What?
Received an email today in my gmail account that my PayPal account was missing information and I had to update it in order to keep it from getting deleted. The first line had the clue. However, it made me log into PayPal account by going to their (paypal.com) site to make sure. I deal with these types of emails at my work and always involved in discussions with friends and family. This particular one was very well executed in the sense that it looks very legit (at least to the innocent eyes). Here is the run down.
(If you receive this, obviously this is a scam and attack of the Phishing nature, if you are not sure it is always a best practice to contact the institution in question directly by going to their website or calling them. Please do not click on any links or download or open any attachments)
Original Email (Click to open full image)
Content:
Dear Customer,
Some information on your account appears to be missing or incorrect.
Your account will be REM0VED within 3 days ,update your account as soon as possible.
Please update your account information promptly to enjoy all the benefits of your PayPal account.
| Update |
Please do not reply to this email. We are unable to respond to inquiries sent to this address.
For immediate answers to your questions, visit our Help Center by clicking “Help” at the top of any PayPal page.
Sincerely,
PayPal
———-
The Link:
If one analyses the link, it seems to go to a site:
The domain name : http://isfasite.com is the first indication that this is a scam.
The site: (Click to enlarge)
The site looks like a legit PayPal site, however, it is an older version. In 2013 PayPal used to serve this homepage. However, they have changed it this year, see below how the real PayPal site looks like.
Original PayPal Site (Current):
What Happens?
If you enter your PayPal details, you are in for a surprise, it will take you to the original site and ask you to log in again. This will make you feel, nothing wrong happened,or in my case, I know something went wrong which is, your log in credentials are now with the evil hackers who designed this page (or an evil hacker who designed the page).
Not all hackers are bad, the good ones help the community and the society, the bad ones may not even know computers and may be running a country. Whatever the case, be a good hacker and take care of the planet called Earth and the environment called Internet.
Already a victim?
Log into Paypal.com and change your password. Contact PayPal Fraud department by email or phone.
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