PayPal Scam: Another "Phishing" Email

I have 4 active email addresses and it seems like there isn't a day that I don't get at least one phishing email. Yesterday I received one that purported to be from PayPal. Following is the email:

PayPal wrote: From: "PayPal"
Subject: Notification from Billing Department
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2007 12:25:36 -0800

---------------------------------
We recently noticed one or more attempts to log in to your

PayPal account from a foreign IP address.

If you recently accessed your account while traveling, the unusual log
in attempts may have been initiated by you. However if you are the
rightful holder of the account,click on the link below to log into the
account and follow the instructions.
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run
If you choose not to complete the request, you give us no choice but
to suspend your account temporary.
It takes at least 72 hours for the investigation in this case and we
strongly recommend you to verify your account at that time.
If you received this notice and you are not the authorized account
holder, please be aware that it is in violation of PayPal policy to
represent oneself as an other PayPal user.Such action may also be in
violation of local, national, and/or international law. PayPal is
committed to assist law enforcement with any inquires related attempts
to missapropriate personal information with the intent to commit fraud
or theft. Information will be provided at the request or law
enforcement
agencies to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted to the fullest
extent of the law.
Thanks for your patience as we work together to protect your account.
PayPal Account Review Department.

---------------------------------
Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and
you will not receive a response.
For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click the Help link
located in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

---------------------------------

PayPal Email ID PP00145

Copyright © Paypal
2007. All rights

Immediately, I logged onto my PayPal account by typing the link myself in my Internet browser, not by clicking the link. I went to the contact list and emailed a copy of it to them. I got a response pretty quick:

Thanks for taking an active role by reporting suspicious-looking
emails.
The email you forwarded to us is a phishing email, and our security
team
is working to disable it.

-------------------------
What is a phishing email?
-------------------------
Phishing emails attempt to steal your identity and will often ask you
to
reveal your password or other personal or financial information. PayPal

will never ask for your password over the phone or in an email and will

always address you by your first and last name.

Take our Fight Phishing Challenge at
https://www.paypal.com/fightphishing to learn 5 things you should know
about phishing. You'll also see what we're doing to help fight fraud
every day.

-------------------------
You've made a difference.
-------------------------
Every email counts. By forwarding a suspicious-looking email to
spoof@paypal.com, you've helped keep yourself and others safe from
identity theft.

Thanks,

The PayPal Team
_______________________________________________________________________
This email is sent to you by the contracting entity to your User
Agreement, either PayPal Inc, PayPal Pte. Ltd or PayPal (Europe) S.à
r.l. & Cie, S.C.A. Société en Commandite par Actions, Registered
Office:
5th Floor 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg RCS Luxembourg B 118

349.

You have all seen the advice before to 'never, never click on a link sent through email'. Always type in the address within your browser and make sure when you are typing in sensitive information to make sure it is secured by https in the address and there is a lock at the bottom of the status screen.

My one message probably won't make a whole lot of difference in the whole scheme of things, but then again, you never know.

I guess my reason for writing here is to try to help others from getting ripped off. If the email had come from your account holder, type in the web address and go to the contact page and use their email contact of phone number and find out. If I can help just one person then I have done my job.

A great resource is www.ftc.gov where you can find valuable information about "phishing" and how to protect yourself.