If you sell goods online, you’ll want to keep an eye out for suspicious activity coming from a scammer who claims to be PayPal. Here’s how it works: An “interested buyer” will contact you and ask you to accept payment through PayPal. You’ll then receive an email that looks like it’s from PayPal, saying you’ve received payment. If you check your PayPal account, the money isn’t there.
Unfortunately, many people don’t take the time to check their PayPal account, send the purchased items, and end up without both the money and the goods (not to mention shipping fees). Skipping the step of checking the PayPal account is understandable, considering the emails saying the payment has been made look legitimate.
Take a closer look, though, and you may see a false sender email address or other red flags giving the scammer away. To protect yourself, examine all emails carefully and always double-check your PayPal account to make sure messages are accurate. You can forward a suspicious email to spoof@paypal.com, and PayPal security experts will examine it and take action if needed.
