July 10, 2026
The UC Berkeley ISO Security Office has received a number of reports of unrecognized bogus PayPal account creation attempts using @berkeley.edu email addresses.
Tips if Something Seems Off:
Webelievetheemailswerecollectedforapublicsource,likethewebsitedirectory,andthebadactorsaretryingtousethemtocreateaccounts
Follow up with the sender separately
OurofficewouldencourageyoutoremotethistoPayPaldirectly:
PayPal Help and Support
Received a payment, money request, or invoice you don’t recognize? We'll never ask for your password or financial details by phone, text, or email. Forward suspicious emails or messages to phishing@paypal.com and delete them. Only call us using the number on our Contact Us page 1-888-221-1161 or in the PayPal app.
To close the unauthorized account, email:
You will need to:
Email us using the email address that you're receiving PayPal emails
Include a statement acknowledging you do not have a PayPal account and would like your email removed from the PayPal system
Report and/or flag it
- Open the message
- To the right of the 'Reply' arrow select 'More' (typically denoted with three vertical dots)
- Then 'Report phishing'
- For suspicious messages received by text, please take a screen shot and forward the message to phishing@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail) For more information visit https://security.berkeley.edu/resources/phishing
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