PayPal Phishing Scam Warning: Thanks to FireFox

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Some of you may have already read this kind of post but for others who have not, this might be of big help to them and for security awareness.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a form of identity theft that occurs when a malicious Web site impersonates a legitimate one in order to acquire sensitive information such as passwords, account details, or credit card numbers. Phishing attacks usually come from email messages that attempt to lure the recipient into updating their personal information on fraudulent, but very real looking, Web sites. More information on phishing can be found at the Anti-Phishing Working Group, and there are a number of examples and resources available at the Wikipedia Phishing page.

My Personal Experience

Some of us use PayPal as a tool or service to pay or get paid online. Some say PayPal is easy and safe, while others disagree. As for my personal experience, I haven’t encountered any big problems yet when using PayPal but I’m prepared when that day comes(knocks on the wood, hehe). While I was checking my emails this morning, I have one unread email coming from PayPal Service. Here’s the email I received:
PayPal Phishing Email captured screenshot

As you can see, It looks like a real and legit email coming from PayPal Service, the email address where it came from and the link too. So without verifying the link if it’s real or fraudulent, which I did not (bad example, don’t do this), I directly click the link included in the email. Another browser window opened and it alerted me with “Suspected Web Forgery“. Good thing I use Firefox browser, it has a Phishing Protection feature.

My Suggestions

Browse the web more securely, get Firefox with Google toolbar. Read PayPal’s Phishing Guide Part 1 - Understanding Phishing, Phishing Guide Part2 - Recognizing Phishing, and Phishing Guide Part3 - Fighting Phishing for more informations. Get PayPal account now!

Whenever you get an email about your PayPal account, the safest and easiest course of action is to open a new browser, type https://www.paypal.com, and log in to your PayPal account directly. Do not click on any link in an email that requests personal information.

How about you? Do you experience any of this type of phishing scam?

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