Scams » Scam And Its Types »PayPal Order Scam

PayPal Order Scam

How do account holders are lured by scammers?

PayPal, one of the popular digital payment platforms, has more than 330 million active account holders. Small merchants, private companies, and individuals send and receive money quickly through this trusted platform and grown their business. An active account holder can deposit and withdraw money from PayPal at any point in time sitting from any part of the world. Though PayPal is sending alert messages and emails frequently to account holders requesting them not to share PINs and passwords to third parties, still they lose money to scammers who operate from unknown destinations. The latest scam that has come as a big shock and a surprise to PayPal account holders is nothing but an order scam. Hundreds of PayPal users have lost thousands of dollars to order scams and registered complaints with PayPal.

How do scammers lure account holders and swindle money?

PayPal is receiving varieties of complaints related to order scams and taking action against cybercriminals. The scammers will create words emails that will contain tricky messages like "Surprising free Christmas gifts from Amazon for a limited period exclusively for PayPal users. To claim your gift, click the link and submit the form". Scammers send these types of messages to lure innocent PayPal customers and siphon off their money.

If the PayPal users accidentally click the link and feed their passwords, the scammers will immediately siphon off the money kept in the account and run away with it. They cannot book cybercriminals and file complaints against them since they operate from various countries with different IDs. You cannot file a suit against PayPal and claim compensation since such losses are not covered under the PayPal terms and conditions. The scammers will also try to extract your credit card details like number, CVV, date of birth, and expiry date from PayPal users and steal the money from them without signs and signals. If you receive phishing emails that request you to part sensitive information like credit card details, PayPal password, bank account details, and, CVV then decide to forward the same to PayPal and the cybersecurity force.

Online shopping scams have increased multi-fold in recent years after the advent of internet technologies and advanced payment gateway channels. Scammers will create a professional mail that will contain words like, "Congratulations, PayPal user. You are the lucky winner of this year's annual contest conducted by M/s XYZ Jewelers. For claiming your free diamond pendant, we request you to click the link and fill up the application form and pay a small processing fee of 2$". The contents in the mail will look professional and attractive. If you explore the contents, you will find lots of grammatical errors. If you accidentally share your credit card details and PayPal password, the scammers will steal your money in no time. Note that PayPal never asks for passwords, credit card details, CVV, and bank account details from anyone. If you receive any voice calls or text messages from unknown sources, you should never reply to the senders.

How to check whether the mails are scams or not?

PayPal shoots plenty of marketing emails, voice mails, and text messages to users regularly and builds the best rapport with them. PayPal never requests the users to pay processing amounts, surcharges or transaction fees, or add-on charges. If you receive such emails or texts on your mobile, then it must be from the world of scammers.

Unofficial links and fake email addresses:

The scammers will shoot thousands of emails to PayPal users using the fake email address and request them to use unofficial links. If you unknowingly click and type the password on the fake PayPal homepage, the scammers will siphon off the money.

Unsecured webpages and URLs:

The scammers create an aesthetically designed fake PayPal website that will look like an official website. If you observe the website, you will find plenty of errors and mismatches. The URL will not be HTTPS://, and it will be HTTP:/. If it is HTTP, then it is an unsecured website. If you click the link, it will redirect you to a webpage where you have to enter the only password and not the user id. These types of links are forwarded intending to steal your password. PayPal users should never share passwords with strangers since it is sensitive information.

Personalized greetings:

It is worth noting that PayPal never sends personal invites or messages to users. If you receive emails that contain personalized greetings like 'Dearest Sir/Madam or Dear Sir / Madam', then they are from the world of scammers. PayPal follows the highest business standards, professional ethics, and practices and never uses Dearest or Dear. It addresses you by your official name.

Inspect the sender's email address:

The voice, text, and email messages from PayPal will come from official links or websites. If you receive emails from an unknown sender, then escalate it to PayPal.

Sentence formation and grammar :

Newsletters, updates, emails, and messages from PayPal will look professional, appealing and informative, and free from grammatical errors. On the other hand, the emails from scammers will contain plenty of grammatical mistakes.

How to protect your data from thefts?

Merchants, traders, and individuals who regularly transact through PayPal mobile wallet and website should download the latest security patches and versions. Use face and finger recognition passwords for gaining entry into your mobile devices. Never store your PayPal user id and password, and credit card details inside the computer systems and mobile devices since cyber attackers may indulge in spying activities and extract the passwords from the computer systems.

Where to report such scams?

PayPal users should forward the scamming emails and texts to PayPal representatives and wait for a response. They should also escalate it to a various government organization that deals with online scamming activities. The official email id for rising complaints related to scamming activities is spoof@paypal.com. The redressal officer will initiate actions against the cybercrooks and bring them to books.