Gandalf_The_Grey
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- Apr 24, 2016
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An ongoing PayPal email scam exploits the platform's address settings to send fake purchase notifications, tricking users into granting remote access to scammers
For the past month, BleepingComputer and others [1, 2] have received emails from PayPal stating, "You added a new address. This is just a quick confirmation that you added an address in your PayPal account."
The email includes the new address that was allegedly added to your PayPal account, including a message claiming to be a purchase confirmation for a MacBook M4, and to call the enclosed PayPal number if you did not authorize the purchase.
"Confirmation: Your shipping address for the MacBook M4 Max 1 TB ($1098.95) has been changed. If you did not authorize this update, please reach out to PayPal at +1-888-668-2508'," reads the scam email.
The emails are being sent directly by PayPal from the address "service@paypal.com," causing people to be concerned their account was hacked.
However, those who received this email confirmed that no new addresses were actually added to their accounts. In our case, the scam email was sent to an email address with no PayPal account.
Therefore, if you receive a legitimate email from PayPal stating you updated your address, and it contains a bogus purchase confirmation, simply ignore the email and do not contact the listed phone number as it belongs to the scammer.
To be safe, instead, log into your PayPal account and confirm no additional addresses were added, and if not, junk the email.
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Beware: PayPal "New Address" feature abused to send phishing emails
An ongoing PayPal email scam exploits the platform's address settings to send fake purchase notifications, tricking users into granting remote access to scammers