Paperless Post Phishing Scam Turns a Fake Party Invitation Into an Unexpected Reunion

A sophisticated email scam impersonating Paperless Post and other invitation platforms targeted Eric Umansky—and unexpectedly helped him reconnect with old friends and colleagues.

He Woke Up to Messages About a Party He Never Planned

In April of this year, Eric Umansky was attending his nephew’s bar mitzvah on Cape Cod when he woke up to an inbox full of emails from people from his past. They all wanted to know the same thing: Was he really partying on Saturday night?

The New York-based journalist did not understand what they were referring to—or why a casual acquaintance he had met 15 years earlier was emailing him. Already stressed about work and approaching deadlines, he checked his phone and found yet another message asking about a Paperless Post invitation he had supposedly sent at 7 p.m. on May 2. It appeared to invite recipients to a “special private dinner party.”

But Umansky had not sent any invitations and had no intention of hosting a party anytime soon.

He soon discovered that he was an early victim of an email phishing scam. Then, more unexpectedly, the incident began to affect his social life in a positive way. Other people who received similar messages have shared their experiences more broadly.

FTC Warns About Fake Evite and Paperless Post Messages

In May, following an increase in reports, the Federal Trade Commission issued a warning to consumers about fake invitations. The agency warned that scammers were sending “unexpected messages that appear to come from popular invitation platforms such as Evite or Paperless Post.”

Some of the messages ask recipients to enter their email username and password to confirm event details. Others instruct people to provide their phone number and share a special code to RSVP.

Umansky had no idea how the scammer obtained his information. He believed he had taken necessary precautions to protect his email account, including using two-factor authentication. All he could do was post messages on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks explaining that he was not actually hosting a party—and, more importantly, “please don’t come to my house.”

Why These Phishing Scams Are So Convincing

Phishing scams have proliferated for more than two decades, but they remain a serious security risk for individuals and businesses. Research has identified phishing as one of the biggest security risks.

Email scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They often use social engineering techniques, including urgency and fear, to pressure targets into acting quickly. Some attacks also exploit personal relationships between people to manipulate victims—a tactic known as spear phishing. Artificial intelligence has made these deceptions even more difficult to identify and eliminate.

How a Fake Invitation Helped Reconnect Old Friends

In some cases, however, fake party invitations can have an unintended consequence. When recipients check with the supposed host to determine whether an invitation is legitimate, the interaction can rekindle dormant relationships.

“After that happened, it was so striking to me that I actually thought, ‘Oh, is this a net positive reaction?’” Umansky says.

In the months that followed, he reconnected with several old friends and colleagues over lunch and text messages. He also spent an hour on Zoom with a former colleague in Mexico City. They had not spoken in more than 10 years.

“I wanted to approach you with something. I had an idea that I wanted to discuss with him, and we talked about it for maybe 10 minutes. The rest of the time we talked about our lives,” Umansky says.

Why People Hesitate to Contact Old Friends

A 2024 study published in the scientific journal Communication Psychology examined social withdrawal and surveyed 2,400 adults in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. The research found that people may avoid contacting old friends because they assume the other person does not want to hear from them or because they expect the interaction to feel awkward.

“Work and productivity are such a priority in North America that people are cutting back on social connections and interactions to meet increased demands at work,” the study said, noting that life changes such as raising children and moving to a new city can also weaken social ties.

For Umansky, a convincing phishing scam created an unusual reason to reach out—and turned a frustrating security incident into an opportunity to reconnect.