How to File a PayPal Fraud Report
A fake PayPal email, text or call is easy to spot once you know the signs. Here is where to send it.
How to tell a message is really from PayPal
A PayPal fraud report starts with knowing what you are looking at. The FBI says phishing emails are built to steal your personal details or your financial login. PayPal's own page lists the signs that separate a real message from a fake one.
PayPal says real messages from the company always use the full name listed in your PayPal account. A note that says "Dear Customer" instead of your name should raise a flag. PayPal also says typos, misspellings and bad grammar are common in phishing messages.
Check the sender's address too. The FBI says scammers use slight differences in email addresses, URLs and spelling to trick your eye and gain your trust. A name that looks almost right is not the same as one that is right.
PayPal says an authentic message from the company displays its logo and a checkmark right in your inbox. Several email services, including Apple, Gmail and Yahoo, display logos for verified companies. This helps you spot real messages.
One more thing. PayPal says attachments can contain malware. Never open one unless you are completely sure it is real. The FBI agrees. It says never open an email attachment from someone you don't know. Be careful with attachments forwarded to you too.
How to spot a fake PayPal website or phone call
The link in a fake message often leads to a site that looks like PayPal. The FBI says fake websites used in phishing are made solely to steal your information.
Two checks people trust do not work. PayPal says the letter s in https does not always mean a site is real. Hackers can build encrypted sites too. PayPal also warns that plenty of scam pages display a padlock icon next to the web address, so that symbol proves nothing.
Phone calls have the same problem. PayPal says scammers can easily fake a Caller ID. A call that says PayPal may not be from PayPal. PayPal also says scammers use automated systems to make voice calls. Do not call back a number an automated call gives you.
The FBI says to look up a company's phone number on your own and call the company to ask if a request is legitimate. PayPal says to reach PayPal only through the Contact page in the Help Center.
How to report a PayPal scam to PayPal
PayPal says the best plan to stay secure is to detect, avoid and report. Once you spot a fake message, do not click anything in it. The FBI says not to click on anything in an unsolicited email or text message.
PayPal says to contact PayPal only through the Contact page in the Help Center or by calling PayPal Customer Service. That is the only way PayPal's page says to contact the company. Do not use the reply button or any number printed in the suspicious message itself.
If the fake message arrived by email, you can also learn how do I report a scam email so it goes to the right place. If it pointed to a fake website, see how do I report a scam website.
Where else to report the scam
PayPal is not the only place a fake message should go. Two government agencies want these reports too.
The FBI says to report spoofing and phishing to its Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
The FTC's guide says to report a scammer at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Your report helps in three ways. The FTC says the reports you send help it put together cases against the people running scams. Those reports also help the agency warn consumers and pass along information about scam activity near you.
PayPal's page also points to an FTC page. It offers more ways to report phishing and help fight scammers. Not sure which agency handles your case? USAGov's scams and fraud page says you can answer a few questions. The answers point you to the agency that handles your situation and the correct place to file your complaint. For a broader look at reporting, read how can I report a scam.
What to do if you already clicked or shared information
Maybe you clicked the link, replied, or handed over account details. You are not the first, and there are still steps to take.
If you gave PayPal account details to a scammer, contact PayPal through the Help Center Contact page or by phone. PayPal says never give personal, credit card or account info through email, text or phone.
The FBI says companies generally do not contact you to ask for your username or password. So a message that asked for yours is a warning sign.
If money left your account, tell PayPal right away through the same channels. No report to any agency guarantees a refund. The FTC's guide says reports help it build cases against scammers.
How to make future scam attempts less likely to work
The FBI says to set up two-factor or multi-factor login on any account that allows it. Never turn it off.
Keep the other habits too. Do not open attachments you did not expect. Do not click links in unsolicited messages. Look up numbers yourself instead of using the ones a message hands you.
For a closer look at the email version of this scam, read about the email scam PayPal pattern.