PayPal Texts Are Not Legit! Don’t Click That Link – It’s A Scam!
On January 11, 2021, Luis Alvarez of The Alvarez Technology Group joined the Tech Talk Podcast to share some concerning information about a fraudulent PayPal phishing scam. Luis explained that PayPal has a procedure that if they feel there is suspicious or fraudulent use on someone’s PayPay account, they will put a hold on their account. Next, they will automatically notify the PayPal user via email and let the user know their account has been limited and to please contact them to get further information. Luis explained that going on right now that fraudsters are sending text messages to people explaining that their account has been limited. This text will include a link to go to confirm and verify their identity. This link will go to a hacker’s web page that looks very similar to Pay Pal’s website, but it is not!
Luis continued to explain while on this website, they will ask you to input your PayPal credentials and then ask for additional personal information. “All along these cybercriminals are planning to steal your PayPal account,” Luis said. He continued to explain that even more important that while they are capturing all of your information, including social security numbers, birthdays, addresses, etc, they will use this information to steal your identity. “When they get this information, he said, “they use it to apply for loans and access your other online accounts. So if you get a text from PayPay ignore it. It’s just another way the hackers get your money.”
Luis wants everyone to remember that PayPal will never text you. They will alert you through an email or alert you through the PayPal app. He understands that sometimes we aren’t paying close enough attention to these types of texts and will click the links. “If you do click the link, provide information, and realize you did something wrong, immediately go to your PayPal account and change your passwords,” he stressed. He also recommends avoiding using the same email, password combinations on different sites. “Changing your passwords on other accounts like Amazon, eBay, and any others,” he said. “Unfortunately, the hackers will try the combination on almost everything out there to see if they can get into your accounts, so if you think you have been compromised, change them immediately.
