Online fraud - please help/advise!!!

[drewy]

Originally Posted by Paul

If I was the victim of phishing, where did they get my e-mail address and how did they know I was a paypal customer? Also, how can I stop this info getting out again?

It's the numbers game Paul. They send out 50,000 emails, it's a fair bet a high proportion of those people have both ebay and paypal accounts.

As to how they get people's email addresses, I don't know but one of the boffins on here will.

[cochcaer]

Originally Posted by Paul

If I was the victim of phishing, where did they get my e-mail address and how did they know I was a paypal customer? Also, how can I stop this info getting out again?

Type your email into Google and see if it appears. They can also 'bot' your email if you fill in the IM messenger boxes on forums.

Basically be suspicious of any email requesting details. Also, don't click the link in the email body to ebay/paypal - use the one in your browser favourites.

Also keep your machine clear of keylogging trogans.

[Njr]

Originally Posted by weeksie31

Yeah, exactamundo. Most (if not all) companies like banks, paypal, ebay etc never ask for details, so you can pretty much always assume any email you do get is a scam.

Little tip I use, when you get a phishing email, say for paypal or ebay, mouse over the supposed link to www.ebay.com or www.paypal.com, and it will show you the actual address its gonna point to (you can create a hyperlink pointing to www.grannyfisters.com but have its textual label appear as www.paypal.com).

The easiet thing is ebay say they don't send emails, they use the message feature in ebay. So if it proports to be from ebay it is fake. I suspect paypal do the same except for your payments.

There are so many toolbars that show up problem, I use netcraft

Also thunderbird email program has a spam filter and a system of suggestion that an email is a scam

[Paul]

Many thanks to all who've posted. Keep it coming please, dudes. This may help others be more proactive than I was.

[Stu Monty]

1. This has got me worried about the way I do things. Really shit thing to happen.

2. I presume a re-boot joke wouldn't be appropriate.

[Dirk]

Originally Posted by Stu Monty

1. This has got me worried about the way I do things. Really shit thing to happen.

2. I presume a re-boot joke wouldn't be appropriate.

You're chief thief but with you it's other people's gags rather than money.

[TK421]

Sorry to hear about this Paul, especially after your brave attempt at the text speak challenge.

When I lived up North I opened a new savings account at HSBC and stuck £6k in it. Two weeks later i went to the branch to ask where my card was as I hadn't received it, and tried to draw some money out. The cashere said the account was overdrawn which I struggled to believe.

They had posted the card and PIN to my previous address. I gave a statement to the police, which took 2 1/2 hours, and then went to my previous address. This bloke answered the door and his rough bleach blonde haired wife. They gave me some mail, but said they hadn't received the card or PIN.

I was then called back to the police station and discovered the cash had been withdrawn £500 per night for 12 consectutive days. The police showed me some photos and I positively ID'd the couple who answered the door - they were known for this. The police said they still didn't have enough evidence to press charges which I couldn't believe. I went back to the old house again and was even invited in, I met the guy who nicked my 6 grand twice. He was a big bloke and would have easily cleaned me out so I didn't do anything.

The bank refunded the money because it was obviously their fault in the end, it still wasn't a good experience, hope you get your situation sorted.

[Nunavut Patrick]

Hope it works out Paul.

DJLJ I think is the resident expert on this type of thing- I know we sometimes poke fun at his internet security/identity theft but it really is no laughing matter.

[Chris_Royle]

I got this email from paypal the other day:

Dear PayPal Member,

It has come to our attention that your PayPal Billing Information
records are out of date. That requires you to update the Billing
Information.

Please update your records in maximum 12 hours otherwise your account
will be suspended.
Once you have updated your account records, your PayPal session will
not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Failure to update
will result in cancellation of service, Terms of Service (TOS)
violations or future billing problems.

Please update your billing records:


I haven't replied. Is this real or fake?

[G Richards]

Really sorry to hear about this Paul. I'm no Paypal expert, but is it not true that they protect against fraud for £500 per transaction?

[Paul]

Originally Posted by G Richards

Really sorry to hear about this Paul. I'm no Paypal expert, but is it not true that they protect against fraud for £500 per transaction?

