Real Life Email Scam Example

'Tis the season for email scams. Actually, they happen every day of the year but I thought it would be a good time show an actual one that happened today. To me.

I opened my email today and found this.

Knowing that I had not ordered such a phone and that I don't know anyone from Rockville, I first thought that a mistake had been made. Then knowing that such things are sometimes not a mistake but a way to get more information from me by encouraging me to click on link that will ask me for more info, I checked the email address this invoice was sent from, often a quick way of checking the validity of an email. 

Thinking that @gaisodangdutan.com is not really Paypal I did two things next.

First, I checked my PayPal account and discovered no such transaction had taken place. This made me happy because then the likely hood of someone compromising my account was greatly reduced.

Next, I followed the recommendations PayPal had for dealing with such emails:

Suspicious emails

Phishing and spoof emails aim to obtain your secure information, passwords, or account numbers. These emails use deceptive means to try and trick you, like forging the sender’s address. Often, they ask for the reader to reply, call a phone number, or click on a weblink to steal personal information. If you receive a suspicious email, FORWARD it to spoof@paypal.com. Our security experts can take a look to determine if it's a fake. If it is, we'll get the source of the email shut down as quickly as possible. Reporting these emails helps protect yourself and everyone else, too.

So I forwarded the email to spoof@paypal.com (do not cut and paste, just forward) and received this response:

Dear Jason Brazier,

Thanks for being a PayPal customer,
PayPal Security

So I deleted the email and moved with my day. I know some of you are wondering, "Why didn't you just delete it to start with?" Mostly because I was concerned that someone had accessed my PayPal account and wanted to be sure the login was still safe. Finally, if it helps to alert the security team at PayPal, why not? Maybe they will actually track down the server or email account and close it down.

While I have very little belief that it will lead to any kind of arrest of a scamming operation it never hurts to add a little help if you can. I hope this blog post has given you a few tips to share with others and  may your weekend be full of true and happy emails.