The phony invoice scam is a common scam popular with scammers because it is quite effective.  It starts when you receive an email that purports to be from a popular company with which many of us do business that indicates that you owe them a significant payment.   The scammers count on people being concerned that they are being wrongfully charged for a product they did not order.  You are provided a telephone number to call if you dispute the bill. If you call the number, you will be prompted to provide personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft.

This email appears to come from PayPal.   As always, the purpose of a phishing email is to lure you into clicking on links contained within the email or providing personal information, in this case by phone if you call to dispute the phony bill . If you click on links in phishing emails, you end up downloading malware and if you provide the requested information, it ends up being used to make you a victim of identity theft. This particular phishing email provides a phone number to call if you wish to dispute the obviously phony invoice.  If you call the number in the phishing email you will be asked for personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft.

There are a number of red flags that indicate that this is a scam.  Your name does not appear anywhere in the invoice.   Also, the email was sent from an email address that appears to have nothing to do with PayPal.  One of the biggest red flags is the request for a W-9 tax form which you only provide to someone who is paying you money and not a part of any invoice for money you would owe.

Here is a copy of the invoice being circulated.

Hi,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  We are reaching out from PayPal Team regarding an order 524AX for 499 USD. If Not you Contact Undersigned. This email is to request a Form W-9 for tax reporting purposes.

Please complete and sign the attached Form W-9, then reply to this email.

If you have questions, reply all so someone from our team can help.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    SERVICE & BILLING INVOICE – A41Z451-XX

Transaction Date: October 7, 2026
Support Number: 📞 +1 (201) 483-0632                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Thank you for choosing our protection services. Please retain this invoice for your records. The information below summarizes the three-year device protection arrangement.

SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS

Protection Service: McAfee Total Protection
Start Date: October 7, 2026
Subscription Duration: Three Years
Covered Equipment: Laptop, Mobile, Tablet, or Chromebook
Service Cost: $499.99 USD

TRANSACTION NOTICE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The service cost shown above is $499.99 USD. If you believe this transaction is incorrect or was not authorized, please contact our support team. Requests concerning cancellation or refunds can also be reviewed through customer support.

Support: 📞 +1 (201) 483-0632

Respectfully,
Billing Services Department

TIPS

Once, I received a large invoice from a company with which I do business for goods I did not order, but rather than click on the link provided in the email, I went directly to the company’s website to question the invoice.  When the website came up, the first thing I saw was a large announcement that the invoice was a scam and that many people had received these phony invoices.  If you ever receive a phony invoice such as this and you think that it may possibly be true, don’t click on links or call phone numbers provided in the email.  Rather contact the real company directly at a phone number or website that you know is legitimate where you can confirm that the phishing invoice was a scam.

Never click on links or download attachments in emails or text messages unless you have absolutely confirmed that they are legitimate and don’t call companies at telephone numbers that appear in the email such as this one.  Instead, if the email appears to come from a legitimate company, you can call them at a telephone number you confirm is legitimate .  Don’t call the number that appears in the email.  In the case of PayPal, the real telephone number to call for customer service is 888-221-1161. You can also contact PayPal customer service through this link https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/contact-us

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