Paypal Fraud and Paypal Email Scams

This article is written neither to promote nor criticize the Paypal online mode of payment. With the rapid growth in the number of Paypal users, frauds and email scams on Paypal accounts has become more frequent and severe. Our network team has put together a report on the current Paypal frauds and Paypal email scams being perpetuated by various groups of fraudsters. We also offer advice for users of Paypal to help them reduce the chances of becoming victims of such frauds and scams. As the usage of the internet has increased in handling online transactions, both buyers and sellers need to become aware of safe practices to operate online payments or online receipt of funds.
To access a Paypal account you need to have the username and password of the account. The username of a Paypal account is the main email address (primary email address) used to register the account. The owner of the account would also set up a password to be used along with the username to access the account. The security system is quite secure as long as the username and password of the Paypal account are known only to the actual owner of the account. If these details are available to anyone else it would mean that the security of that Paypal account has been compromised. Anyone acquiring the username and password of any Paypal account can access and perform all functions that the actual owner of the account could do.
In this article we will try to explain in simple terms how confidential login information of an actual Paypal account owner can be robbed and misused. We will then provide important and simple suggestions that would reduce the chances of such a fraud being committed on your Paypal account.
(a) Being careless with your information: This type of Paypal fraud can be committed very easily and does not require too much effort on the part of the fraudster. Users very often write down their login details for various websites with the fear of forgetting them. Anyone having access to these written details can login to the Paypal account and treat the account as if it was his own. Another possibility that could easily open a Paypal account to fraud is when the user selects a very simple or easy password that can be easily guessed. People with bad intentions need to make a few guesses before they arrive at the correct password to enter the Paypal account. These are the simplest ways in which a Paypal fraud can be committed and they do not require any email scam to be done.
(b) Identity theft through a Paypal email scam: Paypal phishing or identity theft as it is commonly known, involves an attempt by a fraudster to extract the login details of a Paypal account from the actual owner of the account. Armed with these detais, the fraudster can be very dangerous as full control of the Paypal account can be excercised.  In this case, emails will be randomly sent to many email addresses informing the receiver of a certain activity in their Paypal account. For these Paypal email scams to work, the receiver of the email will need to login to his Paypal account by clicking a link on the email. The exact contents of each Paypal email scam might differ but the objective remains the same. Once the user clicks the link in the email, he is taken to a web page that closely resembles a regular Paypal login page. This page is infact a fake and is hosted by the fraudster (not Paypal) with the sole purpose of collecting confidential login details from the actual owner of the Paypal account. If the owner of the Paypal account falls for this trick, his account will soon be operated by the fraudster and this could lead to heavy losses. Attempts to phish Paypal accounts have become quite common and each time a fraudster unleashes his cruel trick a number of innocent Paypal accounts become victims.
The above two methods account for a major share of Paypal frauds and Paypal email scams being committed in recent times. It is not very difficult to stay clear from these frauds and we provide some useful suggestions to help you. You really do not have to give up using your Paypal account with the fear of it being misused or phished by someone else. The internet provides numerous advantages when it comes to selling and buying online and to surrender these benefits to a pack of fradusters would be sad.
Avoiding Paypal fraud and Paypal email scams.
(1) About your Paypal password: Choose a password that is not very easy to guess. Using your first or last name for your Paypal password is not a very good idea. Paypal frauds can be committed easily if you note your pass word in places that are accessible to others. Change your password periodically and whenever you suspect that you have become a victim of a Paypal email scam or other type of Paypal fraud.
(2) Clicking links to login: Never click links on emails to access your Paypal account. Always use your web browser and type in the complete name of the Paypal website to login. Paypal email scams urge you to click a link on the email and access your website. The login information is then saved to a website that is not a Paypal website. This allows fraudsters to login to your Paypal account and make transactions on your account.
(3) Periodic account check: Login to your account periodically and look for any strange or unexpected transactions. The transactions could relate to a receipt or payment of money. If you notice any abnormal movement in your Paypal account, consider it to be a Paypal fraud and inform Paypal immediately. Also change the password immediately to reduce the chances of further damage.
(4) Logging out of your account: If you are in the habit of logging into your Paypal account and then leaving the active account minimized on your browser, you could be helping someone commit frauds on your Paypal account very easily. Such security lapses do not require email scams or other methods. Always logout of your Paypal account once you have finished working on it or when you will not be using it for a couple of minutes.
Follow the above suggestions and you will be pleased with the results. Your Paypal account will be a lot safer and you will at the same time, reap the benefits of transacting online. The contents of this article have been compiled by the network team at Kaisilver. We request you to forward this link to all your friends and acquaintences, they will be grateful that you let them know about a safe way to work with their Paypal account.

