A scammer sent this to my mother, and I am thankful she knows better (years of teaching her to be cautious for her own good).
The email itself addresses her by the wrong name and claims she will be billed over $300. The attached PDF file, which I have no doubt would have caused trouble had she been using Microsoft Windows (she’s using an immutable copy of Linux), does not call her by name. Instead, it simply uses her old email address.
The goal of this scam is a triple treat.
First, to get you to open the PDF file. I cannot stress enough: do not open a PDF file or any file attachment sent by email if you don’t know the sender or aren’t sure about its legitimacy. I opened it in an immutable system, within a virtual machine, just to show you these screenshots.
Second, the goal is to make you panic, assume someone is charging you through PayPal, and, since you’ve opened that PDF file, they will have front-row seats to what you're doing as you likely check your banking and PayPal information.
Third, they want you to call the number they’ve listed, which they’ve made the primary focus of the email.
#Scam #Fraud #Email #PayPal #Security #Windows #Linux #AntiVirus