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A revived email scam in the form of a fake PayPal invoice for a Google Pixel phone is making the rounds, and email users are warned to immediately report and delete it.
"Online scammers are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to trick people into giving them their personal and financial information," writes MalwareTips' Stelian Pilci.
"Such scams just never fade away. This week, they’ve appeared again disguised as Google Pixel phone order confirmation emails," according to Trend Micro.
How does the PayPal Pixel scam work?
The scam begins with an emailed invoice or text message purportedly from PayPal. Since the scammers create a PayPal account specifically for this purpose, the email may, at first glance, appear legitimate.
It's not.
In one version of the scam, the subject line may say "Invoice from Pixel (0223)," as MalwareTips explains.
The message inside the email will likely say Pixel, a popular smartphone developed by Google, has sent an invoice which is due on receipt.
Clicking on the link in the email will send victims to a fake PayPal login screen that closely mimics the real thing. Once you enter your PayPal login details, the fraudsters have access to your account, from which they can steal personal and financial information.
In addition, clicking through on the link may infect your device with malware.
To snag more savvy consumers who raise an eyebrow at clicking through on a link that seems sketchy, the scammers also provide a phone number. In one current version of the scam, that phone number is 1-808-320-5276, Trend Micro explains.
The "customer service" phone number is not PayPal's. If you call it, you will hear from the scammers posing as PayPal representatives who will try to convince you to hand over your sensitive information.
People who receive the email should not click any links, nor open any attachments, nor provide any information whatsoever to the scammers. Instead, users should delete the email and report it as spam, experts advise.
The screenshots below represent how the scam may appear. Consumer Protection of Western Australia posted the screenshot compilation on Facebook in February as scam alert, urging people to remain vigilant and to report any phishing attempts that hit users' inboxes. In the United States, references to AUD would be replaced with American dollars.
What should phishing victims do?
Phishing scams are designed to steal passwords, account numbers, credit card information, social security numbers, and other sensitive data, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC advises those who may have been a victim of a phishing scam to report it to IdentityTheft.gov. This is particularly important when banking information and other sensitive data may have been compromised.
The FTC suggests four actions to prevent becoming a victim. Those preventive actions include using security software on your computer, setting your phone to automatically update, using multi-factor authentication for your online accounts, and regularly backing up your data.
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PayPal walks back update to user policy that threatened a $2,500 penalty for spreading 'misinformation'
On September 26, the financial technology company PayPal announced updates to its user policy. Documents on the company's website as of Saturday evening indicated that the company would confiscate $2,500 directly from the accounts of users found guilty, at "PayPal's sole discretion," of so-called "misinformation" or "discrimination of protected groups."
Although it was not made clear what might constitute "misinformation" or "discrimination," the company's censorial alliances with the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League, as well as its track record of targeting conservative and religious groups prompted concerns of a politically biased application of the policy.
It appears, however, that PayPal is walking back the language included in the policy update.
A PayPal spokesman notified TheBlaze that an "AUP notice recently went out in error that included incorrect information. PayPal is not fining people for misinformation and this language was never intended to be inserted in our policy."
"Our teams are working to correct our policy pages. We're sorry for the confusion this has caused."
Ahead of the update, David Marcus, the CEO of cryptocurrency company Lightspark, tweeted "@PayPal's new AUP goes against everything I believe in. A private company now gets to decide to take your money if you say something they disagree with."
\u201c@davidmarcus @PayPal Agreed\u201d— David Marcus (@David Marcus) 1665249045
Christina Pushaw, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) rapid response director suggested that PayPal ought to pay a $2,500 fine for spreading "misinformation" about itself.
\u201cWell, well\u2026 looks like PayPal spread misinformation about itself. Maybe they should pay a $2,500 fine to all of us?\u201d— Christina Pushaw \ud83d\udc0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Christina Pushaw \ud83d\udc0a \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1665275309
PayPal's policy
As of October 8, PayPal's new "Acceptable Use Policy" stated that, effective November 3, activities (i.e., the sending, posting, or publication of any messages, content, or materials) may qualify as violations if the company decides they are:
- "harmful, obscene, harassing, or objectionable";
- "depict promote, or incite hatred or discrimination of protected groups or of individuals of groups based on protected characteristics (e.g. race, religion gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.)"; or
- "are fraudulent, promote misinformation, or are unlawful."
For each violation, a user may be subject to "damages, including liquidated damages of $2,500.00 U.S. dollars ... which may debited directly from your PayPal account(s)."
This document has since been taken down, although TheBlaze obtained a copy.
PayPal's track record
PayPal has previously made clear that it is not a neutral organization, politically, culturally or otherwise. Dan Schulman, the company's CEO, stated that "businesses need to be a force for good in those values and issues they believe in."
Despite claiming that the company respects and values "uniqueness and diversity of thought," last month, PayPal shut down the accounts of the Free Speech Union and Gays Against Groomers "with no clear explanation."
The FSU had been critical of the proliferation of "radical gender theory" in British schools. FSU founder Toby Young suggested the de-platforming to have been politically motivated and ultimately a "sinister form of cancel culture."
Gays Against Groomers remarked after its ban that "more and more companies are coming out in full support of the sexualization, indoctrination, and medicalization of minors."
In September, PayPal also shut down UsForThem, a campaign group that advocated for reopening schools during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
In January, PayPal permanently banned journalist Ian Miles Cheong without giving an explicit reason why. Cheong indicated "it had everything to do with my politics."
It's not just journalists and advocacy groups that PayPal has clamped down on. In 2019, it similarly went after conservative street artist Sabo, reportedly banning him and withholding his earnings for six months.
Partners in censorship
In 2019, PayPal revealed it was working with the SPLC to identify users to ban.
Among the groups and organizations lumped in with terror groups on the SPLC's so-called "hate map" are: the Center for Immigration Studies; ACT for America; the American Freedom Law Center; Catholic Family News; the Family Research Council; the John Birch Society; Women Fighting For America; Idaho Constitutional Sheriffs; Protect America Now; and the RAIR Foundation.
According to the SPLC, an organization "does not need to have engaged in criminal conduct or have followed their speech with actual unlawful action to be labeled a hate group."
The SPLC, which has been sued numerous times for defamation, was accused by one former staffer of exaggerating hate to improve fundraising figures and "bilk" donors.
In addition to libeling law-abiding groups with whom it disagrees on political and cultural issues, the SPLC has reportedly opened up certain groups to violence. In 2012, a terrorist targeted the Family Research Council after having found it on the SPLC's so-called hate map.
Last year, PayPal announced it was also partnering with the ADL to "fight extremism and protect marginalized communities."
The ADL's threshold for what constitutes an extremist is exceptionally low.
For instance, Libs of TikTok, the Twitter account that has exposed liberals who sexualized children, made the ADL's "Glossary of Extremism."
Included in the lists of groups the ADL accuses of extremism and hate are those Christian organizations that do not support gay marriage, including the Family Research Council.
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