Phishing is the attempt by fraudulent parties to obtain confidential financial information by disguising themselves as existing organisations and requesting details from the targeted party usually via mild threats or "helpful advice"
Thankfully, there are very easy ways to recognise phishing for what it is. One organisation which is often spoofed is PayPal, which is not a surprise considering its worldwide renown.
In order to recognise a true from a fake email that seemingly comes from PayPal here is a simple checklist you can go through to determine its authenticity:
- Check the sender’s address. If it is not coming from
@paypal.com or @paypal.co.uk then it is very likely fake - Check the greeting line. Paypal will always greet you by your name, so if the email says "Dear Paypal Customer" it will be a fake email. Paypal have your name on file, they use it.
- If they ask you to click a link, check that it will be going to http://www.paypal.com or http://www.paypal.co.uk. Be aware that the url may be concealed so to be sure right click on the link and view the properties to see whether the target is definitely one of the two above.
- Also remember that Paypal will never ask you for your password, so if the email has such a request report it immediately.
Reporting phishing attempts to paypal is easy. Simply forward the fraudulent email to spoof@paypal.com
If you’ve filled some form by mistake, immediately go and change your paypal password before someone else takes your account over.
And for more information check the paypal security center.