How Does the Scam Work?
Related:What Is a Whaling or Whale Phishing Attack Online?
Recently, scammers have been using invoices to trick people into sending money to other accounts.
![Email that reads, “There is evidence that your PayPal account has been accessed unlawfully. $1,000. 00 has been debited to your account for the Walmart eGift Card purchase. This transaction will appear in the automatically deducted amount on PayPal activity after 24 hours. If you suspect you did not make this transaction, immediately contact us at the toll-free number +1 [redacted] or visit the PayPal Support Center area for assistance. Our Service Hours: (06:00 a. m. to 06:00 p. m. Pacific Time](https://static1.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-01-at-2.45.32-PM.png)
It’s not clear when this method became popular, but there are reportsgoing back to 2020and earlier.
The scam involves sending a PayPal user an email, telling them to pay for something.
Unfortunately, those also appear for legitimate invoices from actual businesses.
Hopefully, PayPal will crack down on invoice abuse, so this won’t be a common occurrence anymore.
PayPal isn’t alone, either – the popular money transfer service Zelle is alsoa frequent target for scammers.
