Scammers Targetting Paypal Users On Twitter

PayPal clients are being encouraged to Tweet with alert after reports that con artists are deceiving clients into giving out their bank details. As indicated by a report by cybersecurity firm Proofpoint, PayPal clients are being targetted by false Twitter accounts acting like client customer support and afterward and then directed toward malicious links that ask them to give up sensitive account info and then directed toward malicious links that ask them to give up sensitive account info.

At least two accounts – that have now been suspended by Twitter – have been located carrying out so-called angler phishing assaults, named after the deep-sea fish that uses a entice to seize prey. Angler phishing is a fairly new technique given upward thrust by social media. In these attacks, a fraudulent account from a reputable business enterprise or carrier issuer, generally posing as customer support, will target customers achieving out for assist on Twitter.

These customers will then be lured to a malicious link where the attacker will attempt to trick them into giving up sensitive account or banking information. These records pretend authenticity by utilizing persuading representation and logos for them and by including “ask” in their Twitter handle – a well-known prefix for customer support accounts on twitter or social media.

In both of these cases, the fraudulent but realistic Twitter handle, landing page, and login screen create a convincing lure that can entice users to enter their PayPal credentials into the fraudulent page, providing scammers direct access to their accounts and any funds in them.

As indicated by Proofpoint, “financial services are the main focus of angler phishing attempts, making up more than 75% of all attacks. It included that PayPal knew about the issue and is presently working with Twitter to determine it“.

For Your Information, the official PayPal support account is @AskPayPal. If you do get contacted by an account that looks suspicious, report it to Twitter. If in doubt, a quick look at a company's Twitter page should be enough to tell you if it's legitimate or not. As always, you'll be safe so long as you use common sense and err on the side of caution.

Please Share with friends.