PayPal is launching a new device designed to protect users against phishing scams
By: Captain Maverick
Published: Jan 13, 2007
Updated: Aug 31, 2010
PayPal has decided to take a more active role in fighting the myriad of phishing schemes that attack users every day. It's rare that we can check our email and not find some type of phishing scam or another. Most often, these scams use the popular names of eBay and PayPal. Now phishers will have a more difficult time of it as PayPal is launching a new device to fight against the phishers, a $5 security key fob.
The PayPal security key is a small electronic device that clips to your key chain and it calculates a new password every 30 seconds. Users who sign up for the new service and to use this device need to enter their regular passwords as well as the number displayed on the security key fob each time they log in to the online service. Because the numeric password changes so frequently, even successful phishers will end up with obsolete numeric passwords and will be unable to empty PayPal accounts.
In this way, if a user does become a victim of a phishing scam, and gives away their password, the phishers cannot empty the user's account because of the constantly changing password. The security key is being tested by PayPal employees right now, and the test will be opened up to beta users in the U.S., Germany, and Australia in the next month or so. Later this year, the company plans to begin promoting the devices to all PayPal users.
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