Case Study – PayPal Scam

We have seen a rise in PayPal scam emails lately being forwarded to our helpdesk from clients asking if they are legitimate.

Lately, it seems that scammers are exploiting the money request feature that PayPal offers, asking people to call a phone number where they are convinced or threatened into handing over their personal information or money.

These requests come through from a legitimate Paypal address, as this scam utilises a built-in feature and service that PayPal offer to their customers. These emails often include a message saying you have made a payment for a high-value item or a tax payment to HMRC.

PayPal has said: “We are aware of this well-known phishing scam and have put additional controls in place to mitigate this specific incident. Nonetheless, we encourage customers to always be vigilant online and to contact customer service directly if they suspect they are the target of a scam.”