Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 11:54 am
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Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 11:54 am
Updated 2/2/2022: I added a new video post at the end of the post.
It’s a new day and here’s another scam going around. I had a new email scam that I thought I’d share with all of you today. This is a new scam to me but it appears to be going around for a few years.
The scam targets HR departments of businesses and features the names of commonly used payroll service companies. As usual, you can research some of these before replying back. As with many of these scams, they tend to use legitimate business names but not the correct phone numbers, addresses, or proper email address spellings.
the email
First, off one thing, you should always check is the sender’s email address. If it comes from a free email service such as Yahoo, Gmail, etc you know it’s fake.
But here’s the thing with this email it looks official since it’s sent from what looks like a company email address but there’s a catching.
This email was sent from the following email address:
sarah@payusaiinc.com
Did you notice the issue with the email address? It has extra i in inc. I don’t know if any email services would correct the error if someone was to reply back.
the email text
I’ve always noticed that many of these types of emails are always sent from people who have common names like Sarah or John etc. Also, the opening text is always Hi customer or just a Hi. They aren’t personalized.
Here’s the email text:
Dear Customer,
Outstanding Account Balance – $329.67
The above sum was due for payment on 12/06/21 but as at today’s date no payment has been received.
Should you have any questions or queries regarding this balance, please contact us as soon as possible.
If no query exists please be aware our payment terms are strictly 30 days and we make no provision for extended credit terms in our pricing structure.
Please make payment as soon as possible.
Regards
Sarah Font
Accounting
Pay USA Inc
Phone: 262.677.5616 • Fax: 262.677.5617
W209 N17500 Industrial Drive • Jackson, WI 53037
Here’s what’s a tip off
Being that I’m a one-person operation why would I own an exact amount of $329.67. That’s too much of a red flag for a month of payroll for a one-person operation. Also, it was odd that the scammers never investigated the email address prior to spamming my inbox.
So i figure it’s from an email capturing bot or a spam bot operation. Another thing that gets me is that the email was sent from Sarah Font. I think I may have seen that name in past scam emails.
Here’s what I found out
Pay USA Inc is a real company. They are not based in Wisconsin. The company is based in Connecticut. The contact information listed in the email is also incorrect.
The address the scammer used was from an Inc in Wisconsin that does textiles.
I reached out to the real company
I notified the real Pay USA brand and their support team replied back quickly saying that the email was a scam and to disregard it.
As always
As always don’t reply back to these emails because you don’t know what the replies will be. If you do use a payroll service or have an HR department notify them of these scams.
another payroll email
I thought I’d add this video post for another scam email I was sent in late Janurary. The email is similar to the one above requesting I pay $234.43 for services.
