Could Identity Thieves Be Any Dumber?

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I was checking my email tonight and in my inbox I had email purportedly from Paypal.com. The subject line was: User Agreement Violation (ID PP133320) . Since it had not been filtered to my junk mail I thought it might be the real deal. When I opened it, it said that someone from my IP address had tried to change my password 3 times, and thus my account was blocked. I was then instructed to log into my paypal account to unblock it. For a second I thought it was real until I noticed that is said “We apologise for the inconvinience.” The 2 spelling errors had me smelling a scam. And when I clicked on the link to log into my paypal account the website it took me to was not paypal.com but: http://hvttp-www-paypai.com/us/cgi-bin/webscrcmd_profile_credit_card.php

Clearly not the real deal. The page told me to put in my credit card number and pin number and such to unlock my account. Pretty clever of them no? But then again I noticed spelling mistakes…it said that while my account was blocked I couldn’t ” transfer funds electronycaly.” Electronycaly???

What I don’t understand it how the scammers could put so much work into creating a fake website that looks almost identical to paypal (they did a great job with graphics and colors, and reassuring small print, very convincing) and then not bother to do spell check! How dumb can you get!

I have seen this scenario before, and spelling errors can be a great way to detect a fraudalent email. Also check the website they link you to. It is another dead give away.

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11 Comments

1. come clean on 01.09.2007 at 03:21 (Reply)

   I’ve come to the conclusion that they place those spelling errors in the emails on purpose - if you can recognize the spelling error, they don’t want to deal with you cause you’ll probably go after them, but if you can’t even recognize that, then you are perfect prey.

2. Ashley on 01.09.2007 at 06:57 (Reply)

   Hehe well you can tell the scammers are British (with the spelling of “apologise”. I think it’s sad how people don’t value proper grammar and spelling anymore. I am forever correcting signs in stores I see - usually inhouse memos stuck up by cash registers. I just can’t let them go incorrect!

3. workingcanuck on 01.09.2007 at 07:34 (Reply)

   I actually received the same email a couple of days ago although it was filtered to my junk mail. Whenever I see a email like that I automatically figure it’s a phishing site and go directly to the actual site and check on there if there’s any problems with my account. Apparently be on the lookout as this PayPal one is going around.

4. Cash Money Life - Personal Finance with a Salute to the Military » This Week in Review - My Favorite Personal Finance Posts on 01.09.2007 at 08:39

   […] Frugal Law Student: Could Identity Thieves Be Any Dumber? This is another PayPal phishing scam, but a little different than the phishing scam that targeted […]

5. The Digerati Life on 01.09.2007 at 09:35 (Reply)

   HAHA! I wouldn’t necessarily think the scammers are British but rather those with British spelling. Doesn’t mean they are British though. Lots of countries out there use this type of spelling.

   But man, talk about a bunch of idiots. They deserve no money that’s for sure! LOL

6. Mrs. FLS on 01.09.2007 at 11:24 (Reply)

   Come Clean-That is an interesting point. I had never thought of that before, but it makes sense.

   Ashley-I thought perhaps they were using the British spelling, but next to “inconvinience” I figured it was just another spelling error. But you may be right. And I think Digerati makes a good point as well. These scammers perhaps struggle with spelling because they come from foreign countries.

7. Amber on 01.09.2007 at 11:47 (Reply)

   My debit card number got stolen a few weeks ago (still don’t know how), and the thieves used it to pay their HOME GAS BILL. That’s right. At their home address. I noticed the transaction before it cleared, and when I called the bank, the woman just started laughing. Luckily, that’s the first thing they charged and I cancelled the card number immediately and the bank just didn’t let it clear.

8. M. Noo on 02.09.2007 at 00:29 (Reply)

   “What I don’t understand it how the scammers could….”

   Well, from this quote, I can understand.

9. Mrs. FLS on 02.09.2007 at 14:27 (Reply)

   Noogie- Are you trying to say that because my sentence is not grammatically correct, you can see how a scammer would leave egregious spelling errors in a fake website? Such an argument is not very sound I am afraid. My style of writing on a blog (quite an informal medium of communication) would be different than on an English class essay. Similarly in emails I do not strictly adhere to grammatical rules either, using sentence fragments galore. I am sure that sends a shiver down your grammatical spine.

   Furthermore, this blog is not attempting to dupe people into giving their credit card information. If that was its purpose, you could be certain I would spend all of my time making sure every i was dotted.

   No, a blog is just a place for casually sharing thoughts. For example, here is a thought: the spelling and grammar Nazis that haunt this site need to seriously relax. No one has asked you to edit our writing. If our mistakes make your eyes burn, then please do look away.

10. Gloria on 02.09.2007 at 16:21 (Reply)

    Yoo’d tink wid ol de efert dey mek dey sud hev invested in a spellchecker.

    But at least they made mistakes so if anyone really, really care to read it twice, or thrice…then you’re safe! I admit I’m one of the people who can’t distinguish clearly between American and British spelling, but the “inconvinience” and “electronycaly” is too much of a n error for sites like PayPal to make. If it were just the variations of spellings though I would have been duped. That thought alone makes me scared!

11. Protecting Yourself From Phishing : A Penny Closer on 04.09.2007 at 06:04

    […] and strangely worded sentences, that it’s probably not legitimate. I just read a story at the Frugal Law Student where a phisher attempted to trick him into entering his Paypal information so that they could […]

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