Scam guides

Texts pretending to be PayPal

Texts claiming to be PayPal usually warn of a suspended account or a payment waiting. What PayPal says it never asks for, how to check your account safely, and where to report one.

What the text usually says

Most fake PayPal messages tell one of two stories. Either something is wrong with the account — PayPal’s own help page quotes the line “Your account is about to be suspended” — or money is waiting for you: “You’ve received a payment,” for an order that doesn’t exist. Both are written to get a tap before a second thought.

PayPal describes these as spoofed emails, but the same stories arrive by text, with a link to a page made up to look like PayPal’s sign-in. PayPal’s warning signs fit either: a greeting like “Dear user” or “Hello, PayPal member” instead of a name, and pressure to act fast before something happens to the account. Real PayPal messages, its page says, “will always use the full name listed in your PayPal account.”

What PayPal says it won’t do

PayPal’s security page is direct about codes: “Never share passwords, PIN, or one-time verification codes. PayPal will never ask for them.” It also says “We’ll only ask you to enter your password on our login page” — the real one, reached by typing the address yourself, not a page a text sent you to.

That makes one request an easy giveaway. A text, or a caller following up on one, that wants the code PayPal just sent to your phone is someone trying to sign in as you. The code is the last thing standing between them and the account, which is why they ask.

How to check

Leave the link alone. PayPal’s advice: “To confirm your account status or check activity, open the PayPal app or type www.paypal.com into a new browser window and log into your account.” If there really is a problem, it will be waiting there.

To talk to someone, PayPal says to reach it only through the Contact page in its Help Center — again, reached by typing the address yourself rather than anything in the text.

How to report it

PayPal asks for suspicious texts to be forwarded to it: tap and hold the message, choose More and then Forward, and send it to phishing@paypal.com. Then block the sender and delete the text.

The FTC also suggests forwarding scam texts to 7726 (SPAM), which it says “helps your wireless provider spot and block similar messages in the future,” and reporting them at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

If you already tapped the link or paid

Who to call depends on how the money left, and the sooner the better. Here is who to call for each way of paying.

Got one and not sure?

Paste it into Second Look, or text it over, and Rowan will tell you in plain English what it sees. Free, and no account.

Check a message

Sources

What PayPal says is quoted from its own pages. Rowan isn’t affiliated with PayPal.