Fake PayPal Invoice Scam Targeting Nashville Organizations: How to Protect Your Business
Key points from the article
- Nashville businesses have recently been targeted by scammers using fake PayPal invoices to steal money.
- Scams mostly appear as text or email messages informing recipients that they have received an invoice via PayPal.
- If you click ‘Pay,’ your money will instantly be transferred to the scammers.
- Avoid falling victim by staying vigilant and verifying all invoices before making payments.
Cybercriminals abusing legitimate services to defraud unsuspecting users of their hard-earned money isn’t something new. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book. Scammers have recently turned to PayPal scams to target Nashville businesses.
Scammers use text and email messages to trick recipients into paying a fake PayPal invoice or entering their credentials on a fake login screen. The scam works because these are actual PayPal invoices created by fraudsters to mimic invoices from reputable organizations.
This scam is particularly dangerous if you regularly handle invoices as part of your job in a Nashville organization. Read on to learn how the fake PayPal invoice scam targeting Nashville businesses works and how to avoid falling victim to these attempts.
How the Scam Works
So, how does the fake PayPal invoice scam targeting Nashville businesses work? Typically, scammers can target your business with PayPal invoice scams in two ways. The most common approach uses fake invoices to receive money. The second approach prompts the victim to put their credentials into a fake login screen.
The Fake PayPal Invoice
The scammers pose as legitimate businesses and send out invoices for payment via PayPal. Often, the invoice includes false or inflated charges, and the senders will request that the funds be sent to a different PayPal account.
It’s easy to fall for this scam and believe the invoice is legitimate. That’s because the invoice appears to come from a well-known and reputable organization, tricking you into paying without thinking. Once you click ‘Pay,’ funds will be automatically transferred via your PayPal account to the scammers.
The Fake Login Screen
PayPal invoice scams most commonly appear as text or email messages, but they don’t always take the same approach. In the second approach, scammers use a fake login screen to trick the victim into sharing their login credentials. How does the fake login screen approach work?
The scammers send a message via text or email alerting the recipient of some unrecognized activity in their PayPal account. The message includes a link you can follow to confirm a few things. If you click the link, it will take you to a Cloudflare service to check your browser. Please don’t fall for it.
Cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated daily, increasingly using services like Cloudflare to make their scams appear legitimate. This is an attempt to steal your PayPal credentials. After a few seconds, you will be redirected to what appears to be a legit login page, but it’s a fake page designed to steal your username and password.
How to Protect Your Business From Fake PayPal Invoice Scams
Fake PayPal invoice scams can be highly costly for businesses. As a business, you lose the money transferred to the scammers and may also be charged the fees associated with the transaction. The good news is that you can take steps to avoid falling for fake PayPal invoice scams and other phishing attempts aimed at your business.
Verify the Authenticity of Invoices
The most important thing you can do to avoid falling victim to fake PayPal invoice scams is to ensure that you verify the authenticity of every invoice before making a payment. If you are not sure if an invoice is genuine, reach out to the business to confirm.
Monitor Your Inbox and PayPal Account For Fake Invoices
Monitor your inbox and PayPal account for fake invoices to avoid falling victim to this phishing scam. If you receive an invoice for a service or product you don’t remember purchasing, go to your PayPal account to confirm if there’s something you ordered and forgot about.
Be Wary of Messages With a Sense of Urgency
A sense of urgency is a major red flag regarding phishing scams and emails. Scammers and cybercriminals typically give potential victims a short time frame to respond to their messages. If an email or text message comes with a suspicious sense of urgency, ensure that you double-check before taking action.
Whatever their form, phishing scams often have common warning signs you can watch out for to avoid falling victim. The general rule of thumb is to be wary of any message or email requesting money or personal information. Also, look for spelling and grammatical errors in the message or URL.
My Business Fell for This Scam! What Do I Do?
It’s extraordinary how well scammers have adapted to hijacking the tools financial institutions have long used to make users feel safe transacting online. Anyone can be caught off-guard and fall victim to a fake PayPal invoice scam. So, what do you do if you fall victim to this scam?
First of all, it’s improbable that you’ll be able to get the money back. But you can still report the incident and file a dispute with PayPal for fraud. Here’s how to go about it.
Visit the PayPal Resolution Center
- Click on Report a Problem
- Go through your transactions to locate the fraudulent invoice.
- Click the white bubble next to the listing and choose to Continue in the bottom-right corner.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to complete filing your dispute.
Scammers and cybercriminals are persistent, but you can avoid falling for PayPal invoice scams by taking some proactive steps and knowing what to look out for. Businesses across Nashville can rely on cybersecurity solutions from Kraft Technology Group to keep information secure while allowing employees to do their jobs efficiently.
Founded in 1992, Kraft Technology Group, a branch of the KraftCPAs family of companies, delivers top-shelf computer services, IT security, network support, and Managed IT Services to businesses in the greater Nashville region. Contact us for more information on how we can help your business stay secure online.
