Do they think we are this stupid????

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

02/01/2006 01:42:26 PM · #1

Not at all photography related but good for a laugh I think. This came via email recently. usually the bad grammer, puntuation gives the email away as JUNK but this had a particularly glaring error. Here is the body text...

****************
Dear valued PayPalÂ® member :

It has come to our attention that your PayPalÂ® account information needs to be
updated as part of our continuing commitment to protect your account and to
reduce the instance of fraud on our website. If you could please take 5-10 minutes
out of your online experience and update your personal records you will not run into
any future problems with the online service.

However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension.
Please update your records on or before January 35, 2006.

Once you have updated your account records, your PayPalÂ® session will not be
interrupted and will continue as normal.

To update your PayPalÂ® records click on the following link
***************

The date was highlighted in RED!! Seriously, Im not making this up. Does this mean I still have time to remove my "blue" entry?

pardon the bad grammer, punctuation, and spelling.

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

02/01/2006 01:45:17 PM · #2

Here is the dead give-away that it's a spoof:
Dear valued PayPalÂ® member:

When they do officially contact us, your name will be included, not member.

I simply forward all these to spoof@paypal.com

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

02/01/2006 01:46:30 PM · #3

Beat me to it again, Brad!

EVERY such mail should be forwarded to spoof@paypal.com, people.

R.

Hail the Heartbreaker

Canon PowerShot SD800 IS

02/01/2006 01:46:52 PM · #4

there were no spelling or grammar errors in the email. unless you were you talking about your own post, where there were a few. haha.

why does the date being highlighted in red make it automatically fake?

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

02/01/2006 01:48:17 PM · #5

Originally posted by Hail the Heartbreaker:

It's not that the highlighting "makes" it fake; it's that the actual date highlighted does not exist; January 35th...

R.

karmat

Apple iPhone 7

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

02/01/2006 01:48:45 PM · #6

Originally posted by Hail the Heartbreaker:

ummm, I think it was referring to the fact that there are only 31 days in January and highlighting it in red just makes it more obvious.

Hail the Heartbreaker

Canon PowerShot SD800 IS

02/01/2006 01:49:10 PM · #7

totally missed that one! well then.

taterbug

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

02/01/2006 01:49:11 PM · #8

Originally posted by Hail the Heartbreaker:

'january 35'

Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

02/01/2006 01:49:43 PM · #9

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by Hail the Heartbreaker:
there were no spelling or grammar errors in the email. unless you were you talking about your own post, where there were a few. haha.

why does the date being highlighted in red make it automatically fake?

It's not that the highlighting "makes" it fake; it's that the actual date highlighted does not exist; January 35th...

R.

Thanks Robert, you are too quick. It was looking pretty good until I reached Jan 35th :)

I recieve the same basic mails from "ebay" as well.

LN13

Canon EOS-60D

02/01/2006 01:50:25 PM · #10

I guess you have three more days, since today is January 32.

idnic

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

02/01/2006 01:50:26 PM · #11

I got one this morning, 3rd time I've gotten it. Tells me to 'click here' to edit my paypal account and verify a "new email address has been added to my account"

The email comes from some guy's comcast account.

I've sent it off to spoof@paypal.com

taterbug

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

02/01/2006 01:50:30 PM · #12

Wowsers!
...aren't we all just fast little typers today????
:-P

prietenu

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5

Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 ASPH

02/01/2006 01:51:07 PM · #13

well lets see, knowing that January has 40 days, and that his account would expire on the 35th, and this was posted on Feb. 1st... I'm sorry mpeters, you are 5 days too late

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

02/01/2006 01:51:10 PM · #14

I've decided I'm going to enter Romance instead...

Hail the Heartbreaker

Canon PowerShot SD800 IS

02/01/2006 01:51:14 PM · #15

i'm glad i didn't get this email because i would have taken it seriously.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

02/01/2006 01:54:39 PM · #16

Originally posted by BradP:

I simply forward all these to spoof@paypal.com

I also sent a copy to spam@uce.gov -- I think that's the FTC or whatever agency is in charge of investigating this stuff.

If you're using Windows, you can mouse-over (not click) the link, and you should be able to read the actual URL of the link target -- it should be obvious that it's not from PayPal.

You'll probably see similar messages purporting to be from eBay, or from a bank.

jbsmithana

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

02/01/2006 01:56:06 PM · #17

I have recieved this e-mail so many times that I finally stopped sending it to paypal. The real giveaway is if you click to the link listed that appears to be an offical paypal web address and your watching you will see it redirect you to another offical looking paypal screen but at a non-paypal address.

Message edited by author 2006-02-01 13:56:43.

fadedbeauty

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

02/01/2006 01:57:00 PM · #18

I am all the time getting these scam emails and when I sell things on ebay I get people from indonesia trying to scam me there...

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

02/01/2006 01:59:01 PM · #19

Originally posted by prietenu:

well lets see, knowing that January has 40 days, and that his account would expire on the 35th, and this was posted on Feb. 1st... I'm sorry mpeters, you are 5 days too late

Sucks that Feb now only has 24 days.

Artifacts

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

02/01/2006 02:01:52 PM · #20

The answer to your question...

"Do they think we are this stupid????"

is "YES". Sadly, some people are. And as they get smarter so will the thieves.

dassilem

Nikon D90

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/01/2006 02:04:05 PM · #21

Originally posted by Hail the Heartbreaker:

i'm glad i didn't get this email because i would have taken it seriously.

a girl at work answered one of these. I told her it was fraud as they didn't call her by name....

2 days later her Bank called and said..."oh, I guess you are not in Romania!". Someone was trying to access her account at an ATM in Romania.

good rule of thumb is to never follow a link they provide when asking for updated information. Go directly to the source.

Message edited by author 2006-02-01 14:04:53.

Beagleboy

Canon EOS-30D

Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4.0 AT-X Pro DX

02/01/2006 02:10:22 PM · #22

Look what I just received! It just came in my email.

FRAUD! FRAUD! FRAUD!

Below is the wording of the message:
---------------------------------------

Fraud Investigation !
Fraud. Without limiting any other remedies, eBay may suspend or terminate your account if we suspect that you (by conviction, settlement, insurance or escrow investigation, or otherwise) have engaged in fraudulent activity in connection with the Site .

Without limiting other remedies, we may limit your activity, immediately remove your bids or item listings, warn our community of your actions, issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if: (a) you breach this Agreement or the documents it incorporates by reference; (b) we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us; or (c) we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us.

Security Center
eBay

---------------------------------

Then they want you to sign in, enter your password, and get this, they want to verify information by entering your full name, address, date of birth, social security number, driver's licence number, postal code, phone number, credit/debit card number, cvv number, expiration date and atm pin number.

Now how's that for being thorough!!!

What's worse is that some poor saps are going to fall for this hook, line and sinker.

What's worse, it says it comes from eBay Inc. and the subject reads "without limiting any other remedies".(???)

Just thought I'd let you guys know.

Message edited by author 2006-02-01 14:10:54.