What are common scams and how do I spot them?
To report a suspicious email or website, forward it to phishing@paypal.com and we’ll investigate it for you. After you send us the email, delete it from your inbox.
Most of us are careful if a stranger approaches us on the street and offers a deal that's just too good to be true. But we're much less cautious online, putting us at risk.
Watch out for these common scams:
- Phishing email/message
- Invoice and Money Request scams
- Overpayment scam
- Prize winnings
- High profit – no-risk investments
- Fake charities
- Postage scams
- Prepaid postage label scam
- Package rerouting scam
- Business/job opportunities
Phishing email/message
Received a suspicious email, or message or been directed to a fake website? Forward it to phishing@paypal.com and then delete it. We’ll investigate it for you.
Don't reply, open links, download attachments, or call any listed phone number.
Invoice and Money Request scams
These scams can happen in numerous ways:
- You receive an invoice or money request through PayPal, but for a product/service/crypto you never ordered. Don’t pay it.
- You receive an invoice or money request through PayPal, and the bad actor has included an alarmist note asking you to call their fake customer service number.
- You receive a fake invoice or money request by email, designed to look like a real PayPal email.
These scams are trying to trick you into sending money to a fraudster or providing your personal or financial details to them. Be wary of any messages that are alarmist, warning you to call them quickly to resolve an “issue” on your account.
How to avoid this scam: If you receive a suspicious invoice or money request, don’t pay it. Don’t call any phone numbers stated in the invoice note or open suspicious URLs. Report any unwarranted invoices or money requests by logging in to the PayPal website or the PayPal app.
Overpayment scam
- A customer sends a PayPal payment that is more than the purchase price of the order and then asks you to refund them the difference.
- They may tell you that they accidentally overpaid you, the extra money is for the shipping costs, they're giving you a bonus for your great service or the money is for the stress they've caused you.
- They may even ask you to send the postage costs to their delivery company.
- This scammer may have paid with a stolen credit card or bank account.
- Just because a payment has been deposited into your account, doesn't mean the money is yours to keep. If the legitimate account holder reports unauthorized activity, the money can be withdrawn from your account.
- If that happens, you may lose the money you sent to the fraudster, the product you sent, postage costs, and your payment.
How to avoid this scam:
- Don't send money to someone you don't know. A legitimate buyer won't overpay you for an order.
- If a customer overpays you and asks you to send them the difference, consider canceling the order—it's likely to be fraudulent.
- Don't send money to the bogus delivery company—it's part of their scam to get your money.
Prize winnings or Advance fee fraud
Messages asking you to pay a small handling fee to collect fabulous prizes or free money are usually scams. You send the handling fee and get nothing in return.
How to avoid this scam: Don't send money to someone you don't know. A legitimate prize won’t require you to pay to receive it.
High profit – no-risk investments
These types of investments are usually scams and include messages insisting that you “Act Now!” for a great deal.
How to avoid this scam: Stop communication with this person/company.
Fake charities
Scammers use disasters to trick kind-hearted people into donating to fake charities. This usually happens when there is a refugee crisis, a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster.
How to avoid this scam: Thoroughly check the background of any charity to make sure your donation goes to real victims. Be as cautious online as you would be in the real world.
Postage Scams
There are several ways fraudsters incorporate postage into their schemes. Be sure you’re familiar with the following:
My delivery service scam
- The buyer asks you to use their account because they can get a discount, they have a preferred vendor they’ve worked with for years, or their delivery service is cheaper or more reliable. In another variation of the scam, the buyer may also ask you to send the postage costs to their preferred service.
- If you use the buyer's account, they can easily contact the company and reroute the order to another address.
- The buyer can then open up a complaint asking for a refund because they didn't receive their order.
- You aren't able to prove that the buyer received their order and you are out your product, the postage costs, and your money.
- If they ask you to send the money to a bogus delivery company, they can steal your money.
- After you have sent the money you’ll find out that the order was made with a stolen card or bank account. You may be held liable for returning the funds to the legitimate customer whose account was stolen.
How to avoid this scam:
- Never send money to someone you don't know – you can't get it back easily.
- If a customer asks you to use their delivery service, review their order for fraud carefully. They may have used a stolen card or bank account to fund the purchase.
- Post to the address on the Transaction Details page.
Prepaid postage label scam
- You receive an order from a customer who asks you to use their prepaid label to cover the postage costs. (They may tell you that they can get their labels at a discounted price.)
- By providing the label, the customer controls the package's destination. They may send it to another country, a PO box, or another untraceable location.
- To be covered by our Seller Protection you're required to ship to the address on the Transaction Details page.
- The label may also have been purchased with a stolen credit card.
How to avoid this scam:
- If the customer asks you to use their prepaid label, review their order for fraud carefully. They may have used a stolen card to make the purchase.
- Do not accept postage labels from your customers.
- Post to the address on the Transaction Details page.
Package rerouting scam
The buyer reroutes the package so they can file a complaint that they never received it.
- A buyer places an order and provides an incorrect or fake postal address.
- The delivery company tries to deliver the package but isn't able to.
- The buyer monitors the online tracking information and notices that the company couldn't deliver the package.
- The buyer contacts your delivery company and asks them to send the package to their correct address. The delivery company delivers the package to the new location.
- The buyer then files a complaint about not receiving the item.
- Because the item was rerouted, you can't prove the item was delivered to the address on the Transaction Details page.
- The buyer gets to keep the item and money.
- Because the package wasn't delivered to the address on the Transaction Details page, you aren't covered by Seller Protection.
- Unfortunately, you lost the product, postage fees, and money.
- To make it worse, you might also have to pay your delivery company an additional rerouting fee.
How to avoid this scam:
- Contact your delivery company and block buyers from rerouting packages.
- Validate the buyer's address before posting.
- Only post to the address on the Transaction Details page.
Business/job opportunities
Fraudsters advertise fake employment opportunities on job sites, dating sites, and via spam emails and messages. The hiring process is often quick, with little or no interview about your experience or qualifications. They aim to steal your money, usually asking for upfront payments for training, administration, recruitment, and other fees.
They may also try to steal personal/financial details, saying they need this information for their records or payroll.
How to avoid this scam:
- Be wary of opportunities to earn good money with little effort by working from home.
- Don’t make upfront payments. A legitimate employer won’t ask you to send them money.
If you notice a payment that you didn't authorise, let us know right away through our Resolution Centre.