WebMoney

The Oldest Payment System

WebMoney appeared in 1998. At that time there were not so many people how knew about electronic money and they used virtual payment systems. In a decade the number of WebMoney users exceeded 4 million. Sale and purchase transactions between the users and web-site owners are mostly engage WebMoney even when the partners are far distant from each other.

What are WebMoney’s advantages? First of all, it is quick. Secondly, WebMoney enables seller and customer to interact directly without any mediators. Thirdly, WebMoney allows full automation of internal business processes in Internet shops and save time.

A rather significant part of WebMoney users includes web-games fans. They need an exchanger where they can buy some standard game money. Traditionally they use WebMoney to that end.

WebMoney in its Broad Concept

WebMoney users call it a payment system for simplifying and better understanding, but WebMoney is the system of title recording. It uses no electronic currency. All settlements and payments in WebMoney use money units. These units are the guarantees of material values and the confirmation that the values belong to a certain person.

WebMoney functional possibilities have already gone beyond Internet payments long ago. This system may be used for immediate money transfers in real time. WebMoney is suitable for settlements in Internet shops and web-sites, for credit and cell-phone payments.

Some think WebMoney is mostly used for micro-payments. Compared with postal and bank transfers WebMoney are far quicker and safer. Besides, the commission does not depend on the amount. The charge is 0.8%.

This ‘virtual money’ has no real guarantee. Every country has its WebMoney representative office. This system of title recording legally exists in every second developed country of the world.

E-Gold Payment System

Electronic Gold

E-Gold payment system uses precious metals- gold, silver, platinum and palladium, as money security. It appeared in the USA in 1996 but because of the fraud scandal in 2003 the E-Gold LTD company’s registration was annulled. Since that moment the company continues working with no registration. However, storing money in metals is still the safest and the most secure.

Facts and statistics prove the international scope of E-gold system. Today more than 2.5 million E-gold users are registered in the system. Cover funds of the payment system include about 3.5 million grams of gold. It equals 65 million dollars. Every day about 400 kilos of gold go from account to account.

E-gold users are curious whether the gold grams traveling around the web really exist. Nobody knows for sure, but the company claims that the precious metals storages are located in three affiliates: Brinks’ Global Services, Transguard Security and Services MAT Securitas Express AG.

The Most Popular Payment System

E-gold has no cover with some certain currency. All settlements are made in gold grams and ounces. It is very easy for international settlements. E-gold is used for payments as well as for making profits based on precious metal rates. Many earnings in the web imply using E-gold. They include Internet casinos, pari-mutuels, exchanges and financial pyramids. Payment system’s reliability is guaranteed by Switzerland and US major banks. E-gold users are always informed of many currency transactions providing them with the opportunity to invest money into high income projects and take part in Internet sales and auctions.

Making money transfers via E-gold is safe and legal from taxation point of view. Commission for the transfers does not exceed 1% per annum. The fees are taken every month.

E-gold popularity increases daily because many major international business entities use the system in their financial transactions.

Liberty Reserve: Easy to Use Safe System

Liberty Reserve is registered in Costa Rica giving it some advantages: the systems officially registered in US and Europe are more often audited by legal authorities. Liberty Reserve has been stable for more than 5 years now and has good protection system, it is anonymous and charge-free.

Peculiarities of the System Use

When registering a new account the user, who can be any country’s national, enters his/her login data, PIN-code, secret question and answer and personal data. PIN-code is entered using a virtual keyboard: every time the keys switch places for security reasons. When attempting to break the Liberty Reserve account no mouse tracing software can help. Money depositing and withdrawal is carried out though electronic exchangers.

Liberty Reserve has two account types: LR-USD (based on US dollar) and LR-Gold (based on gold). There is no commission in Liberty Reserve. When user wishes his/her account number is hidden the recipient, he/she pays a fee for the transfer (0.75$).

