We at B&J Bookkeeping & Taxes love helping you spot and avoid scams of all kinds. We were recently the victim of an attempted email scam using PayPal. But we knew the warning signs. Below, find our bookkeeper tip on how to avoid the PayPal scam.
1. What is the PayPal Scam?
Those of you who know probably already have your email set to notify you of “safe senders.” These are contacts you have approved who go straight to your inbox and avoid any kind of spam or junk mail folders. We do a lot of business on PayPal. As a result, we have their email added to our safe sender list. It is service@paypal.com. Up until now, all emails received from this email were on the up and up.
However, today was different. A user posing as service@paypal.com contacted us today with the headline “You’ve got a money request.” Like many others, we receive these types of requests on a regular basis. So much so, that we almost thought it was real. But something didn’t seem quite right.
2. The Scam PayPal Email
We’re not sure how the scammer got a hold of a legit looking PayPal email. However, we noticed the to email was Christi…Zem…@onmicrosoft.com. This email is most definitely not on our safe sender or any other list. Additionally, the name of the requestor did not match: Milo E.
We read on:
We found suspicious activity on your account. If you did not make this transaction, please call us at our number +1 888 xxx-xxxx / +1 808 xxx-xxxx to cancel and claim a refund. If this is not the case, you will be charged USD 599.00 today by our automated payment system. This transaction will reflect on PayPal activity after 24 hours. Our Service Hours: (08:30 AM to 05:00 PM Eastern Time , Monday through Saturday)
It looks wrong for many reasons:
- Email and name do not match.
- Currency is referred to as USD 599.00 instead of $599, as would normally be.
- It came with an urgent warning “you will be charged…today by our automated system.”
- There is a random phone number and “Pay Now” button.
Of course, we did not call or click on either, and recommend you do the same. These scammers know businesses get requests like this of all kinds and are hoping you just click and pay.
3. Is This Email Legit?
In short, no. It is normal to receive money requests. However, you or someone in your business will know what the charge is for, who is making it, and if the amount is correct. We asked around and found no one in our office who could verify the money request. We also looked up Milo E. and the email in our email to see if it appeared. It did not. A quick web search of the phone showed neither was associated with PayPal. One was a random mobile phone number. As a final precaution, we logged into our PayPal account to confirm there were no outstanding or suspicious charges.
We recommend you do the same if you received this email or any similar suspicious email. Fortunately, a few of our fellow recipients on the email replied all and we got quite the colorful exchange with the scammers.
Please click here to go to the official Fraud Report page on PayPal to report any suspicious activity or report any security breaches on your account.
Another Houston Bookkeeper Tip
Feel free to contact us if you are a small to medium sized business who needs expert bookkeeper tips and tax services services to avoid being subject to future scams.
