I am scratching my head about Paypal

A couple of days ago I received a phishing email involving two Russian sites that asked me to reactivate my Paypal account. Dutyfully I went to the Paypal website and found a link labeled “Security Center”. I clicked on it, and the page that was served contained what I was looking for – in a little box on the bottom left titled “Take Action” there was a link “Report fake (spoof) websites“. That got me to the following email form:

Protections/Privacy/Security – Report Fake Site/Spoof

Please be as specific as possible in the message you enter below.If you entered any personal information into the suspicious website, please change your password immediately and check your transaction history for inaccuracies. To change your password and view your history, go to the Profile and History sections of the My Account tab.

First name

Last name
Email address
Question
The web address (URL) of the site you are reporting
Additional Information
(1,000 characters max.)
characters left
In which language are you writing this message?

I filled it out, wondered a little bit why there was a “Question” field, and submitted the form, thinking that I did something good and contributed my part to saving the world. Well, how wrong was I. The very next day, I received the following form letter email from Paypal:

Dear Christian Donner,

Hello my name is Mary Grace, and I will be happy to assist you with your question regarding on how to report a website.

If you think you’ve received a phishing/spoof email:

    1. Forward the email to spoof@paypal.com. Don’t change the subject line or anything else

   2. Delete the email. Never click any links or attachments in a suspicious email

If you entered any personal information into the suspicious website, Please report the spoof website by following the steps below:

    1. Go to the PayPal website and log in to your account.

   2. Click the “Security Center” link on any PayPal webpage.

   3. Click the “Report fake (spoof) websites” link under the “Report a Problem” column.

   4. Fill out the form.

   5. Click “Continue” and follow steps provided.

If you have any further questions, please reply to this email.

Sincerely,

Mary Grace

PayPal Resolution Services

PayPal, an eBay Company

Original Message Follows:

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I decided not to waste time trying to follow up with them. It is sad to see how much incompetence is at work there. I wish there was a viable alternative to paying with Paypal.

Protections/Privacy/Security – Report Fake Site/Spoof

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