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Email Scam: Did you receive an Email claiming to be from PayPal, saying your account has been limited

Email and Online Scams -

Have You Received a Scam Email?
PayPal, claiming your account has been limited

Did you receive an email from PayPal, claiming your account has been limited? Did they then instruct you to 'log in to your PayPal account and complete the steps required to re-secure your account.' or something similar?

Well, don't fall for it. It is a scam, and if you call them back or follow their instructions you will lose money and possibly your identity! Fake emails like this, also known as 'phishing' or 'spoof' emails, attempt to trick you into revealing personal or financial information such as bank account details, credit card details and passwords etc. These fake emails often link to fake (spoof) websites where your information can be collected if you type it.The people behind this are the worst kind of human scum; willing to do anything to scare, threaten, lie, cheat and steal money from anyone, including the elderly and poor. They usually operate out of Nigeria, China, Russia and even some developed western countries. Attachments typically include malware to infect your computer, tablet or phone and allow the scammer to capture your passwords. The "sign-in now" link does NOT go to PayPal; instead, it goes to https://1th.me/kUWhe. And .me is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Montenegro, a tiny country between Serbia and Italy. Certainly NOT where PayPal's headquarters are! That should prove to you that this is a scam!

Report received:

Here is an example of the scam email, seen in 2021:

your account has been limited (ref - #14657120024)

Hello Customer,

We noticed some unusual activity on your account and are concerned about potential unauthorized access. We need your help resolving this issue, and for your safety, we have temporarily limited what you can do with your account until you take action.

What's going on?

We noticed some unusual activity on your PayPal account on today near Santa Monica CA and are concerned about potential unauthorized account access.

What do I need to do?

Log in to your PayPal account and complete the steps required to re-secure your account.

Sign-in Now

If you need help or have any questions, call us at 1-888-221-1161.

Sincerely,

PayPal

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click Help in the top right corner of any PayPal page or please contact us toll free at 1-888-221-1161.
You can receive plain text emails instead of HTML emails. To change your Notifications preferences, log in to your account, go to your Profile, and click My settings.

Copyright � 1999-2020 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.

PayPal PPX001066:1.1:9a66aea148028

It is a scam

Don't fall for it. It is a scam. Do not click on anything in the email.

What to do

Report an scam PayPal email:

If you think you've received a phishing email, forward it to phishing@paypal.com or in the UK, spoof@paypal.co.uk (so PayPal can investigate) and then delete the fake email from your mailbox. If you've responded to a fraudulent email and believe your PayPal account may now have been accessed, you should report the unauthorized access immediately.

Report a scam PayPal SMS text received on any phone:

Don't click any links in a text message that appears to be from PayPal, but doesn�t seem right.

Forward a copy to PayPal. Here's how:

Tap and hold the message
Tap More and then the Forward arrow
Enter the recipient's name as phishing@paypal.com or in the UK, spoof@paypal.co.uk
Tap the Send arrow
Block the sender (here's how on iOS or on Android
Then delete the message

Apple offers the following advice:

If you get a suspicious Email:
Scammers spoof phone numbers and use flattery and threats to pressure you into giving them information, money, and even iTunes gift cards. Always verify the caller's identity before you provide any personal information. If you get an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from Apple, hang up and contact us directly.

Microsoft says:

Tech support scams are an industry-wide issue where scammers use scare tactics to trick you into paying for unnecessary technical support services that supposedly fix contrived device, platform, or software problems.
Scammers may call you directly on your phone and pretend to be representatives of a software company. They might even spoof the caller ID so that it displays a legitimate support phone number from a trusted company. They can then ask you to install applications that give them remote access to your device. Using remote access, these experienced scammers can misrepresent normal system output as signs of problems.

Cybercriminals don't just send fraudulent email messages and set up fake websites. They might also call you on the telephone and claim to be from Microsoft. They might offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Once they have access to your computer, they can do the following:

Trick you into installing malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software.

See these pages for guidance as applicable to your specific situation:

If you are certain you don't owe a debt: What to do about harassing Emails
If you may owe a debt: Debt collection Emails - what they may do, what the may not do and how to stop them
If you are being harassed by the collector: file a compliant against a debt collector with the FTC - Use this form to submit a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection about a particular company or organization..
How to stop telemarketers

Protect Yourself:

PayPal says, you'll know that an email is not from PayPal when:

It begins with a generic greeting like 'Dear user' or 'Hello, PayPal member.' We'll always begin with your first and last name or the business name on your PayPal account.
It asks for financial and other personal information. Our emails will never ask for your bank account number, debit or credit card number etc. We'll never ask for your full name, your account password, or the answers to your PayPal security questions in an email.
It asks you to provide the tracking number of a dispatched item, before you've received the payment into your PayPal account.
It includes a software update to install on your computer.

Even if a URL contains the word 'PayPal', it may not be a PayPal webpage.

When using PayPal, always ensure that the URL address listed at the top of the browser displays as https://www.paypal.com/. The 's' in 'https' means the website is secure.
Look for the 'lock' symbol that appears in the address bar. This symbol indicates that the site you're visiting is secure.

The following documents and websites can help you learn more about phishing and how to protect yourself against phishing attacks.

Information About PayPal, claiming your account has been limited

There are several websites that focus on reports of scam Emails.

The links below go to pages on these other websites were you can read reports about the scams associated with this phone number (PayPal, claiming your account has been limited):

Methods of Reporting Phishing Email to the US Government

In Outlook Express, you can create a new message and drag and drop the phishing email into the new message. Address the message to phishing-report@us-cert.gov and send it.
In Outlook Express you can also open the email message^* and select File > Properties > Details. The email headers will appear. You can copy these as you normally copy text and include it in a new message tophishing-report@us-cert.gov .
If you cannot forward the email message, at a minimum, please send the URL of the phishing website.

* If the suspicious mail in question includes a file attachment, it is safer to simply highlight the message and forward it. Some configurations, especially in Windows environments, may allow the execution of arbitrary code upon opening and viewing a malicious email message.

For More Information About Phishing, See:

Click Here for a copy of NCL's Phishing Brochure. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader'.
How Not to Get Hooked by a 'Phishing' Scam [PDF version]
Offers tips on how to avoid falling victim to a new type of spam scam in which consumers are deceived into handing over personal financial information.
Is Someone "Phishing" for Your Information? [PDF version]
Cautions consumers about emails that claim to be from government agencies in an attempt to steal personal information.
Digital PhishNet Web site.
Phish Report Network - a cooperative effort by several companies providing an information clearinghouse that will be run by WholeSecurity, a provider of client-side security solutions.
Internet Crime Prevention & Control Institute, a cooperative effort between Zero Spam Network Corp. and the University of Miami. Staffed by Miami undergraduate and graduate students and Zero Spam employees, works closely with the Secret Service's Electronic Crimes Task Force and ISPs in the United States and abroad to identify and block traffic to machines hosting phishing sites.
- Report A Crime
- FTC Fraud Reporting

There are several websites that focus on reports of scam Emails.

The links below go to pages on these other websites were you can read reports about the scams associated with this phone number (855-687-1444, claiming This is Microsoft. This call is to inform you that your Microsoft license key has expired):