Scammers and phishers are all over the web. In fact, they don't even seem to decrease in number, and their modes of operation are getting more and more complex as time passes by. It has become easier to fall for scams and have web accounts compromised. This is exactly what is going on with PayPal right now.
PayPal, being one of the top money transfer websites online, is being victimized by scammers more often than others. Being a money based entity, it's no wonder PayPal and its users are being targeted. This is why if you are one of the company's users, you must keep an eye on the currently spreading Twitter-related PayPal Scam that TechRadar reported.
PayPal Scammers On Twitter
Here's how they the bad guys do it on Twitter: First, they create a Twitter account with a username related to PayPal (ex. PayPalTech or AskPayPal). Then, they look for users tweeting the real PayPal Twitter account for customer related concerns. After which, the scammers will contact these users and pretend to be legit representatives of PayPal.
To cut the long story short, they would ask people to log in to their PayPal account through the link that they will provide. Obviously, the link that they will give is for a fake website that looks almost the same as the original PayPal website. Because these Twitter users are hyped up to get a reply from PayPal, they are highly likely to fall for the trap.
At least two Twitter accounts have been suspended due to these suspicious activities, IBTimes reports. According to recent news, these scammers go far in convincing people that they are indeed legitimate representatives of PayPal. Their landing page, the login screen, and even their Twitter handles are all legitimate looking, making the scheme an intricate stunt to do fraudulent acts on innocent people.
PayPal Scammers In Emails
PayPal scammers are also coming in to several inboxes. Since some email providers only show the sender's name upfront, these scammers are legit-looking. Most of the emails are from a sender named PayPal Support or PayPal Customer Care, or something equivalent to that. But when you click on their email addresses, you'll find that they are not from the official PayPal website.
These emails tell you that your account is compromised, thus you will need to login to your account through the link that they provide in the email. Since some people end up panicking about the so called threat to their accounts, they end up falling for the trick. The thing about this is that the more money people have in their PayPal accounts, the easier they are to fall for this scam, simply because they will get overwhelmed by panic and unable to re-think the situation. Ironic as it may seem, but in this case the more you panic over your account's privacy, the more likely you end up having it hacked.
Avoid Getting Your PayPal Account Scammed
These aren't the only ways your hard earned money could be hacked through PayPal. And the best way to avoid these is to be extra cautious, not just in PayPal but for everything you do on the web. Avoid clicking links and double check everything before you proceed to doing anything. When opening emails from alleged PayPal staff, check on their email addresses, if it is not from the official PayPal website, then it is most certainly fake.
