Ofsted warn of phishing email asking for PayPal details

Ofsted has issued a warning to users that a phishing email claiming to be from them prompts users to confirm their payment details via PayPal.

Ofted warn:

If you receive a suspicious looking email claiming to be from Ofsted, please delete it.

It has been brought to our attention that some people have received spam emails, purportedly sent from an ofsted.gov.uk email account, prompting them to confirm their payment details via PayPal.

Please be aware that we will never ask for any fees to be paid to us through PayPal. If you receive a suspicious email like this one, please delete it immediately and take no further action.

The email says:

From: PayPal Payment IRxx.nteD@ofsted.gov.uk Sent: 14 March 2017 12:55 To: xxx.xxx@hotmail.com Subject: Your subscription payment confirmation “8xxxx4-ZmJ29kF2”

Dear ,

You sent a payment of £57.00 GBP to XXarcade This email confirms your purchase of the following subscription usign your PayPalID (xxx.xxx@hotmail.com): ———————————————————————————————————- Product description: 1 x XXarcade Unit price: £57.00 GBP Qty: 1 Total price: £57.00 GBP ———————————————————————————————————- This is a subscription order and you’ll be billed every month until you cancel your subscription. ———————————————————————————————————- ———————————————————————————————————- You have 7 days from the date of the transaction to cancel the subscription without beeing charged. ———————————————————————————————————- Yours sincerely, PayPal

Read more at Spam email alert

Disclosing financial information from clicking on links in phishing emails is an increasing risk, please take the time to look at emails carefully and be suspicious of any emails that create a sense of urgency or are unusual requests, also look for other clues such as spelling mistakes, fuzzy logos etc.