subject: Paypal and Bank Scams [print this page] Paypal and Bank Scams Paypal and Bank Scams
Becoming a victim of our own fears is exactly what the scammers are hoping will happen. With the economy the way it has been for the last few years, noone can afford to lose even the smallest amount of money to a fraud or scam. And this is what they want.
Someone looking to dishonestly assist you in parting with your money will use this fear to increase their chances of success. These tactic are much the same as the ones used by a salesperson to get you to buy what they are selling you. They will find what is called a "hot button" and turn it around on you. It could be anything from your house, your kids, or your financial stability. Well, what the fraudsters do is use your fear of losing money to do just that...make you lose money.
One tactic that has been around for a long time is to send you an email that says some form of your financial information has possibly been compromised. The most common of these are emails that look like they are from Paypal or one of the more popular banks. You will read in the email that there has been suspicious activity on your account and that it requires immediate attention. It will then ask you to login to your account and verify your information. The best part, they provide you with a very convenient link that you can follow straight to the "official" site where you will be asked to simply provide your account details to square it all away. The site that the link leads you to will look just like the official site of whatever financial institution you were headed to. But beware, these are called "clone" sites. On the backend of the site is software programmed to record your keystrokes and provide the scammer with your login and password. This gives them much easier access to take all of your money. This is why it is so important to understand thedifference between HTTP and HTTPS in the address bar of your browser. The difference between those is the difference in your safety online.
This same type of scam has also been carried over from strictly emails to phone calls. I personally have received calls asking me to enter my card information. Those calls always result in me hanging up right away, as you should too.
If you ever receive any of these emails or calls, report them to your bank or Paypal, Amazon, EBay, or whichever site they are supposedly coming from. Do not follow through with what they are asking you to do. If you are unsure, call your bank, they will confirm immediately that they will never email you or call you to ask for that type of information.
So make certain that you are using extreme caution when you are conducting business online. If something doesn't seem right then it probably isn't.
