Intrepid brought this to my attention..

Fake Paypal Emails being sent out today, asking you to click on the link in the email.

I got one too.. closed my email, logged directly into Paypal and compared the case number that was in my email.. nothing.

Don't ever, ever click on the links in the email.

Close out your email and go directly to your Paypal account or Bank account.

They will never ask you for your account or password through an email.

PayPal would also like you to forward any e-mails that appear to be phishing to spoof@paypal.com. You'll get a response back from PayPal that tells you whether the e-mail is legit, and it gives them an e-mail address to investigate.

Nor will they ask you for any other personal information. A legitimate company email will always use your name, not "Dear member" or "Your account" etc.

I usually get two or three of these phony emails every day. Some look identical to the real company emails except the clickable links to update your "compromised" account information go to the thief’s computer.

Another very popular scam is to buy something from you over the internet (eBay etc.), but send you a forged or stolen check for much more than the cost of the item. They will then ask you to mail or wire transfer the difference between the cost of the item and the amount of the check to a representative for their account. The crooks will get your money and disappear before your bank lets you know the check bounced and you will be responsible for reimbursing them the amount you sent to the criminals. If you have already shipped the item you had for sale you will lose it in addition to the money from your bank account.

These links can help you notify the proper police agency and catch the scammers:

United States Postal Inspection Service (http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/)

Fraud: Recognize It. Report It. Stop It. (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/fraud.shtm)

They also have a wealth of information on how to avoid scammers.

I send about a half dozen of these emails a week to paypal and ebay

I get them all the time too but this was different... this one said Paypal account was being investigated for activity... blah, blah...

But really, I know we've covered this a few times and the above post really is for those who might be new to Paypal and not know about it and click on the provided links.