Is a PayPal invoice I didn't expect a scam?

Anyone with a PayPal account can send an invoice to any email address. Fraudsters exploit this by sending authentic-looking PayPal invoices for large amounts — often for a purchase you don't recognise — hoping you will panic and call a phone number included in the invoice memo. That number connects to a scammer, not PayPal.

Other variants include invoices where the memo contains a 'call to cancel' phone number, leading to remote-access or bank-transfer scams. A real, unexpected PayPal invoice does not mean money has been taken; you must actively approve payment. Do not call any number in the invoice — go directly to PayPal.com to check your account.

The scheme works because the email genuinely comes from PayPal's own systems — the fraud is in the invoice itself, not in a forged email — which is why it sails past spam filters and looks authentic. Since nothing is charged unless you approve it, the danger sits almost entirely in that phone number: calling it connects you to a practised 'support agent' who will push you to install remote-access software or to 'refund an overcharge' by bank transfer or gift cards. Decline and report the invoice from inside your PayPal account, and the episode ends there.