Do not let people steal from you!

First things first, NEVER send out an item to a buyer after just looking at the "notification of payment recieved email" ALWAYS log on to your actual PayPal account to make sure the money is really there. The reason being for this is because there are people out there who will try to scam you by sending fake "notification of payment recieved emails, or any fake email from PayPal requesting information. There are a few things that you will be able to tell the email is fake.

1. Watch for Wrong email addresses

Real PayPal emails will say they are from PayPal on behalf of the buyer. ex. From: sendmail@paypal.com on behalf of buyeremail@hotmail.com

Fake PayPal emails will say they are from the buyer on behalf of PayPal. ex. From: buyeremail@hotmail.com on behalf of sendmail@paypal.com

2. Watch for Bad Grammer and Spelling Mistakes

Fake PayPal emails often have spelling mistakes, and bad grammer.

3. Watch for NON Secure Websites

Real PayPal addresses will begin with https. This s should appear on the end for any address that you are putting personal information into, this means it is secure. Also look for the small lock symbol at the top and bottom of the browser, this symbol also means that it is secure. Remember the lock is not inside of the website on the page, it should be on the status bar.

Fake PayPal addresses will begin with http. This means they are not secure.

4. Watch for Decieving Website Address

To go to the REAL PayPal website always open up a new browser and type in paypal.com.

Never click on a link in an email you have gotten to open up PayPal, and type in your information, because this link may not be bringing you to the real PayPal. Also make sure there is nothing extra in the address because people will try to decieve you with addresses such as paypalsecure.com, paypal.secure.com or pay-pal.com. Always double check the address, its better to be safe then sorry. Dont mistake a "." (period) for a "/" (slash). A "." (period) is apart of the domain name, when you see a "/" (slash) that is meaning the next part is inside of the domain. ex. paypal.secure.com is a full domain, but paypal.com/secure mean that the domain is paypal.com and secure is the page on the domain.

5. Dont Give Personal Information

Paypal will ONLY ask you for personal information AFTER you are securely logged into your account.

Never respond to emails asking for your personal information such as banking info, or social security numbers. Beware of these types of emails. They will usually be asking for your information because they "urgently need to verify your information". This is a scam. Paypal will also NEVER ask for your full banking information to verify you without providing at least 2 digits of the number. This lets you know that they already know the number and are asking you for the rest of it.

6. How do they address you in the email?

Paypal will ONLY address a member by their first and last name.

Fake emails may say Dear Paypal Member, or address you by your email address instead.