anyone ever had a spoof email?

[kazza55]

I have just had a suspicious email from Paypal (or maybe not) It said that my account would be suspended unless I updated my billing details.

I was feeling lazy so I just clicked on the link and proceeded to update my Visa card details. When I'd gone a bit further down the form, it was asking for my card pin number! Alarm bells started to ring, so I didn't go any further and I forwarded the email to Paypal.co.uk as possible spoof/phishing. I have asked Paypal to let my know whether or not this was a genuine email from them. I'm hoping they will let me know. I was always under the impression that you should never give your Debit/Credit card pin number out to anyone under any circumstances. Would you give out your card's pin number online? I certainly won't.

[Mikeyd2]

There was an article about this in the Metro newspaper today. It's a scam believed to originate from Nigeria . You should send it to [email protected] or spoof @ebay.co.uk .

As the banks' etc say never give your PIN to anyone !

[vehelpfulguy]

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER give out details asked for in an email, be it credit card, debit card, pin numbers, userids, passwords, logon details, addresses, phone numbers etc.

Treat every email as you would a stranger in the street. You certainly would not give a stranger in the street your credit card number.

I find that if you get a suspect email, even though it may say HSBC Bank in the link, if you hover the mouse over it you find the "real" address is shown in the bottom left hand corner (in Outlook anyway).

This will often be just an ip address (66.123.47.209 for example) so you are NOT going to a valid site.

Delete all e-mails like this and never select on the link.

[Sligachan14]

Did you get the secure padlock on the bottom of the screen and the http changing to https ?

[PhilBy]

If you or anyone else gets an email from PayPal, ebay your bank etc. asking for sensitive information ie. credit card number, passwords etc. etc. it will NOT be genuine.

For PayPal forward to: [email protected] (or .co.uk)

For ebay forward to: [email protected] (or .co.uk)

You will then receive an email informing you they have received it, then a 2nd email to tell it was indeed a spoof email. The 2nd email will also twll you what to do if you have given out any of your details.

[theren_911]

Wow, lots of scaremongers here!

I recieved the same email a while ago, which I assumed was a fake, turns out my debit card on their file is expired AND my spending limit was reached, so on that occation it WAS GENUINE. Sounds like the same email. Safest be in this kind of situation in the furure is to ignore all the links in the email and just type the website in yourself and check the site. When you log in and check you can see what needs updating. So don't worry TOO much ;-)

Word of caution, my ebay account was recently brute forced and someone took control, make sure your password is RANDOM and contains CAPITALS and numbers and symbols �$%^&. Then the chances of getting your account pillaged are minimal ;-)

[lynneuk74]

I have had loads of these spoof paypal e-mails. Basically - if it is saying that my card has expired or the like I just log in as normal and check.

I have had a couple recently that have said that a new e-mail address has been added to my account - I checked and it hadn't.

If you cannot check the problem in the e-mail by just looking at your account online then forward the e-mail (as stated above) to spoof.

[PhilBy]

You have got it all wrong theren_911, Spoof emails are a real threat! The email you received will of instructed you to log into your account & enter your new card details, the spoof email will provide a dierct link and if used will direct to a fake look-a-like site which will then take your new credit card details, passwords and anything else you care to enter. By the time you become aware your bank balance and all available credit will of disappeared....

[kazza55]

Thanks for all your replies - much appreciated. Paypal did get back to me quickly to tell me that this was indeed a spoof "phishing" email and not the genuine article. They were very helpful.

After I had forwarded the suspicious email to them and had a little surf, I realized to my horror that I had entered my Paypal password! How stupid was that? I suppose I didn't think anything of it at the time. This spoof website supposedly from Paypal was very,very convincing at first glance!! They even have the bits warning you about fraudulent emails and security measures etc.

I have heard and read about these spoof websites but never dreamed that It would happen to me. I have had the hassle of changing password and 2 phone calls to the Banks to stop my Debit/Credit cards just to be on the safe side. No harm done to me, but a lesson learned not to be so complacent in future!!

[WoWo]

"Did you get the secure padlock on the bottom of the screen and the http changing to https ?"

Doesn't mean a thing I'm afraid. https is just a transfer protocol which encrypts the data send from your browser to the server. This means that people sniffing on your network/internet connection cannot access the content being transfered etc....

...but there is nothing stopping me setting up a totally dody https server and getting your card details for iffy purposes.

There are various controls via certificates but most people wouldn't have a clue about the implications of this.

Wikipeida sums the point up nicely.

"In a sense, https: is similar to handing your card to a waiter at a restaurant while covering your card number with your thumb: it prevents anyone else from seeing your number while giving the card to the waiter, but once the card has been handed over the waiter can do anything with the information."