Intelligence Note

Prepared by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

November 28, 2005

Spam e-mail purporting you may be eligible for a settlement involving a class action suit

An e-mail requesting recipients to update their PayPal credit card information in order to receive funds from a PayPal class action settlement suit is in circulation.

The scam appears legitimate based on information contained in the e-mail such as:

  • A litigation case number claiming to be from a United States District Court in California;
  • The District Court's address to obtain copies of the settlement agreement;
  • A secure website address, https://www.paypal.com/settlement/, to view the entire settlement agreement;
  • And a statement indicating PayPal will contact individuals who do not submit their information by March 31, in order to forward them a check in the mail.

The website requests the recipient's PayPal username and password and redirects the recipient to another site to enter their credit card information. Upon clicking submit, the recipient is then redirected to the legitimate PayPal site.

Be cautious of e-mails inviting you to participate in any class action suit, as they could be phishing for your personal and financial information.

If you have received a fraud, or similar e-mail, please file a complaint at www.IC3.gov.