PayPal has been one of the most popular modes of transferring money online and although it is the most popular, this does not mean it is immune to faults. A recent problem has been discovered by certain journalists of scammers that are trying to use PayPal to get money from users.
When you first look at the problem, the email containing the scam actually looks like the obvious phishing attempt with the subject line explaining that someone needs help. There is a certain button attached to the email that clearly reads "view and pay invoice".
Although most scams are pretty obvious, there are potentially people out there who would fall victim to even more complicated scams.
What is the email about?
The email received by users who could potentially fall victim to this is from PayPal itself (service@paypal.com). When users go inside the email, you'll be taken to an invoice simply waiting on your own PayPal dashboard.
You will then see the transfer already pending even if you did not click the dreaded button.
In an article by Engadget, a certain reporter by the name of Dana Wollman was targeted by the scam and although she was able to resolve the issue, she decided to dig in and see if others have been victimized and lo and behold, there really were others.
Anyone else got a $35 invoice from @WHO on your @PayPal ? Why am I being force billed ? pic.twitter.com/066TD5D5fk — Samir (@SamirDiwan) August 30, 2020
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The findings of Dana Wollman with regards to the PayPal scam
According to the reporter, she found that on Twitter, she was not alone at all and the scam is not even new at all. Although the organization in question is not always really DirectRelief, the general email still seems to have a consistent template.
PayPal has also spoken to Engadget saying that they are aware of the scams and say that it is quite a common scheme of trying to leverage brands. The spokeswoman also noted that they are taking the matter very seriously and are tirelessly working to remove the incorrect invoices in order to secure their customer's information.
The representative also added that aside from a huge range of different sophisticated proactive detection and also mitigation methods, they will take fast action in order to protect the customer's accounts.
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What PayPal did not say
The spokesperson, however, still declined to give clarification as to what type of fraud detection tools are PayPal using. There was also no response to certain questions asking what particular guardrails actually prevent these individuals from sending an invoice.
According to the reporter from Engadget, it still seems that despite barring certain further clarification from the company itself, maybe anyone could actually send an invoice to anyone.
According to the article by Engadget, it is also worth noting that this company with a surprising market cap of about $239.5 billion still lacks 24/7 customer service. The Resolution Centers are also not available for the mobile app.
