August 29, 2007

  • Very close call

    Oh my word.  I just about majorly blew it.  I got an email that LOOKED like it was from paypal asking for an update on info.  I clicked the link, and noticed that my phising alert came on.  Something I ONLY turned on last night.  I hadn't realized I had it.

    I started updating my info, but something wasn't quite making sense, cause I updated my credit card info a month ago due to it expiring.  

    So I quickly closed it up and accessed paypal from my normal way rather the email link.

    And yeah...they didn't need any info.

    I looked around paypal and found a place to forward the email.

    And less then thirty-seconds later I got this.

    Dear Tonia,

    Thanks for taking an active role by reporting suspicious-looking emails.
    The email you forwarded to us is a phishing email, and our security team
    is working to disable it.

    -------------------------
    What is a phishing email?
    -------------------------
    Phishing emails attempt to steal your identity and will often ask you to
    reveal your password or other personal or financial information. PayPal
    will never ask for your password over the phone or in an email and will
    always address you by your first and last name.

    Take our Fight Phishing Challenge at
    https://www.paypal.com/fightphishing to learn 5 things you should know
    about phishing. You'll also see what we're doing to help fight fraud
    every day.

    -------------------------
    You've made a difference.
    -------------------------
    Every email counts. By forwarding a suspicious-looking email to
    spoof@paypal.com, you've helped keep yourself and others safe from
    identity theft.

    Thanks,

    The PayPal Team

    Breathes deep and so glad I didn't do something very very bad.  

    Edits;  I just realized I probably *did* give them my password.  So quickly went in and changed it.  The lesson learned here is do NOT access security things from your email.  Get them from your favorites link.   This way you KNOW you are really where you should be, as trust me the site they sent me to looked very real. 

Comments (6)

  • Wow!  I am so glad that you shared that with us.  You have to be so careful and trust no one, which is really sad.  I am glad you followed your gut instinct and did not give all that info away. 

  • i have gotten those before. {{{hugs}}}

  • I got one of those from ebay one time!! Pretty scary stuff!

  • Ehehehe. I nearly did that a long time ago with PayPal and then I realized that they'd said they'd never ask me for my private information so I contacted them and voila! I automatically delete any email requests for my personal data. If something is needed I'll find out the next time I log into a specific site.

    *waves*

  • I've received several of those and just always deleted them. I probably should have reported them like you did. You have to be so, so careful anymore.

  • I got the same thing...it made me me suspicious b/c it was to my other email...the one that I don't use for paypal.  Glad you caught it!

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