Paypal - To Verify Your Identity - Spoof Email Phishing Scam
28th February 2004

"Dear Paypal Customer, This email was sent automatically by the PayPal server to Verify Your Identity. This is done for your protection"...

read also our brief guide to Phishing

This spoof Paypal email (see image below) is in HTML format (although it does look like a text only email in order to add a sense of authenticity to the link text). The link in the email has been disguised using HTML code.

Using the link will open a very convincing but bogus Paypal web page (see image below). The page URL (in the address bar) gives the game away - http://69.156.32.112/ - which resolves to bellnexxia.net (Bell Canada).

Any information submitted is processed through a script at quick-web.com which is a domain registered to an individual in France, while you are redirected to the genuine paypal.com home page.

If you have received this email, please remember that it is very common for these email scams to be redistributed at a later date with only slightly different content or the same but with the fake page(s) hosted by a different provider. Also, once you have received one of these hoaxes, it is also common place to receive at least another one and usually a day or two after the first, although not necessarily from the same apparent sender.

The Spoof Email ...

The bogus web page ...