I was almost the victim of a Pay Pal scam

seadoug

seadoug

Well-known Member
Location
Texas
I almost got fooled! I received two back-to-back emails the were supposedly from Pay Pal. One said I had just purchased an iPhone and the other said i had just purchased a coffee maker. The Pay Pal logo was included, but they were from individual people. I called the phone number in the email and was connected to a "fraud line".

I told the guy that answered that I had not purchased these items and wanted the account closed. (I can't remember the last time I used Pay Pal.) He then asked me to write down his name and employee number. Okay. So, then he asked me for simple information like my zip code. Then he asked me if I'd ever visited the states in which the purchases were made. I told him "no". He indicated that someone has either hacked my account or was using my information. Okay. Then he rattled off a list of banks and asked me which ones I'd done business with. That's when I told him I was done and hung up.

I guess I was more inclined to follow up because I recently had fraudulent charges on my credit card. I later Googled the customer service phone number for Pay Pal and it was not the number in the e-mail. Scams are getting so sophisticated these days. We all need to be careful.
 
@Rakaia ,I disputed a purchase on eBay which was a rare plant ..cost me about $80.00 + postage , when I got it ~ it was a dead stick / cutting …not a plant ( it was supposed to be a small rooted begonia in a pot ) and PP ruled in thier favour so I left a review on Product .com and removed my payment method being my card from PP , the biggest sting for them is leaving a review in the mentioned site

Show them us Aussies don’t take kindly to having our $$$ stolen by crooks
 
My husband and I stopped using PayPal decades ago. He had what he thought was $200 in his account and PP denied him access to his account without giving a reason. His attempt at resolving the issue failed. I used a credit card that I purposely had a low credit line on during my first foray into online shopping, starting with PP as the payment method. I charged $1 to download a song on iTunes. PP refused the payment! Also they stopped accepting donations to a radio show, Al Islam In America. It was then that I felt they were discriminating against Muslims.

In addition I went online and read some serious horror stories about what happened to people who used PP. After that, I stopped buying or donating to anything that only used PP as the payment option. I vaguely remember getting something years ago about my PP account being compromised. I didn't even follow up because I knew I didn't have one. As we've said in other threads, scams are becoming quite sophisticated.
 
I used PP for years because that's how some of my freelance writing gigs were paid. I opened a dedicated bank account and transferred money to it. Never a problem. Then that bank folded and I decided to have PP send me checks which they offered. Worked fine the first two times.

One day the check option was no longer there and they wouldn't let me add another bank until... well, I forget what they wanted, but it was impossible since I no longer had that bank account. Tried for more than a year to recuperate the $600 still in the PP account. Finally they restored the check option and I used it... figured I could kiss that $600 goodbye, but they actually sent a check. Never accepted a PP payment gig again and never will.
 
seadoug said:
He then asked me to write down his name and employee number.
Click to expand...
I always get the name of who I'm speaking with on a business call. Some readily give it (a few spell it) and others hesitate or seem to be "on guard" (even though they do give it to me). To have an agent initiate their name and number has happened (rarely) but to ask me to write it down - no; never in all my years of doing business. He used that as a ploy to establish confidence, but I would see it as a major clue something was "off."

I don't use Pay Pal. have read far more negative than positive information.
 
I’ve had a PayPal account for years. I don’t keep money in it, but it’s linked to my bank account so that when I order something, I can hit one button and pay with PP instead of having to input all that credit card info.

I agree, scams and scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t get a text or email or several of them that are suspicious, especially the ones that pose as legitimate businesses. I always check the phone number or google the business as a way to authenticate it.
 
I get these emails daily. I have a filter that simply re-routes them to the Junk Mail folder. I just checked and there are over 300 messages in there. I'll go ahead and delete them in a bit.

Anything like this should always be ignored. If it claims you just bought an iPhone, and you're worried, simply check your bank account. If the account is good, the email is trash
 
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