The Bandwagon: Dumbasses

Dumbasses

I got this email today, looking very official, with the Paypal logo and the sidebar about protecting your account. Note the grammatical errors.

Protect Your Account Info
Make sure you never provide your password to fraudulent websites.
PayPal will never ask you to enter your password in an email.

For more information on protecting yourself from fraud, please review our Security Tips at https://www.paypal.com/us/securitytips
Protect Your Password
You should never give your PayPal password to anyone, including PayPal employees.Upgrade Your Information
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It has come to our attention that your PayPal billing information are out of date. This require you to update billing information as soon as possible.
This billing update is also a new PayPal security statement which goes according to the established norms on our terms of service (TOS) to reduce the instance of fraud on our website.

Please update your records on or before Sept. 10, 2005. A failure to update your records may result on a suspension of your account.

To update your PayPal records click on the following link:
http://www.paypal.com/us/

This new security statement will helps us continue to offer PayPal as a secure and cost-effective payment service. We appreciate your cooperation and assistance.

Sincerely,
The PayPal Team
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Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose the Help link located in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

PayPal Email ID PP295

6 comments:

Shesawriter said...: Oh, I hate that! Just last week I got one from a phony amazon.com scammer.
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Greetings from Amazon Payments.

Your bank has contacted us regarding some attempts of charges from your credit card via the Amazon system. We have reasons to believe that you changed your registration information or that someone else has unauthorized access to your Amazon account Due to recent activity, including possible unauthorized listings placed on your account, we will require a second confirmation of your identity with us in order to allow us to investigate this matter further. Your account is not suspended, but if in 48 hours after you receive this message your account is not confirmed we reserve the right to suspend your Amazon registration. If you received this notice and you are not the authorized account holder, please be aware that it is in violation of Amazon policy to represent oneself as another Amazon user. Such action may also be in violation of local, national, and/or international law. Amazon is committed to assist law enforcement with any inquires related to attempts to misappropriate personal information with the intent to commit fraud or theft. Information will be provided at the request of law enforcement agencies to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

To confirm your identity with us click here:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/flex-sign-in/ref=pd_irl_gw_r/103-3177084-7567864?opt=oa&page=recs/sign-in-secure.html

After responding to the message, we ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated. Emailing us before that time will result in delays. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause you and we would like to thank you for your cooperation as we review this matter.

Thank you for your interest in selling at Amazon.com.

Amazon.com Customer Service
http://www.amazon.com

This message and any files or documents attached may contain classified information. It is intended only for the individual or entity named and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the intended recipient or authorized to receive it, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately then delete it from your system. Please also note that transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free.; 7:18 PM
MJFredrick said...: What I want to know is how they know we have accounts with these people.

That one is pretty scary, Tanya. It sounds very official.; 7:27 PM
Anonymous said...: I think sometimes they assume you have accounts, regardless. It's pretty scary how official some people can sound.; 7:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Mary, I received the e-mail that looked pretty much like yours! I'm sure they target many people!; 8:23 PM
Anonymous said...: Oh, I get those periodically. Very annoying. I've even gotten them about my accounts at various "banks". Thing is, I've never had an account at any of the banks in question.; 12:01 PM
MJFredrick said...: Huh, Tori, so that proves what Michelle says about them assuming we have those accounts. I got another email yesterday with my name - spelled correctly - in the header, from some guy in Africa wanting to repatriate money. But I had to keep it quiet. Yeah, he doesn't know me very well, does he??; 5:05 PM