Pay Pal Scam?

[goodgoalie]

Today I received an email thanking me for my order for £39.99 for a subscription to Playstation, via PayPal, with whom I have never had an account, a subscription request which I never made. It comes from an email address of lots of letters/[e-mail]., which sounds like some sort of gaming site, which I've never had any connection with. Has anybody else had anything similar? I assume it's a scam, but what worries me is that it was sent shortly after I made a purchase on a legitimate (secure) site for a similar amount, which is what is worrying me. Delete and forget?

[-Talbot-]

I ignore all e-mail and go direct to the site, never ever use a link.

[goodgoalie]

Thanks, Talbot. There is a link in the email, but I have not clicked on it. This is the first I've heard from them, though I have had emails in the past claiming to be receipts for iTunes purchases I did not make. I ignored them and they stopped.

[Old_Geezer]

Pure coincidence re your earlier purchase.
You have no PayPal account so obvious scam.
Bin and stay calm :-)

[yogi-bear]

https://www.justtravelcover.com/index.php?xyzid=178&_$ja=tsid:67269%7ccid:262179989%7cagid:19587071309%7ctid:kwd-47794625202%7ccrid:117217978829%7cnw:g%7crnd:15086584038657692888%7cdvc:t%7cadp:1t2&gclid=CNjIx8ex49ICFaMK0wodstwMgw

There are lots of PayPal scams about, GG, so i would just send it to their phishing scam email address, which is on my link, and let them deal with it.

[Buenchico]

Ulm.edu is the domain name of the University of Louisiana at Monroe, with the 'warhawk' bit simply being the nickname appended to services offered for their staff and students (including, for example, their sports bodies and the universities email service).

So either the sending address has been faked or, possibly more likely, their server has been hacked and used for sending out fraudulent requests for payment. Either way it's clearly a scam, with the similarity of the amount requested and one you've just paid out being almost certainly entirely coincidental.

[yogi-bear]

Ooops wrong link...Sorry...This is the one :-)

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/report-problem

[goodgoalie]

Thanks, OG. Was very suspicious when it came close to the confirmation for the legit purchase I made, and that it was a very similar amount. Never had a PayPal account, and did not make the legit purchase through them

[yogi-bear]

The link I sent incorrectly is a very good company, who do exceptionally​ reasonable insurance rates, for those with certain medical conditions......Just sending to a friend.

[goodgoalie]

Many thanks, all. Have forwarded it to [e-mail], as suggested. Will wait to hear back from them.....

[EDDIE51]

It's a scam, the same question has been asked on here many times.
There will be a link to 'cancel this order', if you click on it they ask for your bank details to 'process the refund'. You know the rest!!!

[EDDIE51]

PayPal always use your name in any communication eg Dear Bert never 'Dear Paypal member'.

[goodgoalie]

Yes, Eddie. It was the similar amounts of the scam and the legit purchase that took me aback - and when you're on your own these sort of things can really get to you!

[goodgoalie]

Update. I forwarded the email to [e-mail], but heard nothing. Worryingly, today I found an email - addressed with with my full correct name - confirming that I had purchased a subscription with PayPal for £14.96. I have made no such purchase, have never had an account with them, and have never made a purchase through PayPal. This latest email comes from: [e-mail], and has an authentic-looking Paypal logo, with a link to click to cancel, which, of course, I'm very suspicious about. Does anybody (Buenchico!) know if intl.paypal is authentic?

[whiskeryron]

DO NOT give these sites even thinking time. Totally ignore.

[goodgoalie]

Thank you, Ron. I've had a couple of replies from [e-mail], to whom I forwarded the suspect mails, but the replies are just generic ones that ask me to log into my account etc etc. I do not have, and never have had a PayPal account - that's why I'm worried!

[Buenchico]

>>> addressed with with my full correct name

Is your full name in your email address? (e.g. [e-mail]). If so, that's one way it could have been obtained. (It could also have been found through hacking into a service you use. For example, if you're with TalkTalk their databases have been hacked at least twice, giving away all of their customers' details).


>>> This latest email comes from: [e-mail]

Are you sure? It's easy to fake the 'return' address in an email, so that it appears to have come from a genuine source. You need to go into the detailed email header to check where it's really come from.


>>> confirming that I had purchased a subscription with PayPal for £14.96

As long as £14.96 hasn't disappeared from your bank account that can safely be ignored!

I see nothing to worry about unless you've opened an attachment which came with the email.

[goodgoalie]

Thanks, Chris. Yes, my email address is a Hotmail one in the form [e-mail], so maybe if some bot is sending out gazzilions of spam, then it's more likely to get through to such an address - it was addressed to my proper first and last name (unlike the one earlier this week). I had a few similar emails a few months ago saying they were receipts for iTunes I'd downloaded (never have0 which I deleted and they stopped. All still worrying, though.