Fake PayPal emails: "security check" used to lure users into giving account data

Fake emails in the name of payment service PayPal are circulating again. As the German portal WEB.DE reported on 9 October, citing the Verbraucherzentrale consumer advice centre, the messages carry the subject line "Sicherheitsüberprüfung erforderlich – Bitte bestätigen Sie Ihre Kontodaten" (security check required – please confirm your account details). Recipients are asked to confirm their account details and supposedly "activate" a new protection module via automatic SMS verification. Otherwise, the account would be restricted within 24 hours. In reality, the links lead to fake websites where sensitive data is harvested. On 5 October, the Verbraucherzentrale's phishing radar had already warned of a similar email with the subject "Pay Pal – Neue Anmeldung erkannt" (new login detected) – according to the report, the misspelt company name is a warning sign.

Consumer advocates advise not to reply to such emails, not to click any links and to move the messages to the spam folder or delete them. Personal data should not be disclosed. Anyone wishing to check their account status should only use the official app or the familiar website, or contact the provider directly if in doubt. Anyone who has already entered their details on a fake site should change their login credentials immediately.