Last week, I got an email regarding some problem in my paypal account. It was asking me to click on the link and enter my paypal user name and password. The link was redirecting to a fake website whose look and feel was more or less like paypal. It was asking me to enter my user name and password. After some investigation on Google, I concluded that it was a fake email whose aim was to criminally and fraudulently acquire my user name and password details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity like PayPal in an electronic communication (e-mail). Also my name was missing in the email. PayPal never asks for personal information in an email and their emails will address you by name. Also a PayPal email will never contain attachments or software.
We recently have determined that different computers have logged onto your Paypal account, and multiple password failures were present before the logons. We now need you to re-confirm your account information to us. If this is not completed by March 25, 2008, we will be forced to suspend your account indefinitely, as it may have been used for fraudulent purposes. We thank you for your cooperation in this manner. To confirm your Online Banking records click on the following link:
>>> Click here <<< (I have removed the link)Thank you for your patience in this matter. Paypal Customer Service. Please do not reply to this e-mail as this is only a notification. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. 1999-2008 PayPal. All rights reserved.
If you receive such emails then don’t forget to forward them to spoof@paypal.com before deleting the mail. Always use FireFox as web browser. When you click such email links in Firefox browser then a FireFox window pop up will come and say “Suspected Web Forgery”. For accessing paypal, it is always safer to open a new browser and then open www.paypal.com from there. Use secure and licensed software and keep it up to date and always make sure that you install all security patches for the softwares installed in your PC. Regularly run anti virus software to check your PC for viruses and never forget to update virus definitions. If possible then set up a firewall like Zone Alarm to prevent intruders from getting into your network or computer. For your PayPal account choose a strong password, for this you can mix upper, lowercase letters and symbol characters. Check your paypal account frequently for all credit card activities and incoming and outgoing balances. In case of any doubt or problem, contact PayPal immediately.
ya abhishek thanks for writing about this . i have also got some forge mails from attackers. it’s really bad thing doing as well as believing in those emails. yahoo also trys to explain these mails.