Almost Caught!

I like to think of myself as being somewhat internet savvy. I know how to check things in Snopes, particularly forwarded emails that warn of outrageous health and security threats. I am an internet banker and have pretty much eliminated my use of cheques. I change my passwords regularly and create a new email address when I start receiving too much spam. Unfortunately, one can never let their guard down. KGMom wrote recently about a scam in a cleverly worded email supposedly from someone she knew. And last week I was duped by a PayPal phishing scheme.

I use PayPal occasionally for internet purchases and gift giving. I received the above legitimate looking email informing me that a third party breach of my account may have occurred in April. The sender appeared at first glance to be PayPal, but I did not notice that the email address was not mine. I clicked on the link to verify my account and was stopped by the internet security I have in my web browser and my protection software. I quickly looked up "Paypal Security Centre Advisory" on Google and saw that this phishing scam has been around since at least 2005.

I forwarded the email to PayPal and took their little Phishing Quiz. Do take a moment and answer the five questions they ask to see if you can spot a phishing scam.


To end on a sweet note...my daughter decorated cookies on the weekend. They look too good to eat!