Fake PayPal Verification

Fake PayPal Verification: How It Works

You may receive an email notification featuring a fake PayPal verification. It one of the latest PayPal scams out there, so how does it work? Thousands of items are bought and sold each day on classified advertisement websites. The bulk of these transactions are legitimate and go smoothly for both buyer and seller.

However, there are always scammers looking to prey upon victims trying to sell their merchandise to make usually much needed extra income.

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A recent report of a twist on the “certified check” scam recently appeared on a popular classified ad site, using PayPal as a front for illegal activity.

When a person lists a product for sale, the scammer (usually someone from out of the area; i.e. a purchaser from New York buying an item in Nebraska) will advise the victim to invoice them via PayPal. Upon doing so the victim then receives an email appearing to be from PayPal advising that the funds will be released to their account once they have verified the shipping information for the item.

Of course, the victim ships the item and sends “PayPal” the shipping information; they have then lost both the merchandise they were selling and the money for the item, as PayPal is never credited the money.

How to Avoid a Fake PayPal Verification

First, it is suspect when a buyer is that far out of the area; this should raise an immediate red flag. Also, PayPal will never require shipping information to release funds; that is not part of their transaction requirements.

Finally, the buyer will often offer to pay more for the item than the seller is asking. This falls under the category of “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

 

How To Report a PayPal Scam

Warn your family and friends about the Fake PayPal Verification Scam by sharing it on social media using the buttons provided. You can also officially report the scammers to the Federal Trade Commission using the link below:

Report To The FTC Here

 

How To Prevent Identity Theft and More

If you want to be the first to find out the most notorious scams every week, feel free to subscribe to the Scam Detector newsletter here. You'll receive periodic emails – no spamming.

Meanwhile, educate yourself with some other PayPal fraud-related articles right under this paragraph, so that you can protect yourself in many other aspects and niches. Last but not least, use the Comments section below to expose other scammers.

Here are some must-reads for the end:

PayPal Alert

PayPal Notification Scam