New Paypal spoof

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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 7:58 am

Not a baiting item as such, but a worrying new (to me, at least) Paypal spoof came into my personal box last night :

This is a copy of my post over at Scamwarners.com :

I received a very nice looking email from Paypal overnight, addressed to me, by name, in full saying my recent transaction had been declined.
Now, I've recently changed bank accounts but I've not made any purchases using Paypal for about 3 weeks. However, it was addressed to me personally and it was only as a result of working at this sort of site that my suspicions were raised.
I can't reproduce the email as such, it's full of graphics, but it's an exact copy of a real Paypal message except in the top right hand corner :

Quote:

Xxxxx,why your transaction was declined
Trouble reading this? View online
Add [email protected] to your Address Book

note the extra 'e' in the email address

Futher down after the blurb about the transaction being declined you are invited to add a card by clicking on a button 'add card'
This directs you to :

"https://email-edg.paypal.com/"

It even has the warning bit at the bottom

Quote:

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 address you by your first and last name. Find out more here.

If you click on 'find out more here' you go to :

https://email-edg.paypal.com/r/06OEXBS/9443TR/ZBCK7D4/PNDZ4Y/52QK5X/TT/h

When I get more time I'll print off the email, scan it and attach a copy here.

If you get an email like this NEVER click on the links supplied, log on to the website in the normal fashion on a new tab and check your profile. Call Paypal (it's an 0800 number in the UK) and they'll check your account, if you call up the number from the Paypal contact screen after logging in you'll get a 6 digit code and they'll check your account before speaking to you, they were very helpful.

I'm not sure if the website above can be targetted, if there are any site killers who would like the email header to check for more clues please send me a PM and I'll redact my personal info from it and pass it on.

Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 8:10 am

I'm confused IG, both of the domains you have quoted are legitimate PayPal domains - are those the addresses where the links actually end up?

I'd be more worried that someone has phished your PayPal details and tried to use them for a transaction that has failed due to your bank details being out of date.

Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:28 am

Inspector Gadget wrote:

addressed to me, by name, in full

Doesn't mean it's legit. Not at all. If your email address is registered to your name, it's possible a scammer can use some clever coding to find and insert your name in the email based on your address. Advertisers do it all the time to try and catch your attention by putting your name in the email subject.
The email I use for paypal is registered with my gamer-tag. So while legit emails address my name, all the fake ones or spams are either "Dear user" or addressed to my gamer-tag.