What are they and how to protect themselves from scams on PayPal

Cybercriminals are the order of the day waiting for someone to fall into their scam networks that include PayPal. Clearly the company has nothing to do with it, since its transactions are secure, unfortunately people use it to defraud in a transaction that appears to be legitimate.

The cybersecurity company, Kapersky, points out that there are different scams: one of them is “payment in advance” to defraud PayPal users. Victims receive notification that they are owed a certain amount of money, which could be due to an inheritance, lottery or some other compensation.

Whatever the story, the victim must first make a small advance (via PayPal, although it may be another means) and, perhaps, fill out a form with personal data to receive the money. Of course, the sender of the message disappears and any personal data revealed ends up in a database that may be sold on the dark web.

How to avoid this scam: Do not transfer money or reveal personal information to strangers. Most of these types of messages present many red flags: too generous earnings or compensation, misspellings, the address of a sender that seems more appropriate to a robot than a person, etc.

Another scam is alleged “problems with the PayPal account”. Initially, the fraudster sends an email stating that he is from the company and that something is wrong with the recipient's account; to resolve it, he only asks to click on a link and log in.

Although it seems simple, it is one of the most common scams and is known as phishing, where they pose as real and reliable entities to deceive victims. By providing the login details, attackers can use them at their leisure to make expenses on behalf of the victim.

How to avoid the scam: Look for errors in the message and the differences between the address that appears and that of the official website. Always remember that PayPal would not report this type of problem with bad wording; it applies to other sites such as Twitter, Facebook and more.

The third scam is “overpayment refund” or overpayment, in which a buyer makes the payment to the seller, but sends an amount greater than the selling price. The buyer claims that this is an error and requests a refund of the difference, but immediately upon receipt, cancels the original transaction.

How to avoid the scam: In the event of a real mistake, it is safer for both parties to cancel the erroneous transaction and allow the payer to start over, resending the correct amount and thoroughly reviewing the figure. If they refuse, you should contact PayPal support immediately.

The following scam pointed out by Kapersky is related to “delivery and cancellation of payment”. In this tactic the scammers who pose as buyers and ask a seller to ship the goods using their favorite delivery service. The criminals change the delivery address and then file a complaint, saying that the goods never arrived.

Another possible form of scam could be that the parcel company was a front, allowing a dishonest buyer to recover their money using existing legitimate mechanisms for goods shipped in good faith.

Finally, this type of scam can be perpetrated by replacing the address: the buyer provides a false address, and after several failed delivery attempts, the company asks him where his purchase should be delivered. That way, they receive the package, but file a complaint against the seller claiming they didn't receive anything. Given the numerous reports of failed delivery, PayPal may believe the scammer.

How to avoid the scam: Use only delivery services that trusted people have previously tried. Never send anything before receiving payment and be sure to keep all receipts.

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