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Stay safe online by reporting suspicious emails to phishing@paypal.com, being wary of phishing and overpayment scams, and avoiding wiring money to strangers.
The fraudster wants your camera AND your payment but hasn’t actually paid you at all. Before sending anything, login to PayPal and check that you received a payment. To report a suspicious email or website, forward it to phishing@paypal.com and we’ll investigate it for you.
Fraudsters may use PayPal to send you an invoice or money request that looks real so you’ll call them. If you don't recognize the requestor, ignore the request and don’t call any included phone numbers. Go to our Contact Page to connect with customer service. Please forward the email to phishing@paypal.ca and then delete it.
- Hari Ravichandran
- Fake PayPal “payment confirmation” emails. Phishing emails, in which scammers pretend to be from PayPal, are among the most common email scams. There are many different PayPal phishing scams, but they all follow a general strategy.
- Scammers sending fake invoices from real PayPal email addresses. This is a sophisticated scam in which an email is sent from a validated PayPal email address.
- Emails and texts claiming your PayPal account is locked or suspended. Another common phishing tactic is to send an email claiming that the recipient’s PayPal account has been locked for some reason [*].
- Fake PayPal “Fraud Alert” text messages. Phishing can also take place in the form of voice or SMS messages. Known as “smishing,” these scams occur when scammers send fraudulent text messages containing a bogus number or link [*].
- Order confirmation scam. In the majority of PayPal-related scams, scammers use phishing emails to impersonate PayPal. Here’s how this one works: Criminals will create a fake or “spoofed” email address that appears to be from PayPal.
- Fake fraud alert scam. Beware of unsolicited text messages that look like fraud alert notifications from PayPal. Known as “smishing” attacks, these fake fraud alerts are tough to spot because no two messages are the same.
- Unsolicited payment or transfer request scam. Before accepting an unexpected payment or transfer request on PayPal, take a close look at the message. Some scammers create profiles that impersonate real people or businesses—even going so far as to steal their usernames and profile pictures.
- Password reset request scam. Received a password reset notification from PayPal out of the blue? Don’t click any links in the text message or email, Hamerstone says.
Business. How do I spot a fake, fraudulent, or phishing PayPal email or website? If you receive a message and are unsure it’s really from PayPal, check to see if it does any of the following: Uses impersonal, generic greetings, such as “Dear user” or “Dear [your email address].”
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Sep 2, 2021 · Here are some of the signs to help you spot a fake PayPal email: A generic greeting, like "Dear user" or "Hello, PayPal member." We’ll never send an email with a generic greeting. We’ll always greet customers with their first and last name or the business name on their PayPal account.