Not sure, Gra - but Hamstrung has reminded that my bank (from where the funds will be drawn) guarantees all online activity. Woo-hoo!!! (Although the week or so without a debit/cash card in the house will be a pain).

Chris, in answer to you, I've now realised that good t'internet security awareness means that any hyperlink in an email should be ignored. If an email prompts you to click and do something, type the website's address in yourself and find out/do it that way. That emial of yours seems suspiciously similar to the one I got a few months back. Also, what's your take on reporting this, mate? I don't see it as being a high priority for the local bobby. Is it worth it?

[bri]

Originally Posted by Chris_Royle

I got this email from paypal the other day:

Dear PayPal Member,

It has come to our attention that your PayPal Billing Information
records are out of date. That requires you to update the Billing
Information.

Please update your records in maximum 12 hours otherwise your account
will be suspended.
Once you have updated your account records, your PayPal session will
not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Failure to update
will result in cancellation of service, Terms of Service (TOS)
violations or future billing problems.

Please update your billing records:


I haven't replied. Is this real or fake?

phone em up and ask. i guess its fake

[dave u]

Originally Posted by Paul

Not sure, Gra - but Hamstrung has reminded that my bank (from where the funds will be drawn) guarantees all online activity. Woo-hoo!!! (Although the week or so without a debit/cash card in the house will be a pain).

Chris, in answer to you, I've now realised that good t'internet security awareness means that any hyperlink in an email should be ignored. If an email prompts you to click and do something, type the website's address in yourself and find out/do it that way. That emial of yours seems suspiciously similar to the one I got a few months back. Also, what's your take on reporting this, mate? I don't see it as being a high priority for the local bobby. Is it worth it?

Report it. Maybe the local police can't deal with it, but there's bound to be some sort of branch in the police that deals with this kind of thing. They'll pass the details on to the relevant people I would assume, although Chris will know more about that than me obviously, I'm just guessing.

The cunts should have their hands cut off so they can't use keyboards anymore.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by dave u

Report it. Maybe the local police can't deal with it, but there's bound to be some sort of branch in the police that deals with this kind of thing. They'll pass the details on to the relevant people I would assume, although Chris will know more about that than me obviously, I'm just guessing.

The cunts should have their hands cut off so they can't use keyboards anymore.

The last official activity on my paypal account was a couple of days prior to the crime to something that came up as "TLW". How much is that new server Dave?

[wiiksie]

Originally Posted by Chris_Royle

I got this email from paypal the other day:

Dear PayPal Member,

It has come to our attention that your PayPal Billing Information
records are out of date. That requires you to update the Billing
Information.

Please update your records in maximum 12 hours otherwise your account
will be suspended.
Once you have updated your account records, your PayPal session will
not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Failure to update
will result in cancellation of service, Terms of Service (TOS)
violations or future billing problems.

Please update your billing records:


I haven't replied. Is this real or fake?

mate this is fake. nobody ever asks you to update 'billing records'.

[BatChainPuller]

Originally Posted by Chris_Royle

I got this email from paypal the other day:

Dear PayPal Member,

It has come to our attention that your PayPal Billing Information
records are out of date. That requires you to update the Billing
Information.

Please update your records in maximum 12 hours otherwise your account
will be suspended.
Once you have updated your account records, your PayPal session will
not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Failure to update
will result in cancellation of service, Terms of Service (TOS)
violations or future billing problems.

Please update your billing records:


I haven't replied. Is this real or fake?

Almost certainly fake - had something very similar a couple of years ago. I very nearly fell for it because by coincidence I was trying to sort out a complicated Pay Pal transaction at the same time (as Drewy says its a numbers game thing). Like Paul I clicked on the hyper link which took me to a spoof (very convincing due to copied graphics etc) web page - it was only when the details page asked for mothers maiden name and national insurance number that I twigged. I checked it out and the IP traced back to an internet cafe in Korea - the site was taken down a few houurs later.

As others have said no legit bank or institution would ask for sensitive info by e-mail.