Attention: This alleged PayPal mail lures you into a trap

Paypal users are once again targeted by online scammers. They send an e-mail with the subject “Action required for your PayPal account” and is visually similar to PayPal e-mails, as the consumer portal “Watchlist-Internet.at” warns. Allegedly, according to the e-mail, there was a deposit request at an “online gambling shop” that had been stopped by PayPal. In addition, the recipient’s PayPal account was restricted until he logged into his PayPal account using the link provided in the email.

Scammers want PayPal users’ money

You guessed it:

Using this scam, the scammers not only try to get the user’s Paypal data, but also their money. The trap snaps shut as soon as a recipient clicks on the link provided in the email and then enters their PayPal access data. He is then asked to provide personal data such as his address and his credit card number. Allegedly to complete the cancellation request. “Make sure that your credit card information is registered with us,” says the window that the user should use to confirm their Paypal account.

The user is then prompted to confirm the data he has entered using a TAN sent to his mobile phone. If this happens, a payment is then finally made from the victim to the Paypal scammers.

The content of the PayPal phishing email

The phishing email currently ends up in mailboxes regardless of whether the recipient is actually a PayPal customer or not. If you are not a Paypal customer, you might be surprised at the news. However, PayPal customers could be tempted to take the warning seriously. The simple recommendation here is: Ignore the mail and delete it immediately. Never follow the link provided in the phishing email. This does not lead to a Paypal page, but to a URL that contains the word “paypal” but ultimately comes from the scammers.

The content of the phishing email is as follows (we have not corrected the spelling and grammatical errors in the email):

From: PayPal

Subject: Action required for your PayPal account. (PPL-AT-149601547)

With PayPal you can now pay even faster

We received a request to deposit at an online gambling store using the card linked to your PayPal account. That’s why,

We had to pause the transaction request for 48 hours afterwards, PayPal will confirm the transaction.

If you are the owner of this transaction request, do nothing and ignore this message.

If not, follow these steps to cancel the transaction request and return it immediately

Important note: PayPal will send an automated message to your phone number with a code to complete the refund request

You must enter the cancellation code PayPal sends you to process your refund request.

If you wish to refund and cancel this payment please click on the link below.

Log into your PayPal account.

How to protect yourself from this and similar phishing emails

In this guide, we explain in detail how you can recognize and ward off such and similar phishing attacks: Recognizing attempts at fraud via email, link or file – this is how you protect yourself

Basically, you should never click on links in emails, but always call up the relevant services by manually entering the URL and log in. Especially when there is talk of an alleged account block or account restriction in an email.

If you have fallen for such a PayPal phishing email, you should immediately change the PayPal password and contact the bank from which you got your credit card. You should then try to get your money back through your bank. In the event of financial damage, you should definitely file a complaint, for example via these police websites.