Overview
- Warnings from Verbraucherzentrale and multiple news outlets on Friday say a mass phishing wave uses the subject line “Sicherheitsüberprüfung erforderlich - Bitte bestätigen Sie Ihre Kontodaten” to impersonate PayPal.
- The fraudulent message claims new 2026 security rules and uses a red, 24‑hour deadline plus a “Jetzt aktivieren” button to pressure recipients to act quickly.
- Attackers prompt an SMS verification step so they can intercept one‑time codes and defeat two‑factor authentication, turning a code sent to a phone into a way to take over accounts.
- If you receive the mail do not click links and check your account only in the official PayPal app or at paypal.com, forward suspicious mails to phishing@paypal.de and phishing@verbraucherzentrale.nrw, and report the message as spam.
- If credentials or codes were entered change your PayPal password via the official site, review recent transactions, contact PayPal and your bank about unauthorized activity, and consider filing a police report for financial loss while watching for follow‑on phone scams using stolen data.