Holiday Scams Have Arrived
I've noticed that in the last few days, myself and some other people I know have noticed a sharp rise in the amount of scam emails that we have been getting, which are aimed primarily at fishing for personal information. Take one of the many that I got today that warned me that my Paypal account may have been compromised and that I needed to visit their website to make things right.
That's bad news, I thought. I clicked on the secure link so that I could log into my account immediately and fix this wrong-doing. I use Paypal about once every five years, so it's crucial to me that my account be up-to-date and secured. Once I reached the destination website, I provided my username and password, as well as some more detailed information about myself to log into my account. After all, they said, my account may have been compromised and at this sensitive time we simply can't be too safe. Upon logging in, I was please to be greeted by a screen telling me that their system is undergoing some maintenance and security upgrades so that they can better server me in the future. However, I could now rest easy knowing that my account is safe. It's a good feeling.
Just kidding. In reality I clicked the link in the email, which appears as a secure link visually but really was an insecure link leading to some guy's website that then re-directed to another guy's website which looked just like Paypal. I was faced with the pretty form that asked for more than enough information to steal my identity. Personally I like these emails because it's fun to see where they go.
The purpose of this post, however, is to warn people to ALWAYS IGNORE THESE EMAILS, and in some cases forward them to the company that they claim to be from so that they can be aware of what is going on. I've seen them appear as though they come from eBay, PayPal, Amazon.com, and all kinds of other places that are particularly popular around the holidays. Considering the time of year, it's not really surprising that we are seeing more and more of these, but PLEASE do not fall for these tricks.
Companies like Amazon.com and Paypal will NEVER send you an email when it comes to those types of things. That's why they need your phone number when you register. Happy holidays, and be careful.
