (which only tends to send e-mails with info - no link - or a message saying my account is ready to look at, does that mean some people only check their account monthly?) always quotes my e-mail address at the top of their e-mails. I assume that phishers will find that out soon too.
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Interestingly, I've just received an e-mail from PayPal, subject "View your recent transactions now". I tend to think it is genuine as although the e-mail address used is mine, it is actually addressed to my husband, using his Christian and surnames. I doubt any phisher would know that's how my PayPal account is set up.
At the bottom of the e-mail it states:
How do I know this is not a Spoof email?
Spoof or ‘phishing’ emails tend to have generic greetings such as "Dear PayPal member". Emails from PayPal will always contain your full name.
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At the bottom of the e-mail it states:
How do I know this is not a Spoof email?
Spoof or ‘phishing’ emails tend to have generic greetings such as "Dear PayPal member". Emails from PayPal will always contain your full name.
The email I received (the one that I started this thread about) said exactly the same, but until I hear back from spoof I shall remain unconvinced.
STG
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Hi all, I received a similar Paypal Email today noted the address was paypal@e.paypal.co.uk a google search gives differing views as to its authenticity?
Keyboard86
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Hi all, I received a similar Paypal Email today noted the address was paypal@e.paypal.co.uk a google search gives differing views as to its authenticity?
Keyboard86
I think you'll find its a genuine email address. I don't tend to keep emails from Paypal but I get one each month suggesting that I review the transactions on my account. The earliest I have is from Sept 2014 and is from the e.paypal.co.uk email address (although it shows as just Paypal in the header of the email, if you hold your mouse over it then the full address shows).
As to the original email received by STG, it sounds like normal activity by Paypal when you add a bank account or credit card initially to the account. I've had my Paypal account for quite a few years but I know when I added the CC to it originally, the last step was to use the code from the credit card statement to verify the account on Paypal.
I think you'll find its genuine.
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As to the original email received by STG, it sounds like normal activity by Paypal when you add a bank account or credit card initially to the account. I've had my Paypal account for quite a few years but I know when I added the CC to it originally, the last step was to use the code from the credit card statement to verify the account on Paypal.
I think you'll find its genuine.
BUT ... I've already verified my bank account (back in Nov 2014 when I set up the account) and when I log into PayPal (NOT using the link in today's email), it says that my bank account is verified.
That's what makes me so suspicious about today's email asking me to do it [again].
STG
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BUT ... I've already verified my bank account (back in Nov 2014 when I set up the account) and when I log into PayPal (NOT using the link in today's email), it says that my bank account is verified.
That's what makes me so suspicious about today's email asking me to do it [again].
STG
Ok fair enough, I just wondered whether you had actually entered the code from the statement already or not. Not everyone has immediate access to their bank statements, my parents won't use online banking. If you hadn't, that may
explain the email.
Edit - sorry just re-read your original post and you have said you'd entered the code at the time.
Its also possible its genuine but been sent out by paypal in error.
Edit If you know how to view the email headers, its worth checking to see if it looks like it actually originated from Paypal. The way to do this though varies in different email programs. If it wasn't from Paypal, it should be obvious as the originating address amongst the various lines of code will be different - in which case Paypal's e.paypal email address will have been spoofed..
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I had an email from Pay-pal a couple of weeks ago which I binned. I had a reminder from them the other day saying I'd failed to reply to it. Trouble is that I don't have a Pay-pal account and never have had one.
Trust nobody, reply to no-one!
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I had an email from Pay-pal a couple of weeks ago which I binned. I had a reminder from them the other day saying I'd failed to reply to it. Trouble is that I don't have a Pay-pal account and never have had one.
Trust nobody, reply to no-one!
The same has happened to me, I don't have a Pay-pal account either. They were binned along with others from banks I have no accounts with, also those purporting to be from my internet provide telling me my mailbox is full and I will be unable to receive or send more emails until I click on the link.
With the news of the smart TVs connected to the internet being able to pick up conversations in ones home, security is going to become ever more important, not to mention time consuming.
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Just received this from PayPal in response to my query about whether the first email was genuine:
Thank you for bringing this email to our attention. We can confirm that
PayPal sent this email. We apologize for any confusion this may have
caused.
To keep members informed of our products and services, PayPal
occasionally sends emails to account holders. General Notification
emails and Payment Notification emails are activated by default.
Therefore, a PayPal user will need to set their Preferences to 'not'
receive these emails if they so choose.
Please check your Account Profile to ensure that your email notification
preferences are currently set to your desired specifications. You can
choose whether or not to receive these Notification emails by following
these steps:
1. Log into your account at https://www.paypal.com/ by entering your
email address and password in the Member Log In box
2. Click on "Profile"
3. Select "Notifications" under the Account Information tab
4. Select which Notifications you would like to receive
5. Click Save
Sincerely,
The PayPal Team
So it appears I was fretting unnecessarily. Thanks for the support though.
STG
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Hi STG, at least you now know :)
Regards
Frank.