There's no need to be scared, Kathy. All you need to do is be careful. Learn to recognize what is and what is not a valid PayPal address in the URL box of your browser. Know that PayPal never misspells its own name, never directs you to enter sensitive information "to confirm things" and ALWAYS addresses you by name or business name (however you're registered.) Most importantly - PayPal web addresses (URLs) ALWAYS begin with https://www.paypal.com/... Note the "s" in the address. If it's not there, it's not a valid PayPal address.

Lastly, if you get an email or a web page that states your account is locked/suspended/under investigation/being held for customs/whatever, stop what you are doing, open a completely new browser window. Type in www.paypal.com, log in to your account. If there is no indication of a problem noted after you log in, you can pretty much assume the problem message you got was a fake.

Don't be scared, be proactive, be smarter than would-be thieves.

Sue

That is the reason I never mess with pay pal!

Billy

I received these e-mails telling me I had a refund comming from paypal and another stating a refund from my bank.
I knew from the amounts stated were never charged. The red flag was paypal international on the e-mail.

I have a different email address for ebay and paypal so if something comes to my main email I know its false. I just send it to paypal or ebay. I have had PayPal for a bit now and haven't had any problems. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I don't have a credit card. so It is attached to my bank account. and I never have too much in there. I have a friend that has a separate bank account for her paypal with a minimum amount in it. I may just do that in the future.

My pay pal account was hijacked last month through fabric.com. There was a $498 charge ( in euros!) that I did not make on my credit card on that day. I canceled my card, they issued me a new number and I closed my pay pal account. If someone wants to sell me something, they have to do it without pay pal. check you statements carefully!

I always forward these messages to: [email protected]. This alerts them and they always email back confirming that's pfishing (sp).
Judy

If you add the "real" paypal to your safe contacts, these fake ones will go to your junk box and you can easily mark them as spam.

Patti

It is not just a problem with PP, it could be someone pretending to be your bank.
Heck, this stuff has been happening before the internet - someone would call on the phone and try to get your banking info by pretending to be the bank.

Also they never use your real name, then you know it is a scammer/spammer.

Pay pal will use your authentic given name as on your account.

I got an actual email from PayPal and still didn't trust it, so I contacted them direct by phone.

warm quilt hugs, sue in CA

Yes I also got that one yesterday and its not the first time. Its really scary for someone like me who really doesn't know the differance.