Paypal Fraud and Paypal Email Scams
This article is written neither to promote nor criticize the Paypal online mode of payment. With the rapid growth in the number of Paypal users, frauds and email scams on Paypal accounts has become more frequent and severe. Our network team has put together a report on the current Paypal frauds and Paypal email scams being perpetuated by various groups of fraudsters. We also offer advice for users of Paypal to help them reduce the chances of becoming victims of such frauds and scams. As the usage of the internet has increased in handling online transactions, both buyers and sellers need to become aware of safe practices to operate online payments or online receipt of funds.
To access a Paypal account you need to have the username and password of the account. The username of a Paypal account is the main email address (primary email address) used to register the account. The owner of the account would also set up a password to be used along with the username to access the account. The security system is quite secure as long as the username and password of the Paypal account are known only to the actual owner of the account. If these details are available to anyone else it would mean that the security of that Paypal account has been compromised. Anyone acquiring the username and password of any Paypal account can access and perform all functions that the actual owner of the account could do.
In this article we will try to explain in simple terms how confidential login information of an actual Paypal account owner can be robbed and misused. We will then provide important and simple suggestions that would reduce the chances of such a fraud being committed on your Paypal account.
(a) Being careless with your information: This type of Paypal fraud can be committed very easily and does not require too much effort on the part of the fraudster. Users very often write down their login details for various websites with the fear of forgetting them. Anyone having access to these written details can login to the Paypal account and treat the account as if it was his own. Another possibility that could easily open a Paypal account to fraud is when the user selects a very simple or easy password that can be easily guessed. People with bad intentions need to make a few guesses before they arrive at the correct password to enter the Paypal account. These are the simplest ways in which a Paypal fraud can be committed and they do not require any email scam to be done.
(b) Identity theft through a Paypal email scam: Paypal phishing or identity theft as it is commonly known, involves an attempt by a fraudster to extract the login details of a Paypal account from the actual owner of the account. Armed with these detais, the fraudster can be very dangerous as full control of the Paypal account can be excercised. In this case, emails will be randomly sent to many email addresses informing the receiver of a certain activity in their Paypal account. For these Paypal email scams to work, the receiver of the email will need to login to his Paypal account by clicking a link on the email. The exact contents of each Paypal email scam might differ but the objective remains the same. Once the user clicks the link in the email, he is taken to a web page that closely resembles a regular Paypal login page. This page is infact a fake and is hosted by the fraudster (not Paypal) with the sole purpose of collecting confidential login details from the actual owner of the Paypal account. If the owner of the Paypal account falls for this trick, his account will soon be operated by the fraudster and this could lead to heavy losses. Attempts to phish Paypal accounts have become quite common and each time a fraudster unleashes his cruel trick a number of innocent Paypal accounts become victims.
The above two methods account for a major share of Paypal frauds and Paypal email scams being committed in recent times. It is not very difficult to stay clear from these frauds and we provide some useful suggestions to help you. You really do not have to give up using your Paypal account with the fear of it being misused or phished by someone else. The internet provides numerous advantages when it comes to selling and buying online and to surrender these benefits to a pack of fradusters would be sad.
Avoiding Paypal fraud and Paypal email scams.
(1) About your Paypal password: Choose a password that is not very easy to guess. Using your first or last name for your Paypal password is not a very good idea. Paypal frauds can be committed easily if you note your pass word in places that are accessible to others. Change your password periodically and whenever you suspect that you have become a victim of a Paypal email scam or other type of Paypal fraud.
(2) Clicking links to login: Never click links on emails to access your Paypal account. Always use your web browser and type in the complete name of the Paypal website to login. Paypal email scams urge you to click a link on the email and access your website. The login information is then saved to a website that is not a Paypal website. This allows fraudsters to login to your Paypal account and make transactions on your account.
(3) Periodic account check: Login to your account periodically and look for any strange or unexpected transactions. The transactions could relate to a receipt or payment of money. If you notice any abnormal movement in your Paypal account, consider it to be a Paypal fraud and inform Paypal immediately. Also change the password immediately to reduce the chances of further damage.
(4) Logging out of your account: If you are in the habit of logging into your Paypal account and then leaving the active account minimized on your browser, you could be helping someone commit frauds on your Paypal account very easily. Such security lapses do not require email scams or other methods. Always logout of your Paypal account once you have finished working on it or when you will not be using it for a couple of minutes.
Follow the above suggestions and you will be pleased with the results. Your Paypal account will be a lot safer and you will at the same time, reap the benefits of transacting online. The contents of this article have been compiled by the network team at Kaisilver. We request you to forward this link to all your friends and acquaintences, they will be grateful that you let them know about a safe way to work with their Paypal account.
You can see the complete report on Paypal fraud and Paypal email scams at this link:
http://www.newsletter.kaijewels.com/paypal-frauds-paypal-email-scams.htm
Thank you for taking this time to read this article.
Regards.
Ms. Roit
http://www.kaisilver.com
Ms.Roit is network assistant at
http://www.kaisilver.com/ the world's largest online source for highend
custom jewelry. All jewelry can be made in 14k or 18k white or yellow gold with gemstones of your choice. You can also send in images of your favourite designs to be custom made.
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