'PayPal Desktop App' Scam

Fake software and promotions are among the favorite tricks of online con artists because they can often attract a lot of attention from users. This is the exact strategy that the 'PayPal Desktop App' scam is employing. Fake ads and websites tell users that they can download and use the new 'PayPal Desktop' application and that they will be awarded $100 credit for being the first ones to test this exciting new program. However, a PayPal app for desktop computers doesn't exist, and the 'PayPal Desktop App' scam is the product of fraudsters who may try to redirect users to phishing pages or even to convince them to install malware on their computer.

It seems that the 'PayPal Desktop App' scam is not being used for phishing at the moment, and, instead, users are asked to download a password-protected archive, which supposedly contains the new 'PayPal Desktop' app. However, the archive contains a malicious executable file, which will deploy the RedLine Stealer on unprotected computers. Thanks to this malicious implant, the authors of the 'PayPal Desktop App' scam may be able to steal not just the PayPal credentials of their victims but also plenty of other sensitive data such as browser passwords, social media profiles, Steam/Discord tokens, and more.

If a PayPal desktop app ever gets released, you will be able to download it from PayPal's official website. Other pages, which claim to offer such software are fake, and trusting them may get you into a lot of trouble. If you think you might have interacted with the 'PayPal Desktop App' scam recently, then we suggest running an anti-malware scanner to make sure that your PC is free of threatening software.