PayPal scams (9 scams to watch out for)
PayPal has become one of the most trusted payment methods, whether it’s an invoice for a small business or at checkout for a large e-commerce site.
Essentially, however, as long as there is a website with lots of customers all over the world, there will be scammers and scammers trying to take advantage. So here are 10 PayPal scams to watch out for!
PayPal scams in 2022
1. PayPal “Problem with Your Account” Scam
When you get an email from PayPal, you’re going to have a great day and “there’s a problem with your account”.
It wants you to click on a link and it looks legit – it even has PayPal.com in the URL.
You may not know it’s a phishing attempt, and it takes you to a site that isn’t PayPal at all, but a fraudulent site used to get your account login information — or worse.
One such example of this email takes a PayPal customer to a website that even asks for their social security number and mother’s maiden name!
If you’re using Gmail and the spam filter hasn’t caught this, the initial indicator that it’s not PayPal is in the sender line.
For the example given,
If you find a mistake and you haven’t been spoofed by the email, you can forward it to spoof@paypal.com.
Likewise, you can forward emails to spam@uce.gov, the Federal Trade Commission’s database of scam emails.
2. PayPal False Fraud SMS Scam
Another scam that thieves try is the use of fake fraud alerts to locate your phone number.
For example, one person might say that someone tried to access your account; another person might read about suspicious activity on your account.
I recently received these text messages in person, but it wasn’t actually PayPal’s deadly giveaway that the message started with an overly long email address.
In any case, the message is followed by a link that you should click to log into your account and process it properly.
However, don’t click the link! PayPal does not notify suspicious account activity via text.
If you do click the link, at best you may be taken to a phishing site where they will collect your account login information.
At worst, you could end up downloading malware that can monitor your every move.
3. PayPal order confirmation scam
Another tactic scammers try is sending fake order confirmation emails that appear to come from PayPal.
The thief is counting on you to make a recent purchase, so you’ll click the link to “Check Order Status.”
It’s easy to ignore emails if you haven’t made a recent purchase. However, if there is, proceed with caution.
Does the sender’s email address end with @paypal.com? Are emails free of grammar and spelling errors?
If not, please don’t click the link.
4. PayPal Promotional Offer Scams
A good company like PayPal, they don’t just donate money, so you can delete any emails promoting promotional offers from PayPal.
These emails tend to say that if you just log into your account and “verify some details” you can get a cashback or some other financial reward.
Of course, there is a link that, if you click on it, will take you to a phishing site where your account login information will be stolen.
5. PayPal Lost Inheritance Scam
One of the oldest tricks in the book, the crooks are using PayPal to carry out the old “pay a little, get a lot later” scam.
This message, usually in the form of an email, indicates that some old, lost estate has been bequeathed to you.
If you just prepay a little money through PayPal to cover the processing fee, a huge amount will be deposited into your account.
While most people can see through these, seniors are still the majority who get scammed by the old lost estate scam.
So, if you have older parents or grandparents, maybe take a moment to talk about scams, don’t click on links, and be more picky about emails.
6. PayPal fake accounts used for charity scams
Scammers are at a minimum, and they sometimes pretend to be charities to scam people out of their money – you guessed it, PayPal.
You can avoid charity scams by first checking to see if the charity is registered with the government or if the organisation has been independently verified.
Today, most charities offer some form of direct debit, paying directly to the organization rather than through a third-party website (like PayPal).
Also, there are some investment scams to watch out for, such as “resort shares” for ultra-low deposits.
You can submit your payment via PayPal and voila, you can use your tropical bungalow.
Except, there’s no tropical bungalow, you just sent $100 to a scammer and you’ll never see it again.
In general, be wary of low deposit/high yield plans and do your research before investing.
7. PayPal Overpayment Scam
Overpayment scams are a cause for concern for small business owners and commodity suppliers.
Basically, scammers transact with you via PayPal, but they overpay. They ask you to refund the difference, usually to a different account.
It may seem innocuous, but scammers often operate with hacked accounts, or use stolen payment methods, allowing them to profit.
Additionally, PayPal can recover the money if the individual whose account was hacked or whose payment method was stolen disputes the allegations.
Also, if you send your purchases, you have neither the money nor the item.
8. PayPal Shipping Address Scams
Another PayPal scam that small business owners need to be aware of involves changing the shipping address.
Scammers buy items but use non-existing addresses for delivery.
When a shipper marks an item as undeliverable, the scammer calls them a valid shipping address so the delivery can be completed.
However, since the delivery was done after a blip in the shipping process, the scammer could file a dispute with PayPal claiming that the item never arrived.
So they get the item and the money, and you, the supplier, are out.
Therefore, ChargeBackGurus.com recommends checking that each shipping address is valid before sending a package.
Also, they recommend contacting the shipping company you use to prevent customers from rescheduling their packages.
9. PayPal fake invoice scam
Employees at the University at Buffalo recently received a message that scammers were sending fake invoices through PayPal.
The thieves were actually sending real PayPal invoices, although once paid, the money went into a fraudulent account unrelated to its purported organization.
This is a warning to those who routinely process invoices, such as receptionists and office assistants.
Some people paid the invoices without hesitation—they claimed to be from GoDaddy or the World Health Organization.
In this case, if you paid a fraudulent invoice, your best bet is to dispute the payment with PayPal.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on PayPal Stats, Why PayPal Can’t Link to My Bank, and PayPal’s Annual Error Resolution Notice.
in conclusion
The popularity of PayPal has made it possible for scammers to take advantage of customers through phishing emails, text messages and even fake invoices.
While some customers can get their money back through PayPal’s dispute process, others should be warned and wary of emails and texts purporting to be from the company.
