Protect Your Tech

Fake Paypal emails with Word document

What’s the threat?

Scammers have launched a new email campaign urging Paypal users to confirm their account details in order to prevent fraud. You’re told to download and fill in a “Data Verification Form” on a Word document. Doing so will install malware on your computer (it affects Windows only, not IOS or Android).

At first glance the email seems genuine because it appears to come from ‘service@paypal.com’ and has the subject line ‘Paypal account warning’ (or something similar, see screenshot). But the message itself is written in the kind of garbled English that thankfully makes scams easy to spot – at least if you know what to look for.

It begins “Greetings, dear Client!”, then continues “We noticed a lot of frauds performed by machinations with online services”. You’re asked to email the completed form or post it to an address in San Jose, California.

The scammers attempt to put pressure on you by claiming they will be “forced to temporarily block your online services” until you send the form.

How can you stay safe?

First of all, remember that Paypal is one of the most commonly used brands in email scams. Always treat Paypal emails with caution. Bookmark the following web pages on Paypal’s site which list common scams ( www.snipca.com/28742) and tell you how to spot a legitimate email ( www.snipca.com/28743).

Second, take a closer look at the email address – next to ‘service@paypal.com’ is the fake domain ‘noreply@ administrationservpaypal-a.tk’, which is where the email really comes from. A genuine Paypal email will have ‘service@ paypal.com’ (or .co.uk) as both the sender’s address and the domain.

You can report all Paypal scams by forwarding them to spoof@paypal.co.uk.