Oh PhisH!

Today, I received this mail in my inbox.

To: akshay.surve@yahoo.com
Subject: Dear Valued Paypal Member
From: service@paypal.com
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 01:32:51 +0200 (CEST)

Dear Valued Paypal Member

Your account has been randomly flagged in our system as a part of our routine security
measures.

This is a must to ensure that only you have access and use of your PayPal account and to
ensure a safe Paypal experience.

We require all flagged accounts to verify their information on file with us. your online
experience and renew.

Go to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_help-ext&source_page=_home
and login your Paypal account.

Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. For
assistance, log in to your Paypal
account and choose the "Help" link in the footer of any page.

Paypal

--- here is another ---

Dear member,
As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account. We requested information from you for the following reason:

We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party. Because protecting the security of your account is our primary concern, we have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. We understand that this may be an inconvenience but please understand that this temporary limitation is for your protection. Please fallow the link below to restore your account access.

Case ID Number: PP-098-556-456

Click here to restore your PayPal account.

Thank you for your patience as we work together to protect your account.
PayPal Account Review Department
PayPal Email ID PP1207

The email looks authentic. You can also see the 'https' link with the email which means it is secure. If you click on the link you go the PayPal website where you can signin to your PayPal account. Simple isnt't it.

BEWARE

I first check the link I have been asked to click on. If the link doesn't start with paypal.com (or anyother service provider) then I refrain from clicking on such links.

Though, there have been times when I do click on such link just to check how close they are to the real thing. Today was one of those days and so I clicked on the link. Guess what? I had this message from Firefox:

firefox2-phishing.png

Isn't that cool. Firefox jst rOcks!