Scammers Now Sending Fake Alerts Straight To Your Phone’s Calendar - Hudson Valley Post
Scammers are sending fake PayPal billing notices directly to Google Calendars, tricking users into calling fraudulent customer support numbers.
A new scam is making its way onto Google Calendars, designed to make people believe they've been charged hundreds of dollars to their PayPal accounts. The fraudulent invitations include phone numbers to call for customer support, potentially leading to phishing attempts.
The author of this report received two such suspicious calendar invitations. The first claimed an unusual PayPal transaction for nearly $1,000 was pending, while the second was more elaborate, including an invoice number and a supposed $499.99 charge for something called 'Paypal BTC'.
How the Scam Works
Scammers exploit Google Calendar's invitation system by sending calendar events to email addresses. If recipients have their settings set to automatically accept invitations from everyone, these fraudulent events appear alongside legitimate appointments. The messages typically claim automatic payments will be processed within 24 hours and include instructions to call a support number immediately.
The organizer is always an unfamiliar email address unrelated to PayPal. Both messages use the same strategy: create urgency by making recipients believe there's a problem with their money and convince them to call the provided number immediately.
Risks of Calling
Calling the fraudulent number connects users with someone pretending to be a PayPal representative. They may claim to reverse the charge or protect the account while attempting to obtain personal information, financial details, or access to the victim's computer.
PayPal specifically warns consumers about fraudulent invoices and payment requests that include alarming messages instructing people to call fake customer support numbers.
Prevention Methods
Users can protect themselves by adjusting Google Calendar settings. Open Google Calendar in a web browser, click the Settings gear, select Settings, then under General choose Event settings. Find 'Add invitations to my calendar' and change the setting from 'From everyone' to 'Only if the sender is known.'
A stricter option is 'When I respond to the invitation in email,' which prevents invitations from being added to the calendar until responding to the email notification. Users should also block any suspicious phone numbers they receive, even if they appear to be from PayPal.
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