Fake FarmVille Zynga Games PayPal Payment Receipt Email Links to Phishing Website

According to this email, which appears to be an official payment notification from PayPal, you have sent a payment of $49.99 to FarmVille Zynga Games. The email features the PayPal logo and is set out like a genuine PayPal message.  

However, the email is not from PayPal and it is not a genuine receipt for a FarmVille payment. It is a phishing scam. A link in the message opens a fake PayPal website designed to steal your PayPal account details and other personal and financial information.

The scam email advises you to click a link if you did not authorize the payment and wish to get a refund. The email also notes that to cancel a transaction, you will need to verify your identity and update the information the company has on file. Via these claims, the scammers lay their trap.

Some people who receive the bogus email may mistakenly believe that their PayPal account has been compromised and be thus panicked into clicking the link to cancel the transaction as instructed.

If you do click the link, you will be taken to a fraudulent website designed to emulate a genuine PayPal page. The first page on the fake site asks you to enter your PayPal email address and password to log in.

Once ‘logged in’ you will be taken to a fake ‘resolution centre’ page and told that to claim a refund, you must verify your information by filling in an online form. The form asks for your credit card numbers as well as your name, address, and contact information, bank account details, and other personal information.

At the end of the process, you may receive a final message claiming that the transaction has been cancelled and a refund will be issued. You may be automatically redirected to the real PayPal website.

Meanwhile, however, the criminals responsible for the scam campaign can collect all of the information you submitted on the fake website and use it to hijack your PayPal account, commit fraudulent PayPal and credit card transactions, and attempt to steal your identity.

PayPal phishing scams like this one are  very common. Similar scam emails may claim to be purchase receipts for a range of other products and services. Some versions are designed to  trick you into downloading malware  rather than visiting a phishing website.  

Be wary of any email that purports to be from PayPal and asks you to click a link or open an attached file to review a transaction, update account details, avoid an account suspension, or cancel a payment. It is always safest to login to PayPal – and your other online accounts – by entering the account address into your browser’s address bar or via an official app.

And, remember that genuine PayPal emails will always address you by name. They will not use generic greetings such as ‘Dear Customer’. Nor will they greet you by quoting your email address as with the scam we discuss here.

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