Consumers looking to do their Christmas shopping online are being warned by the National Fraud Authority about bogus emails pretending to be from PayPal, designed to get hold of personal information that can be used to commit fraud.
This latest PayPal related scam involves fraudsters emailing individuals a message with an HTML file attached. The email says that an issue with the user’s PayPal account regarding its safe use has been identified, and that a restriction has been placed on the account as a result. It says that attachment will help to restore the user’s PayPal account access.
If the user opens the attachment, a phishing page opens, which is designed to look exactly like a legitimate PayPal web page. The user is asked to enter information including their name, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, employer, address, credit or debit card details and even the card’s PIN.
Fraudsters can go on to use this information to commit identity fraud and buy goods and services in a person’s name.
Action Fraud is reminding all online shoppers to be wary of emails saying they come from financial service providers like PayPal, and to never give out personal information without checking who it’s really going to.
