Get PayPal to listen: Submitting a legal claim can bring them to the table to settle your dispute.
Identity theft and fraudulent activity on your bank accounts can be financially crippling and overwhelming. You might have seen a fraudulent PayPal account opened in your name. After you initially panic you reach out to the company assuming that they will fix everything. But what can you do when PayPal won’t act? We explain.
Checking accounts have federal protection against fraud thanks to Federal Reserve Regulation E. Banks are legally required to give you your money back if there were unauthorized transactions, but you are also required to report it as soon as it happens which means you have to keep an eye on your account and let them know when things go wrong.
PayPal offers zero liability for unauthorized transactions. This means if you were charged for something but you didn’t purchase, for some sort of fraud, PayPal will refund you the money and you won’t be responsible for any of the unauthorized transactions.
Nonetheless, one customer experienced the opposite, stating, “PayPal says that it will back your payment if the company turns out to be a fraud but it definitely will NOT. Don’t be fooled by them. They will not return your money when the company rips you off and doesn’t send your package. They are a TERRIBLE company. Do NOT use them!”
You need to contact PayPal immediately to report any fraud.
You can call them at (402) 935-7733.
You can also reach out via email or through written means.
The federal government recommends that anyone who is the victim of a fraudulent PayPal account opened in their name, not only contact PayPal but report any fraud to the Federal Trade Commission.
Yes, they really do. It might not seem like it because you won’t necessarily hear back from them immediately but it’s in their best interest to investigate fraud and try to find the person responsible. More importantly, they might not have to follow up with you simply because it was a very clear-cut case.
However, PayPal happens to be particularly vigilant about regularly scanning for fraud, a proactive measure meant to protect customers. As a representative explained, “To prevent fraud and help ensure the safety of the PayPal community, PayPal routinely reviews account activity.”
So in addition to investigating things when you report them, you might find yourself on the receiving end of a frozen account because of this routine service. One customer explained:
“They froze my money. This money was for bills. I have chats I will share with anyone. This money is my money and no one is telling me anything. All I get is scripted automatic replies. This is scary. I trusted PayPal for 10 + years. I just need a non-scripted and specific reply. This is going to hurt me if they do not release and allow me to use my money. They are not providing me with TOS any details or specifics. I have documents where PayPal employees initially lied and blamed my bank (*****). They put me on some type of fraud review. It is not my bank. They initiated this process and won’t help me.”
If a scammer gets a hold of your bank account number through a financial service or financial platform like PayPal, they can then cause a lot of problems not just with your third party platform but directly with the banks you have linked to your platform. And with PayPal, chances are you have more than one account linked to it. Scammers can:
Still not having any luck with PayPal? If you aren’t getting a response or the response you get isn’t satisfactory, consider consumer arbitration. FairShake can help.
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