Two days ago while reviewing my e-mail, I noticed a note from PayPal. When I clicked on and read my "receipt" for a transaction of $248.78, I was puzzled to say the least. I had absolutely no idea where this came from so I immediately wrote to Pay Pal and called my bank. To make a long story short , someone had hacked into my Pay Pal account and had charged this amount to my account. Thank goodness I caught this in time to have the payment cancelled, but what a hassle. I had to change my bank card and now have to change my accounts to reflect the new information plus I will have to set up a new PayPal account. Has anyone else had this problem. I guess it would be smart to occasionally go in and change your password and security questions. So much for online buying being secure.

Oh no! Glad you caught it in time.

I often get emails that appeat to be from Ebay but are not.
I have been ignoring them. Maybe I'd better pay closer attention.

Glad you're not out any money

Never had a problem in 8 years.
Did they give you any idea how they got the info?
was it phishing?
Sounds like they had your bank info also
what a nightmare!

Yikes...I have an account just for pay pal and an account for the bills and stuff. The pay pal account rarely has over a hundred in it.
I have never had a problem but hear of it now and then....sorry you had to go through that!

When you called PayPal did they tell you about the PayPal security key? It is a somewhat new feature.

I had a similar experience and PayPal immediately locked up the account before the transaction was completed. When I called they gave me the PayPal security key. It is the size of a credit card and displays a random number every time you access or use your PayPal account. The account is useless if you don't have the card. It costs $5.00 and in my opinion it is $5 well spent.

Here is a link for more info: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing_CommandDriven/securitycenter/PayPalSecurityKey-outside]https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/websc...ityKey-outside[/url]

You don't need a new PayPal account, you just need to change your password and get the security key.

I am sorry it happened to you. I, too, had to learn this the hard way. It is a real pain to deal with.

I fell for a phishing e-mail.

It looked EXACTLY like PayPal's blah-blah.

this is why every email from paypal that I am not expecting I immediatly forward to [email protected]
100% of them have been phishing emails and Paypal informs you if it is real or a fake

You know, I had received a letter from Pay Pal the day before stating that there was some irregular activity re:#/...... I looked up my account and there was nothing there at that time that even resembled that reference Number so I let it go.That was however, the first time I had seen the reference to spoof@PayPal (guess I missed it before). I had not read about the security key nor was one offered. I will ask and I know I have to only change my password. They got my bank info though so I am getting a new credit card.In the meantime I am in limbo.

It's kind of hard to find the spoof e-mail address. It's one worth keeping in mind.

Thanks for the info. I am really leary of the letters I get. My account says that I am (forgot the word)cleared to use Pay Pal and all my puchases come directly from my bank. I don't have to make deposits to my account. I also sell on e-bay so those deposits are made but that is not as much as I spend.

I get these phishing emails all the time. I report them immediately to PayPal by hitting the forward button, send to [email protected], and you're done. You don't have to explain anything. They know! In fact you should not add any comments to the email that you are forwarding.

When you get those emails, there is usually a link within it to sign in to your PayPal account. NEVER use that link. It does not sign you into your account, it reveals your password to the person on the other end. Now they can hack your account because you just gave them your password.

I received several fake emails (PayPal, Ebay, Yahoo, banks) just this week - one stating that I had added a new shipping address to my account. It showed some address in another state. Phishing! One showed I had purchased a watch for 369.99 - phishing! One said I needed to update my password - phishing! One said that my inactive account would be deleted if I didn't update my email address. PHISHING!!

Do not click on any link in any email that makes you nervous. It's almost always a phishing scam. Go directly to your account by typing the url or website address into your browser, check it out, report it to security on that site.

Yes, it happened to me once. What a mess!

PS..... If you sell on sites like ebay, etsy, amazon.... do not use the same password for your seller account, paypal account and email account. You should have three totally different passwords as an extra layer of protection.

I am so sorry this happened to you. I hadn't ever noticed the info about the security key before, but I just ordered one. Can never be too careful.

Thanks again for the input. I keep getting these letters from differst banks stating that irregular activity has occured and they need verification of all this info. I send each one to spam without opening it. Those from PayPal look like the real thing from now on I will send to Spoof@PayPal.
LaurieJo, I love your Avatar.

Thanks, my son sent it to me. LOL he knows his mom needs her coffee in the morning!

Sorry to hear you had a problem.

Jeannelle is giving great advice! Never click the link in the email. This applies to any accounts you get links for in your email, not just PayPal or eBay. It's so much safer to go directly to the site and log in.

