PayPal 'money request' email scam: how to spot a dodgy message

Scammers are exploiting PayPal’s 'request money' feature to scare people into calling a dodgy phone number and giving away their personal details.

Fraudsters are sending emails requesting payments for overdue taxes, or high-value items such as Apple MacBooks. 

This is the latest in a long line of PayPal email scams. Last year, we reported on scam emails claiming your PayPal account has been locked.

Watch our video above, or read on to learn about how this scam works.

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PayPal payment request scam

This scam starts with you receiving an automated 'money request' email from a genuine PayPal email address.

This might seem above board, but scammers are exploiting PayPal's service to send fake payment requests for high-value items, and are posing as HMRC to demand 'overdue' tax payments. 

The latest email states 'HMRC Tax Payment Overdue. Please send a balance of [£] within 48 hours to avoid a warrant being issued for your arrest or call [phone number]'. Watch our video at the top of the page to see exactly how it works. 

This particular email tries to panic you into calling a dodgy phone number. Other payment requests try to trick you by asking you to phone a number if you don't recognise the request.

If you call the number, you'll be ringing a scammer phishing for personal information such as your name, date of birth and bank account details.

PayPal said: 'We are aware of this well-known phishing scam and have put additional controls in place to mitigate this specific incident.

'Nonetheless, we encourage customers to always be vigilant online and to contact customer service directly if they suspect they are the target of a scam.’

How to report PayPal scams

If you receive an email out of the blue claiming to be from PayPal, don't click on anything or call any phone number. 

You can view any PayPal requests by logging into your account and selecting 'Activity.' From here, you can click on the fraudulent request and cancel it. 

If you suspect your account has been compromised, you can change your password and security questions by logging into your account.

Any suspicious emails can be forwarded to [email protected] and [email protected].