I get fake/phishy emails to my inbox quite frequently. I received another today claiming it was from paypal.  I thought this was a good time to remind you not to click on links in emails that claim to be from your bank, paypal, Craigslist, etc. 

Even ones that look real, such as this one, are usually scams to get your info.  Take a look at the email I recently received.  It looks pretty legitimate.  It also contained two links within the email for me to use to sign in to my paypal account. 

Rather than clicking on the links, I opened a new window and typed in the paypal address myself.  Sure enough, there were no messages from paypal showing on my account.  Beware of this fradulent emails that are designed to steal your information and your money.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notification of Limited Account Access RXI-992‏

Hello Karen Weideman,

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal
system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.

We requested information from you for the following reason:

A recent review of your account determined that we require some additional
information from you in order to provide you with secure service.

Case ID Number: PP-758-524-697

This is a second reminder to log in to PayPal as soon as possible. Once you log
in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access.

Be sure to log in securely by using the following link:
Click here to login and restore your account access

Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your
account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account
safety.

In accordance with PayPal’s User Agreement, your account access will remain
limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if access to your
account remains limited for an extended period of time, it may result in further
limitations or eventual account closure. We encourage you to log in to your
PayPal account as soon as possible to help avoid this.

To review your account and some or all of the information that PayPal used to
make its decision to limit your account access, please visit the Resolution
Center. If, after reviewing your account information, you seek further
clarification regarding your account access, please contact PayPal by visiting
the Help Center and clicking “Contact Us”.

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that
this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We
apologize for any inconvenience.

Thanks,

PayPal Account Review Department

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you
will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account
and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

—————————————————————-
Copyright © 1999-2010 PayPal. All rights reserved.

PayPal Email ID PP522

It’s tax time and leave it to crooks to find an opportunity to take advantage of people.  I received this email today.  It’s even addressed from notification@irs.gov.

Dear Taxpayer!

You are encouraged to pay a penalty for the failure to file income tax returns prior to January 31, 2011.
Note, IRC [Section 6038(b)(1)]
provides for a monetary penalty of $10,000 for each [Form 5471]
that is filed after the due date of the income tax return or does not include the complete and accurate information described in [Section 6038(a)].

No penalty will be imposed if the company shows that the late filing was due to reasonable cause.

For more information please refer to attached file.

Thanks,
Internal Revenue Service United States Department of the Treasury.

Many times these emails will lure you into clicking on links or opening attachments.  These are ways to get your information or to give your computer a virus.

The IRS website has more information on suspicious emails.

The next time someone asks you over to “share something” with you, to invite you into their newest opportunity, or to get rich quickly, you might want to remember this video from The Consumerist.