Experts from Malwarebytes are warning that several phishing emails purporting to come from PayPal have been arriving in the inboxes of many users over the past few days.
Phishing scams that use the PayPal name are not unusual. However, this time the experts observed a “flood” of these e-mails. The e-mails identified by Malwarebytes experts inform recipients of unusual activity in their accounts.
“Recently, we noticed unusual activity on your PayPal account compared to your usual account activities. Please log in to PayPal to verify your identity, update your password and security questions”, the messages say.
“To protect your account, no one can send money or make a withdrawal of any amount. Additionally, no one can close your account, send refunds, remove any bank accounts, or remove your credit cards.”
The messages contain a link that points to a PayPal phishing website. The cybercriminals tell their victims that they must wait 72 hours to gain access to the accounts. This gives them enough time to empty them at their leisure.
The phishing pages are hosted on a large number of domains, and over 500 IP addresses associated with this specific attack.
PayPal customers are also being targeted by a fake email titled “You have received a new payment!” that purports to come from the company’s payment processor. According to Webroot, these notifications carry malware, specifically a variant of the infamous banking Trojan ZeuS.
