The consumer advice center's phishing radar warns of a current wave of phishing. Scam emails are currently circulating that use changes to PayPal's terms and conditions as bait to find victims. The timing is perfidious – Paypal actually made changes to its terms and conditions at the beginning of March and informed customers about them in emails.
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The phishing emails have the subject line: “Unblock your PayPal account according to the new terms and conditions,” write the consumer advice centers in the phishing radar. The fraudsters use the Paypal logo in the emails. These also contain a personal salutation – the cybercriminals are probably using data from the huge trove from previous data leaks in which names and email addresses were linked.
Paypal phishing: Supposedly the data needs to be updated
There is an urgent need to revise the terms of use, the phishing email claims. “It is of utmost importance that all users review and update their personal information to ensure the protection of this information and the continued quality of our service,” the text continues.
The fraudsters also try to build up pressure, for example by saying that “your data must be updated immediately via the link below”. “If this important update is not made within the specified deadline, we will be forced to temporarily block your account,” the perpetrators write. Potential victims should “obey this call within a few minutes” “to avoid any inconvenience.”
The “Update Data” button eventually leads to a phishing page. The sender address provides clear indications that it is phishing, explains the consumer advice center.
It is advisable not to click on the link in the email. Recipients of these messages, especially those who have time to act, should look closely to see whether there are any signs of fraudulent forgery, such as the obviously incorrect sender address in this case.
In the middle of last year, consumer advice centers warned that fraudsters were using personalized phishing. This served to make the scam emails appear more authentic.
(dmk)