According to reports, users of the payment service must increasingly expect “deceptively real phishing emails”.
However, some features should make you suspicious.
Paypal customers should take a closer look these days when they get an email.
According to reports, these could be so-called “phishing” emails.
In other words, fake e-mails from Internet criminals that companies can fall victim to.
Welt.de
reported on December 7th
that many PayPal customers found strange messages in their emails .
The recipients of the email would be informed that they had made a payment to a third party company, even though they did not initiate the payment.
Reports of fake email scams - what Paypal users should know
The problem, as other media outlets have reported, is that the fraudulent emails look deceptively real.
"Criminals have apparently hijacked PayPal's mail server," wrote the Berliner Zeitung in its online edition (as of December 14).
Users should therefore increasingly expect "deceptively real phishing mails".
According to the report, PayPal users should be suspicious, for example, if they are addressed in an e-mail with the address "Hello dear customer" - instead of directly with their user name as in serious e-mails.
"Another feature that points to fraud is when customers are asked in the mail to log into their account via a link," reports the portal
Berliner-zeitung.de
further.
It is therefore advisable in this context that the login should be done "exclusively via the official Paypal homepage or app".
Two-factor authentication offers additional protection
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Basically, the so-called two-factor authentication offers additional protection for online accounts.
(archive image)
© Silas Stein/dpa
In principle, the so-called two-factor authentication, 2FA for short, also offers additional protection for online accounts.
"A second factor is then requested in addition to the password when logging in - such as a pin code sent by SMS or generated by an app," as Stiftung Warentest generally informs about the procedure.
Many online portals offer 2FA options.
PayPal, for example, also offers the possibility of using two-factor authentication, as the
Chip.de
portal informs.
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"Pishing": consumer advice center generally warns of scams on the Internet
The consumer advice center generally warns against the scam of "phishing" on the net.
It regularly provides information on current cases on its website.
With phishing, internet criminals try to obtain confidential access data, the consumer advocates explain and have the following important information, among other things:
"Fraudulent emails often look deceptively real."
"If you can't tell whether an email is genuine or not, check with the provider.
But beware: do not reply directly to the suspicious email.”
"If you identify an email as a scam, do not click on links or open file attachments."
List of rubrics: © Silas Stein/dpa
