Don't fall for these YouTube, Google, Paypal account closure scams

The easiest way to make money on the internet is to steal it from others. Here's the latest way scammers are fooling people into turning over the keys to their bank accounts. It looks real and people are falling for it

When Willie Sutton, one of America's most proficient bank robbers, was asked why he robbed banks, he answered by saying "because that's where the money is."

If he were still around today, he'd probably be joining the ranks of robbers who work the internet, because that's where the money is. And the easiest way to get some is to rob it from others. You don't even have to be a tech genius to do it.

All you have to do is to use a spam email service to send out a hundred million emails, and hope that just a fraction of the people who get a copy, will be fooled.

If just one-tenth of one percent of a hundred million recipients are tricked into giving up the information requested, the scammer would have a hundred thousand people on the hook. And all he really needs is just one.

So what's the latest way they are doing this?

They send out account closure emails, warning recipients that their account at YouTube, or PayPal, or Facebook, or at their bank is being closed unless they renew their credentials.

Some of these emails look legitimate and can be easy to fall for if you're in a hurry.

This one is from Google claiming that the recipient's email account is about to be closed. To keep the account open, they need to click the link in the email and verify their account info.

If the recipient follows the link, they end up on a page that looks like it belongs to Google and all they need to do is enter their email address and their password to validate the account. If they do this, they will be giving a scammer all he needs to gain access to all the Google accounts that belong to that person. This includes Gmail, YouTube, and Google Adsense.

The scammer can then lock the person out of their own accounts by changing the password and then hold the accounts for ransom. Or they can scan the emails in the Gmail account, looking for bank, PayPal, and other passwords needed to gain access.

It's not just Google. One of the favorites is to send emails that look like they are from a bank. Here are three that are being sent out.

These follow the same pattern as the first one above. The goal of the email is to scare you into thinking your account is being closed unless you verify your login in details. If you do, you'll be giving scammers full access to your funds.

PayPal is not immune either. Here is one that appears to be from them, making the rounds.

If you fall for it, you can expect your PayPal account to be drained immediately, and it is tied to a credit card or bank account, they too will be looted.

Another account closure email targets YouTubers. If they fall for the scam, they will unknowingly be giving the scammers their Gmail password - since it is the same as the one used by YouTube account holders.

The scammers haven't forgotten about Facebook. They are sending the same kinds of email as above with the goal of gaining access to the Facebook account and its list of contacts.

You're probably smart enough not to fall for these kinds of scams, but maybe you know others who would. If you do, do them a favor and alert them to the problem and the risks involved.

Tell them to never ever follow a link in an email that asks for their login credentials and never ever download an attachment from an unknown sender.