As an online
payment platform, Payza has a lot of experience dealing with internet scams and
preventing online fraud. This past week, we’ve noticed a surge in phishing
emails being sent to our members. So we want to make sure you know how to spot
a phishing email and what you should do about it.
Our Security Team is always on the
lookout for new threats and websites designed to steal your information. In
order to be as effective as possible at stopping these threats, we need your
help!
If you receive a suspicious email,
file a report immediately in the Payza Security Center. This way, our team can
begin investigating right away.
How to Spot a Phishing Email
If you’re trying to figure out
whether an email you’ve received is actually from Payza, our Account Security
agents have this advice: Phishermen, that is, identity thieves, have become
very good at formatting their fake emails to make them look just like the real
thing, but there are still some obvious signs that something isn’t right. If
you get an email with urgent calls to action and strange links, be careful
because chances are this is a phishing email.
So if you think you might have
received a phishing email, here’s what to look for:
- An email that starts with “Dear Member”. Remember, Payza will always use your full name when sending you an email. If an email starts off with something different than the name listed in your Payza account, it’s a fake.
- Sent from the wrong email address. Make sure the email was really sent from Payza.com. This can be tricky because some sophisticated fraudsters have found ways to make it look like the email was sent from a Payza.com URL when in fact it wasn’t.
- Check for spelling and grammatical errors. If an email is filled with spelling mistakes and bad grammar, it was most likely sent by a fraudster and not by Payza.
- The email asks you to enter personal information, or has a link to a page that asks for your username and password. This is a serious red flag. Payza would never send an email asking for your username and password, let alone your transaction PIN. We also wouldn’t send you an email threatening to place your account on hold if you do not follow a link and enter your private information.
The example below shows the classic
signs of a phishing email:
