# Anyone suffered after they ignored a message that they thought was a phishing attempt, but was real? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-suffered-after-they-ignored-a-message-that-they-thought-was-a-phishing-attempt-but-was-real/598629 "2011-10-04T22:46:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-suffered-after-they-ignored-a-message-that-they-thought-was-a-phishing-attempt-but-was-real/598629/1 "2011-10-04T22:46:58Z")
I’m bouncing off of this thread > **[Am I overreacting to the (IMO) arrogant & unprofessional tone of this...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=626612)** > > I got this email the other day from Paypal. I don’t recall getting a prior email asking for this info, but it’s quite possible it got lost in the shuffle as I get lots of Paypal notices re payments, transfers etc., and I’m often moving them en-mass... where a potentially suspicious email insisting that the OP login and enter personal information, may, in fact, be legit. Has anyone ever suffered anything substantial (suspended bank access, suspended driver’s license, repossession/foreclosure, grade of F in school, or something similar) because they received a message that screamed “scam!” but was actually legit and they were actually supposed to respond? e.g. Joe: “So, what happened to your BMW?” Bill: “Funny story. I got an email two months ago that claimed to be from my bank and it said that I needed to go to a website and confirm my employment and checking account information because of some new policy regarding auto loans. I figured that it was just crooks trying to scam me so I didn’t respond. It turns out that it was actually from the bank and the bank proceeded to repossession after I didn’t respond for 30 days, and by the time I found my car missing they had already sold it.” Joe: “Bummer, man! You gonna buy another?” Bill: “I’d like to, but not through that bank!” ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-suffered-after-they-ignored-a-message-that-they-thought-was-a-phishing-attempt-but-was-real/598629/2 "2011-10-04T23:02:17Z")
My local telco used to be Qwest. Now they are Century Link. I kept getting emails from a company called Century asking me to login to the new site and pay my bill. I assumed that is was some sort of scam as they had no references to Qwest in their emails. After about three months, collections called. That same day, I finally got a glossy post card in the mail describing the change in company name. I told them why I didn’t pay them and they understood and removed the late fees. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-suffered-after-they-ignored-a-message-that-they-thought-was-a-phishing-attempt-but-was-real/598629/3 "2011-10-05T02:07:07Z")
Since the OP is looking for shared experiences, let’s move from GQ to IMHO. **samclem** , Moderator