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FYI Paypal Fraud — Parallax Forums

FYI Paypal Fraud

metron9metron9 Posts: 1,100
edited 2012-02-28 23:32 in General Discussion
On Jan 20th I could not sleep so I did some stuff on my computer. I noticed an email that had just cam in from paypal that said my account was being charged over 700 bucks.
Thing is, the account I had attached to the paypal account had only $9.00 in it. It was a dormant account and I could not even make a transaction on the account even if I was at the bank in person!

Within minutes
1. I emailed paypal's fraud division about the transaction
2. Changed my password
3. removed my bank account from the paypal accounts records.

That was January 20th I have not heard or got any email from paypal's fraud division.

It is now january 29th and I have one new email that says $250.00 transaction from my bank to paypal account was denied
Checking the side I see there are now a total of FOUR transactions taking money from my dormant account causing a $35.00 insufficient funds fee.

I went to the bank, put a stop payment on paypal and filled out a form for fraud.

How bad of a system does paypal have to have to allow four truncations to occur, three of them AFTER I changed the password, removed the bank account from their system, and filed a fraud case minutes after the first transaction?
I talked with them this morning and they said the account was put on restriction. When? the forth transaction happened TODAY!

I will be removing myself from any further business with paypal as I close any accounts I have with them.

Since the password was changed on Jan 20th, I have to assume the password system files at paypal have been compromised
I will further assume that accounts that do not get used much should be checked and if you have a paypal account to put a stop payment on paypal. (My bank does it for free to stop fraud)
Since the email was sent to the fraud division on January 20th I will further assume paypals fraud division is also compromised.
Even my bank's system is compromised or flawed to allow transactions via internet to make three transactions with insufficient funds to occur (the forth expected todays posting) without taking some action.

My son thinks I am paranoid, he said that January 20th. We shall see what he thinks when I show him the transaction report from the bank.


Edit>>>

Further, since I did not receive an email when the following two transactions were made until they were denied I must also assume the fraud perpetrator is not using the main system of logging into paypal using a password if you assume the password system is not compromised.
But why do it if paypal is returning the funds to the bank? Is it someone at the bank that skims the $35.00 charges? Perhaps they are pocketing those fees and the system is accounting for it.

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Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
Think outside the BOX!

Post Edited (metron9) : 1/29/2009 7:18:00 PM GMT

Comments

  • PropabilityPropability Posts: 142
    edited 2009-01-29 19:56
  • metron9metron9 Posts: 1,100
    edited 2009-01-29 20:20
    Thank's for the link. I posted this at avrfreaks as well. Carl's problem was a Phishing email link. The problem I posted is not and is a much deeper problem on both paypals side and the bank I HAD that account with.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
    Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
    Think outside the BOX!
  • mirrormirror Posts: 322
    edited 2009-01-29 21:18
    My experience with PayPal has been more positive:

    I suspected that I had a transaction go wrong, so called their customer support line. The person at customer support had average english speaking skills, but was at least able to figure out that I needed to go to technical support (and she told me how to get there).

    Technical support is all web based (with assurances that they'll get back to you). I was rather skeptical, but filled in the web form with as many details as possible. Within two hours technical support returned my email, and the issue was resolved.

    I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the speed with which they acted.

    I guess the challenge for PayPal (and eBay and Amazon) is the sheer quantity of traffic they deal with. It is the ideal environment for fraudsters to lurk around in the shadows.

    Make sure you use secure passwords, including numbers, letters and punctuation (if allowed).

    *pa55-w0rd* is strangely more secure than password - and not a whole lot harder to remember.

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  • metron9metron9 Posts: 1,100
    edited 2009-01-30 07:29
    Well i used something like D1kHf47Tz so I can't even remember it.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Think Inside the box first and if that doesn't work..
    Re-arrange what's inside the box then...
    Think outside the BOX!
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-01-30 20:03
    I've been using the paypal security key for a while now - I find paypal more convenient than digging out my credit card and sharing my CC info with multiple companies. Using that might have saved you a lot of trouble. (or maybe not, who knows?)

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  • DownfallDownfall Posts: 1
    edited 2012-02-28 06:29
    I've been using the paypal security key for a while now - I find paypal more convenient than digging out my credit card and sharing my CC info with multiple companies. Using that might have saved you a lot of trouble. (or maybe not, who knows?)

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!

    I'm sorry for bumping this old thread but I found no other thread about that: Does anybody have experience with this Paypal einzahlung security key? It costs over $25 for me (Switzerland) and that's very expensive especially when you're unsure if it works properly. Maybe you can share your experience.
  • al1970al1970 Posts: 64
    edited 2012-02-28 23:32
    Many people have had problems with PayPal see thread "Paypal? " I'll never use PayPal again!
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