Leeds PCSO warns shoppers of Christmas PayPal scams after nearly falling victim to fraud

A Leeds PCSO has warned shoppers to be aware of PayPal scams this Christmas after nearly falling victim to fraud.

PCSO Jordan Coulthard, of North East Leeds District, posted a video on Twitter on Monday warning other PayPal users of the scam.

He explained that he is selling his car on Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace and received a message from a man asking to discuss the sale over email.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

PCSO Coulthard said: "He wasn't asking too many questions about the car, then all of a sudden he just said 'yes, I'll pay that much money for it, give me your email and I'll send the money through PayPal'.

"He hadn't seen the car so he didn't know if it worked or not, it was a bit odd.

"I sent him my PayPal email address and this morning I woke up to an email from a dodgy and false email address, which looked very legitimately like PayPal, saying the money was in my account."

Thankfully, PCSO Coulthard recognised the email address as fake.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He has warned PayPal users to always check the address before opening links, particularly over the Christmas period.

PCSO Jordan Coulthard, of North East Leeds District, warned PayPal users of the scam (Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)PCSO Jordan Coulthard, of North East Leeds District, warned PayPal users of the scam (Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)
PCSO Jordan Coulthard, of North East Leeds District, warned PayPal users of the scam (Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)

PCSO Coulthard added: "PayPal will only use two email addresses: service@paypal,com or [email protected]. It's important you look at spellings as well.

"If you've got the PayPal app, it will send you a notification when you've received funds or when funds are going out.

"It's something to be aware of, if you want more information go onto the Action Fraud website or google PayPal scams, there are some good tips on what to look out for.

"I nearly fell flat for it last night so just be careful, as people will take the opportunity to fleece people which is quite sad and disgusting."