PayPal scam goes after account info, payment card data

PayPal scam goes after account info, payment card data

PayPal customers are being hit with a phishing scam designed to steal their login credentials and other PII through a series of well-crafted emails and fraudulent websites.
An incident begins with an email stating that there has been some unusual activity on the person’s PayPal account that requires immediate attention in order to properly secure the account, ESET recently reported. The email contains a link to a fake PayPal page that contains the proper logos and branding.


Despite the good work done on the page’s design, ESET researchers noted a few tells indicating that something is amiss. First, the wording on the page tries to enhance the perceived danger to the account by creating a sense of urgency. The next indicator is the site’s URL, which uses poor English and is not related to PayPal.


The malicious actors took the extra step of obtaining and applying a security certificate for the fake website so it would have a green padlock next to the URL, giving it a sense of authenticity.


If these signs are missed and the target moves on to the next web page, he or she will find a replicated PayPal sign-in page asking for credentials. The crooks don’t stop there – they then present the victim with a form asking for an updated billing address along with the credit card information that is associated with the account.


The only saving grace with this particular attack is ESET has not found any malware being downloaded onto the victim’s device; however, if the person did follow all the steps as indicated by the cybercriminals a portion of his or her financial online financial life is in jeopardy.