0

I just received a text from paypal telling me I just paid around $25 to some game company. There was a link to a receipt. I looked up the number the text came from and Google tells me it was Paypal, and the URL indeed pointed to paypal. The linked receipt shows a visa debit sale ("Chip Read, Signature verified") but I do not recognize the last four digits shown for the CC number.

What kind of a scam is this? If this was to my e-mail address I would ignore it, as I sometimes get strangers signing up for various services with my e-mail, but since this was my phone number I am a bit more hesitant to think it was a mistake. Is this something I should be worried about or report to someone? I don't use Paypal.

Improve this question
6
  • 1
    Did you log into PayPal independently of any links (aka just go directly to www.paypal.com, or open their app) to check your account?
    – RonJohn
    Feb 7, 2021 at 18:18
  • @RonJohn I don't have a paypal account. i took the link to the receipt, erased out the domain part and typed "www.paypal.com" back in.
    – user12515
    Feb 7, 2021 at 18:19
  • 3
    If you don't have a paypal account, then you can't pay via paypal... This is some sort of phishing attempt.
    – RonJohn
    Feb 7, 2021 at 18:21
  • 1
    It could be, or they want you to click the link and then log into "PayPay" with your real credentials (them not knowing that you don't use PayPal).
    – RonJohn
    Feb 7, 2021 at 18:26
  • 2
    Hanlons Razor - It's also possible someone miskeyed their phone number as OPs and PayPal has crappy verification processes.
    – Freiheit
    Feb 8, 2021 at 14:54

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

Since you don't have a PayPal account you are probably safe as long as you don't click any links or provide information. This is either a phishing attempt or a wrong number.

You should just do routine checks of your credit, debit, and banking accounts for any unusual transactions. If there is one, dispute it with your vendor (not PayPal).

Improve this answer
2

At the moment (Feb 2021) it's really common to get these scam texts.

I get 20-30 a week.

Obviously, just delete and forget, like any spam / scam-spam.

(I don't know, or care that much, how fishing like this has migrated from email to phone texts. But it's the current thing.)

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.