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Before you click a PayPal link, read this warning – Sign it’s really a phishing scam
There are several ways to send and receive money worldwide, but almost half a billion users prefer PayPal. The payment system is so popular that in the last quarter of 2021, it processed 5.3 billion transactions. Tap or click here for the PayPal account limited phishing text claims.
Unfortunately, as we have seen on many occasions, being the top player in an industry also makes you one of the biggest targets for hackers and scammers. In worrying trends, criminals use sophisticated phishing attacks to steal your financial details.
Thieves don’t seem to be easing up. Keep reading to find out how scammers are trying to rip you off and ways to block them.
Here’s the backstory
PayPal regularly sends out communications about service updates and policy changes, but not all messages are legit. According to a phishing report from Atlas VPN and Kaspersky Lab, fraudulent emails claiming to be from PayPal made up around 38% of all phishing attacks last year.
The phishing email will include a link that takes you to a spoofed PayPal page in many cases. Once you have logged in to the bogus page, the criminals capture your details and make off with your money.
The email’s content will differ depending on the scam. It usually revolves around things like verifying your profile, checking suspicious transactions, an exciting promo that you could benefit from or some other campaign that would require you to sign in to your account.
PayPal might be the biggest, but it is not the only payment system criminals regularly target. The report says that Mastercard, American Express and Visa customers collectively make up around 30% of financial phishing email targets.
What you can do about it
Phishing emails are widespread these days. The good news is that you can take precautions to avoid falling victim. Here are some helpful suggestions:
- Don’t click on links and attachments that you receive in unsolicited emails.
- If the message gives you a sense of urgency, delete it.
- Spelling and grammar errors are big red flags.
- Use two-factor authentication and password managers for better security.
- Keep your operating systems, apps and devices updated with the latest official software and patches.
- Always have a trusted antivirus program updated and running on all your devices. We recommend our sponsor, TotalAV. Right now, get an annual plan with TotalAV for only $19 at ProtectWithKim.com. That’s over 85% off the regular price!
Keep reading
Watch out for this fake PayPal form that tries to steal your credit card info
Watch out! Fake Paypal invoices tricking people into paying up
Tags: antivirus, apps, hackers, operating systems, password managers, PayPal, phishing, scam, scammers, security, two-factor authentication
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