December 09, 2004

International theft via the Internet not involvin' Nigerians

More of those idiots who think I am among the idiots who falls for this crap:

Security Center
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Military Grade encryption is only the start

At PayPal, we want to increase your security and comfort level with every transaction. From our Buyer and Seller Protection Policies to our Verification and Reputation systems, we'll help to keep you safe.

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We recently noticed one or more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign UP address and we have reasons to believe that your account was hijacked by a third party without your authorization.

If you recently accessed your account while traveling, the unusual log in attempts may have been initiated by you. However, if you are the rightful holder of the account, click on the link below to log into your account and follow the instructions.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ver-login

If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but to temporally suspend your account.

We ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated and we strongly recommend to verify your account in that time.

If you received this notice and you are not the authorized account holder, please be aware that it is in violation of PayPal policy to represent oneself as another PayPal user. Such action may also be in violation of local, national, and/or international law. PayPal is committed to assist law enforcement with any inquires related to attempts to misappropriate personal information with the intent to commit fraud or theft Information will be provided at the request of law enforcement agencies to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Thanks for your patience as we work together to protect your account.

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department
PayPal, an stay Company

Uh yeah, if you are really from PayPal, the why is your URL in the letter listed as
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ver-login
but it actually goes to
http://onlyfree.de/php/artmedic_hpmaker/user/login.htm[*]
which also attempted to change my browser start page and was throwin' of pop-ups like crazy when I clicked it closed.

*I normally would have not posted such link publicly so as to assist such entity in any way, but as it is not a clickable link and all language around it suggests it is a site fraught with fraud, deceit, and criminal intent, I felt that makin' it available for Google searchers might be doin' the unsuspectin' denizens of the wild woolly web a public service.

Posted by Tiger at December 9, 2004 02:24 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I got this same message. Realized part way through the clicking that it was a scam and bailed. Had to debug my hard drive afterward. I wish there was some kind of RU486 for the computer. Once you get screwed, you simply run it and it cleans out the insides.

Posted by: windspike at December 9, 2004 03:03 PM

I also received it, but I always copy the URL link and paste it into my browser so I can see where it really goes before actually going there. I was already suspicious and knew what was up when I did see that it was not a PayPal url.

Posted by: King of Fools at December 9, 2004 03:09 PM