I recently was caught in a scam. Despite my embarrassment, I believe summarizing my experience may alert others.
It started with an e-mail from Service@Paypal.com that I had $600 due for e-gift cards. I forwarded it to phishing@paypal.com and received a stock thank-you for informing them. Yet the address of the original e-mail seemed legitimate. I was perplexed. So, I contacted the phone number on the e-mail (rather than the general Paypal number! Big mistake!).
The man answering had me identify the charges and assured me he could correct this. I was logged into “Paypal Service Department” and asked to report a numerical password on the screen. A new person, “Ron,” inquired on whether the $600 charge had appeared on my online bank statement. No charge was there.
After further explanations, Ron again asked me to check my account. This time a “Payment to Paypal” for $600 appeared! Ron said that he could quickly refund me. I filled out an online form requesting a $600 refund. But instead, $6,000 was entered! I tried to correct it but was told this “real-time” file could not be corrected online. And now my online bank account showed a “Refund from Paypal” of $6,000. Ron was very upset and needed to talk to his supervisor. As I tried to review my online files, a blue screen with the words, “This will take a few minutes. Please don’t shut off your computer;” kept interfering with seeing my files.
On returning, Ron said I should purchase four American…
