Paypal Fake Paypal Email looked 100% as though from Paypal but it wasn't. Instructions to CANCEL lead to fraudulent website ripoff Brownsville Pennsylvania

I have a Paypal account that is used MAYBE once a year, if that. As chance would have it, I did use it yesterday to receive a payment from a friend.

Today, I got an email that I am posting below.

"Dear member,

This email confirms that you have paid orders@dell.com $699.99 USD using PayPal.

This credit card transaction will appear on your bill as "PAYPAL *DELL INC".

Payment Details

Purchased From:Dell.Inc

Item # Item Title Quantity Price Subtotal
250016390196 New Dell 6400 e1505 Intel Core Duo 1.66GHz 1GB Laptop 1 $669.95 USD $669.95 USD

Shipping & Handling via USPS First Class Mail to 154XX
(includes any seller handling fees) $19.16 USD
Shipping Insurance (optional): --
Sales Tax (6.000% inPA) : $10.88 USD

Total: $699.99 USD
Note:Thank you!

Shipping Information


Shipping Info: (not including Name as it may not be his fault)
(((ROR REDACTED ADDRESS FOR SECURITY PURPOSES)))
Brownsville, PA 15417
United States

Address Status: Confirmed

If you have questions about the shipping and tracking of your purchased item or service, please contact the seller orders@dell.com.

Do you confirm this transaction?

If this transaction was not made by you please immediately take the following steps:

Login to your account by clicking on the link below
Provide requested information to ensure you are the owner of the account
Find this transaction in HISTORY and click 'Cancel Transaction'

CANCEL TRANSACTION!


Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team

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 choose the Help link located in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

PayPal Email ID PP##3"

Well, needless to say, I was pretty upset. A $700 charge that I cannot afford, in any way, to be shipped to someone I don't know, in PA, and I live in Alabama.

I VERY MUCH wanted to "Cancel Transaction", and the link was highlighted, as well as a few other links.

I immediately logged into my Paypal account, NOT USING THE LINKS IN THE EMAIL, and saw nothing referencing this transaction.

I called Paypal, not toll-free!, but available on a Sunday, nonetheless! While I was on hold, advisements were made that when Paypal DOES email you, they write "Dear First Name, Last Name". They said fraudulent emails will say "Dear Paypal Member", well, mine just said "Dear Member", so I stayed on the phone.

The woman reassured me that it IS a fraudulent email, to send it to spoof@paypal, and that if I DIDN'T click on any links, or enter any personal information, then I didn't need to change my password.

I was SO tempted, when I first got it, to immediately click on the "CANCEL TRANSACTION" link, cause yeah, I wanted it cancelled! But I'm so glad I didn't.

I hope this report helps someone avoid panicking, like I did, and actually following the "Cancel Transaction" link, which I DIDN'T do.

Juliet
Birmingham, Alabama
U.S.A.