Of course, no matter how careful you are, you can still fall victim to a phishing attack and unintentionally reveal your personal data to third parties.
At first glance, the email below looks like an original from the online payment service “PayPal”. But ATTENTION! If you follow the instructions, not only will your PayPal account be cracked, but the fraudsters will also gain access to personal data and credit card information.
Screenshot of the current fake PayPal email
If you believe the email and click on “Continue to PayPal”, a website will open that looks exactly like PayPal itself!
If you enter your email address and the corresponding PayPal password here, you will be putting this data directly into the hands of the fraudsters and they would immediately have full access to the respective PayPal account!
But not only that!
In the next step, personal data such as full name, date of birth, address, zip code and telephone number are requested! With this data, identity fraud would now be possible!
And it continues…
Now that the fraudsters have the access data for the respective PayPal account and now also have personal user data in their hands, information about the credit card is also collected at the end, as you can see in this screenshot!
How can I protect myself?
If you fall into such a phishing trap, the following measures can help: Basically, security software can help preventatively ! Of course, no matter how careful you are, you can still fall victim to a phishing attack and unintentionally reveal your personal data to third parties.
The important thing is: Don't panic, but act immediately!
PayPal itself gives the following tips.
To make it easier to spot fraudulent emails or websites:
• Are you addressed as “Dear PayPal customer” or “Hello, PayPal user!”?
This email is not from us. We always address you using the full first and last name provided to us. Or: If you have a business account with us, then also with the business name.
• The email contains a file attachment?
This email is not from us. We will not send you emails with file attachments. You should generally be extremely careful with these emails, as Trojans or viruses tend to hide here. It's best to put it straight in the trash.
• You have to reply to the email urgently because your PayPal account is in danger, but you don't see any notice in your PayPal account?
This email is not from us. If you need to take action, you will see this directly on the account overview page when you log in to your PayPal account. If there is no note there, then we do not need any information from you.
• Are you asked to enter your full name, bank details, credit card number or password?
This email is not from us. To make it easier for you to identify fake emails, we follow a strict rule: We never ask you to provide your password, full name, bank details, credit card number, PIN, TAN or email address.
• Report scam emails to us!
We would like to know who is sending you a fraudulent email in our name - so we can put a stop to the fraudster. Please forward this email to us as follows:
1. Forward the entire email to [email protected] .
2. Do not change the subject line or forward the message
as an attachment.
3. Delete the fraudulent email from your inbox.
We will let you know as soon as possible whether the email is genuine.
For more helpful tips on how to recognize fraudulent emails, visit the PayPal Security page. Even more secure: You can find information about our free SMS security key at PayPal Security Technology.
If you have clicked on a link in the fraudulent email, please run a current antivirus and antispy program on your computer and then change your password and security questions. We also ask you to briefly check your account to see whether any unauthorized payments have been made. If yes, please contact our telephone customer service at the following number:
0800 723 4500 (free of charge from all landline and mobile networks)
Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )