Warning For PayP al users

[Highlands John]

Bit of a strange one this, but I'll post it anyway just to warn people to be wary.
Had a booking request from someone with an unusual name, they partly completed the booking online but did not complete the Payp al deposit payment. They emailed to say they they were arranging their travel so I held the reservation for 48 hours after which I cancelled it.
Then suddenly a few days later they came back and said they wanted the room so I sent them my standard deposit email which allows them to click through to their booking and on to Payp al or it says phone with card, they emailed back and said they'd phone the next morning. They didn't but a Payp al payment notification arrived for the deposit amount however not through the website but a payment sent to the email address I use for general guest emails, not the one attached to my PP account.
I clicked the link but couldn't collect the funds. I did what it said in the email and tried to attach the email address to my account but PP wouldn't let me.
I phoned PP and they told me it's a phishing email and that there's no funds pending on this email address. I immediately changed my account security.
I'm unconvinced. The link in the email points to a legit pp domain and the message source appears to do the same. It also seems a long and convoluted path to try and scam me.
I've emailed the "guest" and told them I can't accept these funds and I've sent the payment email to the pp spoof account. We'll see what happens next.

 

[2cat_lady]

Honestly, these things waste our time when we'd rather be looking after our guests. Nothing is easy.

 

[Arks]

...PayPal payment notification arrived for the deposit amount however not through the website but a payment sent to the email address I use for general guest emails, not the one attached to my PP account.
That right there is all I'd need to know I don't want this reservation. Something's definitely fishy.
It also seems a long and convoluted path to try and scam me.
They would rely on you thinking that. They probably have low wage workers, and everything as automated as possible. Sending you some bogus e-mails is still faster, easier, and potentially more rewarding for them than doing real work for a living.

 

[undersea]

I am half expecting the next thing is overpayment, with request for the balance...

 

[Generic]

Funny, I never click on the link. I open a new tab in my browser and go directly.
Frankly, I don't think any of these companies should provide URLs in email.

 

[Arks]

Funny, I never click on the link. I open a new tab in my browser and go directly.
Frankly, I don't think any of these companies should provide URLs in email..

Frankly, I don't think any of these companies should provide URLs in email.

Best I recall, PayPal doesn't put URLs in their e-mails. They tell you to go to PayPal, log into your account, and do such-and-such. But they don't provide links. If there's a link, it's probably NOT from the real PayPal.
BTW, selling PayPal is where Elon Musk got the money to develop Tesla into the world's most wonderful company (in my not-so-humble opinion)

 

[user 26]

Highlands John - I agree with paypal. This is phishing and pretty clever because the guest has you going in circles. Either that or you've got a very confused potential guest on your hands (but I don't think so).
You take this reservation if and only if payment comes through in the standard manner - through your registered paypal email address. And the money shows up in your paypal account.
Otherwise, sorry guest, your payment has not come through.
How far away is the reservation for?
I am sorry to say I think that this 'guest' is hoping to then turn around, cancel the reservation and request a refund of the non-existent payment.
I have used paypal for years for personal purchases and I accept paypal payments for reservations for ticket sales etc for fundraisers my employer runs. No one tries to pay with paypal using one of our other email addresses. There is no account under that email. Period.

 

[Highlands John]

Well folks. I'm a bit miffed about this.
I emailed the guest back, they cancelled the payment and sent it to the correct email address. I received an identical email from PP, the funds are in my account.
They stayed here this week, they were a perfectly pleasant mother and daughter, not a whiff of a scam.
Which to my mind posses more questions than it answers.
1) Why did PP tell me it was a phishing email when clearly it was not?
2) Why did PP tell me they never send emails from [email protected] when clearly they do (both emails) ?
3) Why did PP tell me they don't put clickable links in their emails when clearly this one had one?
4) Why did PP tell me there where no pending payments on the first email address when all the evidence above would indicate there was?

 

[Arks]

Glad it worked out. Hope you can get some explanation from PayPal, and share the info with the rest of us.