There is a new scam that is circulating around the internet. It involves PayPal Identity Scam. PayPal is a secure system that lets any business or consumer with an email address to securely send and receive payments online. PayPal is often used by online auctions such as eBay. The new scam notifies users of a problem and directs them to a site to correct the problem. The following excerpt comes from Internet Scambusters: PayPal Identity Theft ScamA new type of PayPal scam has been making the rounds. If you're a PayPal
user, you may receive an email titled "URGENT:
PayPal System Problems."
The email then goes on to say that, because of computer glitches, all users
should log in to the PayPal URL given in
the email and re-enter their information.
But the PayPal login URL given is *not* ==>
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr/?cmd=_login-run
which is the real direct PayPal login URL.
It's a URL starting with http://www.paypalsys.com -- a bogus site where the
scammer steals your PayPal identity, and possibly your money.
Remember that URLs starting with http:// are not secure. Only URLs starting
with https:// are (if you're using Internet Explorer, you'll see a little
lock in the lower right-hand corner of the browser to remind you you're
visiting a secure site).
PayPal has a list of security tips, which includes the following:
If you receive an email and are unsure whether it is from PayPal, come
directly to the PayPal site at www.paypal.com.
Don't click on any link in an email that seems suspicious to you. These
security measures will help ensure that you are
logging into PayPal. The only site you should ever type your username and
password into is at www.paypal.com.
To check out more excellent security tips from PayPal, visit:
==> http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/fraud-prevention-outside
For additional scams, you can go to the Internet ScamBusters website at: http://www.scambusters.org/