Paypal break-in...where do I start

[ohiominnie]

Dh just called and asked if I've been buying things with Paypal today? NO! he said he's gotten 4 emails with purchases. I checked Paypal and sure enough...4 transactions totalling over $116 have occurred. I immediately changed my password. Now what?

 

[RaineinMD]

sorry ohiominnie thats a real shame ....i'm not sure what you should do. I would contact paypal immediately!

 

[shades]

I would start by removing any bank accounts/credit cards associated with the Paypal account and then I would completely close that Paypal account. I would then contact the credit card company and ask them to close that account. Then, I would call Paypal and tell them what happened.

I would be concerned with what personal information the hacker gained about me when they accessed my Paypal account. I would find out any information I could about where the person had the items shipped to and then contact the police in that location.

Good luck!!

 

[kfeuer]

Contact Paypal IMMEDIATELY.

This happened to me once (another site I belonged to was hacked, and I stupidly had the same password at alot of different sites). Somebody bought a computer and something else on Ebay using my paypal account. I wasn't held liable for any of it, but it did take a little while to get my money back.

I learned a very important lesson--make your Paypal (and all other passwords at financial sites) a unique password that you don't use anywhere else. My current Paypal password is a random jumble of letters, numbers, and symbols.

 

[CajunDixie]

Were the transactions through Ebay or a shopping site? If it is an online store I'd contact them ASAP and stop the order/delivery of the items. And get the delivery address info.

 

[ohiominnie]

I changed my password.
I changed the security questions
I filed "disputes" via Paypal online. I had alreay held for 10 minutes on the phone with them and I knew they'd give me grief b/c the account is in my dh's name, so I did it online.
I requested the remaining money be sent to my bank account
I removed my credit cards.
Don't know that I want to cancel the paypal account until I get my money out.

All of the transactions did not have any sort of shipping address associated with them. They all went to different people (or different dummy accounts set up) Only one had a website associated with it, which I clicked on, but then "X'd" out of b/c I thought maybe it has spyware associated with it.

Grrrrrr.

 

[bear74]

I just wanted to send PD.
Hope it all gets straightened out soon and whoever is responsible gets caught.

 

[willis37862]

I just returned from vacation and found a email supposedly from paypal saying I had spend 400 on a watch. So i called paypal and got a message saying that lots of these emails had been sent out and what ever you do don't click on the link and answer questions!!! They are fishing for personal info. If the emails from paypal do not have your name and just say dear customer that is a sign they are a fraud. Call paypal customer service for help. Hope it works out !!!!

 

[ohiominnie]

well, dh got the emails....he was busy at work so called me. I logged onto paypal directly (not going through his emails) and the charges were in fact there. Humbug.

 

[Cindi0511]

well, dh got the emails....he was busy at work so called me. I logged onto paypal directly (not going through his emails) and the charges were in fact there. Humbug.

Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man!!!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrr! We got hit for $1,500 a couple of years ago, but fortunately, PayPal got it squared away, and we were not held liable for any of the money. I think you've done what you can right now. Give them a chance to make it right. I can't remember how long it took, but I don't remember it being crazy long.

Hugs -- let us know how it turns out. There IS a lot of phishing going on, but your's sounds like a legit case of fraud.

 

[willis37862]

Sorry it was for real. Hopefully all will work out.

 

[ohiominnie]

thanks, everyone for all of your well wishes, PD and advice.

i agree, it's just a wait and see process now. dh thought he might want to email the ppl who took the money (their emails are on the paypal receipts) but i think that's just adding fuel to their fire. no need to aggrivate ppl. i'm thinking paypal will come through and take care of it for us. in the meantime we'll wait and see.

thanks again!

 

[kilee]

I hope it all goes well.
I got that watch email a few weeks ago too. First thing I did was check my paypal account for the purchase.
I guess this is a good reminder to go ahead and switch up my passwords again. I do keep my banking, ebay, and paypal passwords each unique and to their own. I then have a very generic password I use for most everything else that doesn't involve personal info or anything.

 

[Rootskate]

Same thing happened to me with the "watch" email. The subject line of the email said something about my $195.00 purchase to Watch World, or something like that. I am so used to getting these fake emails from Ebay and Paypal that I didn't even get excited about it. I went and checked my Paypal account and saw that there had been no purchases.

I am sorry that yours was for real. That stinks.