Peculiarities of the system are the following:
- balance does not depend on gold prices;
- no monthly fees taken;
- money swap to other e-currencies;
- no commission for transactions;
- Liberty Reserve provides commission of 5% when a new account is registered using a referral link

Liberty Reserve High Protection Levels

Liberty Reserve safety has two protection levels: first – entering PIN-code created in registration using a virtual keyboard. It secures the system from logger-programs. Second- entering password and control image. Third – entering 3-symbol payment PIN-code using virtual keyboard when making a transaction. The entrance procedure has one more feature: when registering, the user enters any phrase to further appear when entering the account. When other phrase will appear, it means the web-site the user has entered is wrong and someone is trying to steal his/her money. Liberty Reserve system is highly secure and easy-to-use in any transactions.

Moneybookers

The Moneybookers payment system was founded in the UK. Today it is popular in many European countries as well as some CIS countries.

Moneybookers User’s Privileges

Moneybookers users are able to send money to their credit card accounts and make money transfers to banks in different countries. Moneybookers personal account gives its users several privileges. The cost of transaction does not exceed 0.5 Euro even then the amount of the transaction is huge. No money can be transferred to the unknown users.

In Moneybookers system there are partnership programs providing the users with the possibility to earn from the transactions interests. In a year one can get about 30% from each transaction commission of a newly drawn user.

Registered users can have several accounts in the system, one of which is considered prime. The commission for this account will be the smallest, of about 1.8 Euro. All others will cost almost twice more.

The Safest Payment System

Moneybookers is considered one of the safest payment systems. It constantly requests user’s ID confirmation; no registration of under-aged is allowed. The transaction amounts for security reasons are limited by one thousand dollars. Moneybookers also tries to avoid financial disputes and other actions that can breach the law.

But the reliability of Monebookers is guaranteed only when all users’ rules are followed. At first, one goes through a verification procedure confirming that the registering user really exists. Users’ personal information is confidential and safely protected from any disclosure to third parties.

Any risks of gambling business fraud, financial pyramids and money laundering are minimal in Moneybookers.

Moneybookers system is popular in Europe. Russia and other CIS countries prefer anonymous payments and transfers. Moneybookers policy is rather strict. It guarantees safety but is deprived of democracy. That is why it is used more in conservative nations, in particular, England.

PayPal

One of the leading American on-line payment systems, PayPal, was founded in 1998. In October 2002 eBay, the leader in Internet auction business, acquired the company for 1.5 billion dollars. The number of the system users increases daily and now it exceeds 100 million.

System Features

Unlike other systems, PayPal is closely connected with a client’s bank account or bank cards. When the user has not enough amount on his/her PayPal account the system, as may be required, automatically takes the requested amount from his/her bank account. Besides the client’s money any time can be transferred to his/her bank account. PayPal operator has no client software to access the system. As an option for money transfer, e-mail is used as a login to enter the system. A sender goes to a web-site with his information and confirms his/her payment. A recipient gets mail including the paid amount, transaction ID and sender’s information. This system is suitable for majority of transactions.

PayPal account types

A system user can choose one of three account types, each having its peculiarities and fees. The fees can vary from country to country where account is registered. The following account types are used in PayPal:
- Personal Accounts are for personal use inside PayPal system: transfers to family, friends and clients of the user. This type is not planned for credit card payments. Personal Account turnover is limited to 500 dollars a month.
- Premier Accounts are for users who have greater financial turnover than in Personal Accounts and who need bank accounts and credit card payments.
- Business Accounts are the accounts opened by companies. These accounts can be registered only on behalf of the company with its details and logo. The company wishing to open its Business Account shall have TAX ID along with the company’s registration documents.
 General list of possible options for all accounts is standard: sending and reception of money, subscriber’s payments, account insurance, e-mail communication with administration. Premier and Business accounts users are granted a debit card and can make massive payments (muli-addresser payments). Personal accounts users can reorganize them its Premier or Business accounts free of charge.

PayPal advantage – Its safety

PayPal is one of the most significant and popular means to send and accept payments in eBay auctions, consequently the safety matters are very important to the company. All accounts, regardless of their types are classified to verified and unverified. PayPal official web-site states that verified accounts are trusted more. In additional to the instant payment accrual and high safety PayPal has one more advantage: when a commodity bought is not received or does not comply with its description the buyer can get back, fully or partially, the amount paid for it.