ATTENTION: Email Scam Alert

[liviu165]

I just wanted to alert everybody of a recent scam alert, with intention of getting your PayPal information.

Recently I used my PayPal to send money to our esteemed member Ntrepid for one SLS reservoir, then yesterday for a second bottle (FOR SALE - GROUP BUY: Reproduction SLS Reservoir & Label | Parts for Sale).

Well, this morning I noticed in my Inbox an email that caught my eye saying that my PayPal account has been suspended. It displayed a credible sender (service@paypal.com) and the email looked genuine ... at first site. Being suspicious of the address that it came from, I did not use the displayed button, I went to my PayPal account separately and checked. Of course, everything is fine.

It was probably just a coincidence that the email showed up at a time when I used PayPal for payment of the SLS bottles, but because all of you use it to pay for different things, I thought you should be aware. Pictures are attached.

 

[liviu165]

IMPORTANT: Because you use PayPal, please be aware of scams and read this: ATTENTION: Email Scam Alert | Off-Topic Discussions

 

[ace10]

IMPORTANT: Because you use PayPal, please be aware of scams and read this: ATTENTION: Email Scam Alert | Off-Topic Discussions

I get at least two or three of those emails per day. For years.

Nothing to do with this group buy.

 

[liviu165]

I get at least two or three of those emails per day. For years.

Nothing to do with this group buy.

I did not suggested it has anything to do with the group buy (I already know it does NOT), is just that it came at the same time and this one to me looked better crafted than others (which is why I had to check my account). I brought it up with good intention so nobody will be taken advantage of, but if it has no value it will not hurt my feelings if @gerryvz will delete my post and the other thread.

 

[gerryvz]

Generally, if you pass your mouse over the "button" in the email, and let it hover without clicking on the button, it will reveal the actual link that the button leads to. And more often than not, it will be some random email address that is NOT having anything to do with the site it purports to be from.

The best thing to do is not even to open these suspected e-mails.

From a security standpoint, these mails often contain a single pixel at the bottom corner of the mail, which identifies the specific recipient of the e-mail. When opened, the pixel activates and sends a ping back to the sender re: which recipients of the e-mail opened it up and viewed it. This act then verifies that the e-mail address is a valid one, and either encourages the spammer to send future scam emails, or allows the spammer to "harvest" the e-mail address onto a list that is then provided to other spammers.

If curiosity gets the best of you, and you just can't resist opening e-mails you receive, one way to get around this "phone home" pixel security issue with e-mails, is to set your e-mail client to a "preview" mode, which allows you to view the first few lines of an e-mail without actually opening it (and thus, it won't phone home because it isn't opened).

Some e-mail clients also have a setting by where nothing can be sent when an e-mail is opened.

Best thing to do, in all honesty, is not to open any e-mail at all when it comes from a site or vendor that you have an account with. So, if you see an email from PayPal or eBay (or your bank, the IRS, etc.) that says your account has been disabled/closed/you owe money, it's best to just go to that site directly in your browser and check for yourself if there are any problems. DO NOT open the e-mail at all.

 

[JC220]

Nothing new there unfortunately I get crap that like from time to time. And text messages claiming the same thing. Ultimately all hoping that you click the spoof link and Input your credentials.

A good tip is to actually look at the email address closer. Aka that one clearly pretends to be PayPal.com or whatever but the tail end of it reads the actual (scumbag) sender with a address ending in .org

They use a mask or some term like that to make an email look it came from a certain company or person. But if you know to always look then you can quickly see the real source.

I therefore view all emails with suspicion unless proven otherwise and log into my PayPal only via my normal web search and never directed through an email. If there was a real issue of course it would still show when you log into your legitimate PayPal website account.

 

[liviu165]

Thanks for the info. I am not software or computer literate, besides being an old fashion emigrant. My daughter keeps on telling me 'Daddy, you are fresh off the boat and you still have one foot on it' (which I find it amusing).

Sorry for the interruption folks, I think we can get back now to our regular SLS bottle program.

 

[gerryvz]

I get a few spam phone calls every week on my cell phone (I haven't had a land line for nearly 15 years). Invariably they are all from "503" or occasionally "541" area codes, because my own cell phone number is a "503" (Oregon) number, from when I lived there and got the phone number in 1997.

I know they are spam calls 100% of the time, because I barely know anyone in Oregon anymore, having moved from there to Texas back in 2008. So I just let them ring through and don't answer them.

The scammers are not canny enough to know that I am actually physically on the East Coast these, days, rather than in Oregon. They are assuming I'm still in Oregon and will pick up any call that is from a number in the same area code as my number is.

Fat chance, suckers.

 

[gsxr]

There are multiple red flags in that email. liviu, you did the right thing by NOT clicking the button.

Here's a couple of the more obvious errors - the huge one is the wrong domain/URL from the sender:

 

[liviu165]

Thank you, guys. Very informative and helpful information. I appreciate it!

 

[nocfn]

Sadly this crap goes on. If a caller isnt in my phones address book it goes directly to voice mail - it won't even ring. No voicemail, the get blocked and submitted to ATT as spam.