Scams

Scams

by Mike Masnick




PayPal Scam Site Site Using Legit SSL

from the sneaky-sneaky-sneaky dept

There have been a ton of scams lately trying to get people to give up their personal credit card or bank account info. One of the most popular targets, of course, is PayPal. With each iteration of the scam, it appears that the scammers are wiping out each item that might make visitors think twice before falling for the scam. They've already worked out sneaky ways to hide the real URL and make it look as though you're on a legitimate site. The latest move, though, is to use a legitimate SSL certificate, so that anyone looking at the status bar sees the familiar "lock" symbol. Of course, most people don't really know what this means, but assume it means the site is safe and some how "real", and thus feel more comfortable giving up their info. Update: Amusingly, the second I submitted this post, I received my first ever PayPal scam email. They're on to me.

Leave a Comment..

 
 

Add Your Comment

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here
Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Plain Text HTML Save me a cookie
  • Plain Text: A CRLF will be replaced by break <br> tag, all other allowable HTML is intact
  • HTML: No formatting of any kind is done without explicitly being written in
  • Allowed HTML Tags: <b> <i> <p> <a> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <hr> <tt>

Search Techdirt
And now, a word from our Sponsors..



Subscribe to Techdirt's Daily Email Newsletter

Techdirt's Daily Email Newsletter

Related Stories
Close
E-mail It