A new phishing message asks PayPal users to update their information. How to protect yourself from fraud now.
A currently circulating email with the subject “Check now” requests recipients from the payment service provider PayPal to review your account and update account information. According to the Consumer advice center The email suggests that it has noticed “unusual activity on your PayPal account” and requires “a review of your account information” to ensure security.
Email on behalf of PayPal: Conspicuous wording in the message
The threat of possible account restrictions builds pressure. At the same time, the process is described as quick and should only take a few minutes to make logging in via the link contained in the email as easy as possible.
Other common ones Phish-Features include the salutation “Hello, dear customer” and several linguistic impurities. Such wording does not correspond to the usual, standardized notifications that PayPal regularly sends to its customers.
- Leave such emails unanswered.
- Move the message to the spam folder.
- Do not follow any requests or provide any personal information.
As an additional security measure, users should only check whether comparable information is actually available via the official app or the well-known website. The link in the message should not be clicked.
- PayPal handles the payment as an intermediary. The online shop does not receive the customer’s bank details or credit card details. This is why the payment method is considered particularly secure.
- You create a free PayPal account and store your bank details or credit card there. The account is activated by a small credit with a code at the bank or by a temporary debit from the credit card.
- When purchasing, you will be redirected to PayPal, log in and confirm the payment. The dealer receives the money immediately. PayPal will later deduct the amount from your bank account. In the case of returns, the amount is usually refunded as credit to the PayPal account and can be transferred to your own bank account free of charge.
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