TOO FUNNY!!

Jeanelle,
Thank you so much I went to paypal and read about what you posted. I should have done this before now. Thank for sharing good advise.

I meant too funny to lauriejo about her avatar.

I've received dummy emails saying it is from Paypal, I forwarded it to Paypal and they informed me it was forged and not from them.

I had this happen with my ebay account, which is a smallish seller account that I haven't used in some time. They purchased something with my account, using the right password. The payee wanted payment and sent me a notice that I owed them money. I contacted Ebay immediately. They were wonderful and cleared it all up in no time. BUT - I now keep separate passwords for ebay and paypal just to be sure. I also NEVER respond to any e:mails asking for info, just delete them.

I didn't know about the security card thing though. I'm going to find out about that! Thanks for telling us.

Glad you got it straightened out. If ever in doubt, don't hesitate to log in and ask them to check into it. They're really good about that sort of thing - they know they're always under attack.

I have the security key but I have to say, I have never had a problem logging into my account without it. They ask a question or two and I was in.

I am the most careful person when it comes to identity theft but my Pay Pal account was hacked several times on year and I had a little over $2,000 come up missing in it from a Skype company in the UK. It took over a month to get it back and after that last time I closed it down and never looked back!!

I will never use PayPal for anything and they would gouge you in fees coming and going. I was running an ebay business and had to have it but about 4 years ago I shut everything down.

Sorry for the issues you had but like I said I have been there and done that.

Billy

The security key is the size of a credit card and my account is set up so that you are required to enter in a random six digit number that the card provides every single time that you log into your account. If you don't have the right number that the key generates, you cannot access the account.

This is different than the security questions you set up yourself and type in the answers to.

That happened to me a couple of years ago. That is why I don't have a Pay Pal account anymore.

As an extra measure, you can set up a separate linked account with your bank.
Keep a minimum balance in the second account, transfer over just the amount you need from your main account to complete the transaction. If there isn't money in the second account, no transaction may take place :wink:
It is easy to get an over draft charge removed when it is a fradulent charge trying to be made :D:D:D

One email we got said paypay...instead of paypal but just looking at it you would think it was paypal so watch for this and send it to [email protected]

Never, ever, ever click on an email from PayPal, your bank or your credit card companies. Always open up a new browser window and type in www.mybank.com Clicking on that link is probably what authorized the PayPal payment.

Yes, I have the actual physical security key that requires you to enter the 6 digit number with your password. In fact I have two because I have two paypal accounts. Mine isn't credit card sized though-it's a small oval thing with a key fob at one end but it's the same idea-you push a button and it gieves you that 6 digit number. And I can still get into my account even without the key. I just have to answer a security question. I've done it a few times, sometimes when I didn't have the key and sometimes when the key wouldn't work. I've never not been able to log in without the key.

I think it's [email protected] and it's the same for ebay. [email protected].

I had this happen to me about four years ago. Finally got my money back but my bank asked me not to use paypal again. They didn't have any security card then. Some sellers on here just take paypal so I just don't buy from them. Too much hassle.

Been there more than you know, beware of all transactions anywhere even the bank

Years ago, I had a paypal account that was hacked into also. Once I got it cleared up I never used the account again.

yikes, I use pay pal all the time. I need to get that card.

One reason i don't use Pay Pal anymore.

I got a call from my credit card company a couple of weeks ago. Somehow someone had gotten my credit card info and was trying to charge huge amounts on it! Luckily the card company thought it was suspicious activity and declined the charges! I had to cancel the card and have a new one issued......There are thieves everywhere, looking for a chance to steal from us! I do use my credit card on line occasionally, but only through secure sources. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Been there, done that. It was a mess. I will not tie my PayPal to a checking.

Whenever you get a PayPal email...assume it is phishing and go to the paypal site...but NOT thru the email...if it is legite, they will have the same info on the real paypal site. Then you can delete them after reporting them to the phishing site.

I had one saying I owed Paypal money and to send it immediately. so happens I had just paid for something so I knew I didn´t owe anything. When I reported it to Paypal they said it was a scam to get me to pay again only this time it would go to them and not anything to do with Paypal

I am so glad that I posted this thread and that you have all put your own experiences down so that I can be reminded that people really are not all good.I guess you think it will never happen to you..... On a brighter side, The bank and Pay Pal have investigated and refunded the $$ to my account. WHEW!!Does'nt that just burn your hoofs when that happens. Thanks to you all for the support. I love you guys.