ByPayPal Phishing Email—Report and Block Email Abuse for Good
If you are one of the 325 million PayPal users, you have probably taken every precaution to keep your data safe. PayPal has numerous security measures set in place to make sure your payment details are secured.
The company is even careful regarding the emails they send and has specific guidelines on addressing their clients via email.
It seems that the stricter the company gets with its security measures, the better the scammers become in going around them. You may get PayPal spam emails, which are essentially harmless, but how to spot serious scams and phishing attempts?
What Is Phishing?
It's not surprising that PayPal clients are often a target of phishing attempts because this type of criminal activity is based on copying the entire visual identity of a well-known company.
Since it’s all done to gain victims' private data, phishing is particularly dangerous when targeted at platforms storing credit card and bank account details.
Phishing emails can be an almost perfect copy of the usual messages you get from PayPal. Everything looks right: the logo, colors, fonts, even the sender's email might be the same.
The scammy email will require you to:
- Click on a link that will lead you to a spoofed website prompting you to log in to your account—Giving the scammer your PayPal login details
- Fill in a form to "confirm your identity"—Disclosing data like Social Security number, address, or date of birth
- Respond to the email in question—Confirming to scammers that your email is active
- Call a phone number—Providing the criminals with your phone number
- Download an attachment—Installing malware designed to gather the data from your device
The con can be convincing, but not even phishing spam emails are perfect. Both fake emails and bogus websites have telltale signs you can pick up on.
How To Recognize PayPal Phishing Emails
There are differences between legitimate emails coming from PayPal and scam emails. To stop receiving emails from scammers, you first need to identify them.
Here are some indicators to keep an eye on:
|
Impersonal Greetings | A valid PayPal email will always start by mentioning your first and last name |
| Outdated Visuals |
Fake emails may have older logos than the one on the website or in your previous PayPal emails |
|
Requests for Information | PayPal will never ask you to disclose any of the following in an email: your full name, email address, credit card number, bank account details, Social Security number, or driver’s license info |
| Attachments |
PayPal doesn't send emails with attachments |
|
Poor Grammar | PayPal, or any other established company, will not send an email full of spelling and grammar mistakes |
| Fake Links |
URLs may look similar to the real ones. Hover over the linked word to check the URL and compare it to the real PayPal page |
How To Recognize Fake PayPal Websites
In case you do click on a link and end up on what is supposed to be a PayPal website, how do you know it's genuine?
Here are some questions to help you check if the website is spoofed(a copy of the original one):
- Is there “https” at the start of the web address? S stands for secure, and if it is missing, you are not on a safe platform
- Can you see the padlock icon next to the URL? A padlock in the address bar indicates a secure mode and encrypted communication
- Does the website address look strange? If there are any additional letters, numbers, or symbols, you may be on a bogus website
The Fastest Way To Deal With Scams Related to PayPal—Report Email to DoNotPay
DoNotPays offers the safest way to stop spam emails and phishing attempts targeting your PayPal account.
Follow these steps to unsubscribe from those emails:
- Open DoNotPay in your
- Tap Spam Collector
- Enter your email address to connect it with DoNotPay
- Forward any questionable email to spam@donotpay.com
DoNotPay will also let you know about any active class-action lawsuits against the sender. You can join it, and depending on the result, receive compensation of up to $500.
Alternative Methods To Report Phishing Emails From “PayPal”
There are several options to stop phishing emails. You can block the sender permanently, mark an email as spam, or report spam emails to different sources.
By reporting email abuse, you help government agencies and service providers recognize certain emails as scams, which decreases the chances that the criminals behind them will attack again.
To get rid of scam email targeting your PayPal account, report phishing to:
- PayPal
- Your email service provider
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Report Phishing Emails to PayPal
Even if you are only suspicious that a “PayPal” email might be fraudulent, treat it as dangerous.
Which means:
- Do not click on any links
- Do not open attachments
- Forward the email to spoof@paypal.com. Don’t send it as an attachment because tracking information about the source will be lost
Report PayPal Phishing Emails to Your Email Service Provider
Most service providers offer a range of email spam filtering services that will let you block junk mail or filter out phishing emails.
DoNotPay can help with this:
- If you use Gmail, we will show you how to report suspicious email activity to Google and get rid of spam on Gmail for good
- In case you are learning how to block emails on an iPhone, DoNotPays offers a guide to reporting phishing to Apple
- Our app can also guide you through reporting phishing to AOL, Xfinity, or Yahoo
Report PayPal Phishing Emails to the FTC
FTC is a government agency that protects consumers from unfair marketing practices. This includes protection from spam and phishing.
You can forward the PayPal phishing email to reportphishing@apwg.org and report it to the FTC's Complaint Center.
DoNotPay Helps You Clear Your Physical Mailbox
In case spammers are targeting your physical mailbox, use our DoNotMail feature to get back at them.
The process is simple:
- Take a picture of the spam letter
- Open DoNotPay in your
- Tap the DoNotMail feature
- Follow the steps
DoNotPay will unsubscribe you from the sender and notify you if there is an active class action against them.
Discover the DoNotPay Universe
DoNotPay can block emails on your Android device or your Mac, but our app is capable of greater accomplishments.
With DoNotPay, you don't have to worry about how long do PayPal refunds take because we will help you request a PayPal chargeback in less than five minutes.
We can also offer you a virtual credit card that you can use for PayPal verification or various free trials. With this -approval virtual credit card, you can sign up for any free trial you like without worrying about being charged when it ends.
Check other DoNotPay’s features by accessing the app from your .
Some issues we can help you with are:
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