PayPal Phishing Scam Snags CUMember

SAN MARCOS, Texas - (10/11/05) -- A member of Randolph-Brooks FCU wasaghast one day last week as she watched an online phishing schemedrain her credit union account of $1,800. The member, identified asErica Carpenter, reported checking her account balance online tofind several unauthorized charges, but was unable to make phonecontact with the credit union until the next day. Every time sherefreshed the page, she saw another charge against her account.Later she found out that her account and several others at thecredit union was made available through the Internet payments sitePayPal. She said she received an email from a phony site purportingto be PayPal and listing an email address it said had been added toher account, but she clicked on the button indicating she did notauthorize it. Carpenter explained she had used PayPal three yearsago to buy something off eBay, but hadn't used the service sincethen. Carpenter said she has been told she will only be responsiblefor the first $50 of the theft.