One is Paypal, One is NOT
- Published in Hosting & Internet
So you're busy shopping on the Internet when for one reason or another, you've clicked on a website link, clicked on a link in an email, etc, and this Paypal page opens. But did you check to see if it's really Paypal before attempting to put in your username and password?
While this website is an awfully good imitation of Paypal the domain name / web address is the giveaway. preinformized.com is most certainly not Paypal.
For reference, here is what Paypal's website currently looks like. Notably, until very recently Paypal did have the login on the top right of the front page of the site, however as their website is being spoofed frequently it is good to make frequent changes, like this, to help consumers differentiate their site from the fake ones.
With a little research we discovered some interesting things about preinformized.com. The domain itself is owned by someone who uses an email address at platformerzones.info which if you try and go to that website you find it's been suspended... Interesting, but as there are so many reasons a domain might be suspended by a website hosting company, which in this case appears to be in Europe, not much can be concluded by a suspension.
Beyond that, preinformized.com itself is hosted by an American hosting company, which is a little unusual as most of these sorts of scams are run from foreign locations as opposed to domestic. It is also well within the realm of possibility that it is a domain that has been exploited by a script kiddie or other hacker. That supposition is backed up by there being no domain privacy set on the registrant's information, leaving both the person and their address visible to everyone. Most importantly of the "everyone" would be the local authorities and Paypal itself who I'm fairly sure doesn't appreciate being spoofed.
So what do I do now if I've put my username and password into a site like the one at preinformized.com? First immediately change your password, because whoever you've sent that information to is someone you DEFINITELY don't want having it. Second, do you use that password anywhere else? Say your online banking? Well go change it everywhere you use it!!
In many cases once you've entered your username and password you get an error saying it didn't work or it just takes you back to the same spoofed page, although some of the more savvy cyber criminals will redirect you to the actual Paypal website where you find it frustrating that you have to re-enter your username and password to access your account, but you don't stop to realize that you were on a completely different website only moments before. This scenario allows the criminals more time to exploit the information they have now gathered about you.
The biggest piece of advice we give anyone using the Internet is to always make sure the domain name / web address matches the website you believe you are accessing!
