How do I know if this "paypal" email is a scam?

I got a message from "paypal" that says,

PayPal is constantly working to ensure security by regularly screening the accounts in our system. We recently reviewed your account, and we need more information to help us provide you with secure service. Until we can collect this information, your access to sensitive account features will be limited. We would like to restore your access as soon as possible, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system.


We recently noticed the following issue on your account:


We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party. Because protecting the security of your account is our primary concern, we have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. We understand that this may be an inconvenience but please understand that this temporary limitation is for your protection.


Your bank has contacted us regarding some attempts of charges from your credit card via the PayPal system. We have reasons to believe that you changed your registration information or that someone else has unauthorized access to your PayPal account Due to recent activity, including possible unauthorized payments placed on your account, we will require a second confirmation of your identity with us in order to allow us to investigate this matter further. Your account is not suspended, but if in 48 hours after you receive this message your account is not confirmed we reserve the right to suspend your PayPal registration. If you received this notice and you are not the authorized account holder, please be aware that it is in violation of PayPal policy to represent oneself as another Paypal user. Such action may also be in violation of local, national, and/or international law. PayPal is committed to assist law enforcement with any inquires related to attempts to misappropriate personal information with the intent to commit fraud or theft. Information will be provided at the request of law enforcement agencies to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.


To confirm your identity with us click here:
(I deleted link)

Case ID Number: (Deleted case number)

After responding to the message, we ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated. Emailing us before that time will result in delays. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause you and we would like to thank you for your cooperation as we review this matter.

 

Chris: I received the following e-mail from "PalPal" yesterday. It's worded a bit differently than yours, but I regarded it as phishing and deleted it.


Unauthorized access to your PayPal account!

We recently noticed more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign IP address.

If you accessed your account while traveling, the unusual log in attempts may have been initiated by you. However, if you are the rightfull holder of the account, please visit Paypal as soon as possible to verify your identity:
Click here to verify your account

You can also verify your account by logging into your PayPal account at https://www.paypal.com/us/.

If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choise but to temporaly suspend your account.

We ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated and we strongly recommend to verify your account in that time.

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose the Help link located in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

To receive email notifications in plain text instead of HTML, update your preferences here.

PayPal Email ID (deleted)

 

Thanks for replying. I will not do anything but delete the message. I wish someone could trace the message and get these people.
Mine did start with my name. Thanks,
Chris.

 

Chris,

The link that Arie gives also includes a section on reporting the email. I'm not sure how hard they try to track them down, but it might not hurt to report a few of them. It's been awhile, but I have done that in the past. Another thing to look for is your full name in the email. If your name is not there, you can pretty much bet it is not from PayPal.

Mike

 

I recommend you go to www.firetrust.com and d/l Sitehound. It is free but you get more if you pay. It was only for IE when i paid for mine but Firefox could be covered now....if not it will be due.

One thing Sitehound covers is Spoof sites; so had you clicked on the link in the email Sitehound would have put its own page up instead to warn you. You can set up a password as well, therefore if you're not around and someone else goes to a site that is spoofed then they can't use it unless they know the password.

Would be nice if they could cover Mozilla as well and then browsers you use would all be covered.

Be aware though, not all areas are covered (phishing, sex sites etc) as they update when groups send then sites to check; this means more and more is covered as time passes.