Pay pal scam

Darcy1915

I’m a victim of a PayPal scam and really need some help and advice. 

On the 11th of may. 5 transactions occurred on my PayPal account. 

This first was a money pool setup. The second, a person put in £699. The 3rd I then transferred that money to my bank, although I didn’t and the bank isn’t mine that the money went to. The 4th transaction, a person put in £799, the 5th transaction I then sent that money back to that person. 

I didn’t do any of these transactions. Neither do I know any of these people.
I phoned PayPal immediately, I was told, don’t worry it’s clearly a mistake and it will sort it self out. 

Then a few days later I was -799 as the 4th transaction was asking for the money back even tho I have an email stating I already sent that back. 

So I phoned PayPal again and they confirm it was a scam and that they will work on it. 

Now I can’t get into my account at all. I got a email confirming that all the transactions above where unauthorised. 

That’s the only information I got from the fraud team in may, now however person 4 is chasing  there £799. My account is -799, PayPal are now harassing me for the 799. Even tho they have confirmed that’s it’s a scam and there on my side, there in dispute with the other persons bank. So I then asked for a manager to phone me. A manager did phone me, but rather then introducing them selfs from PayPal, he just said when he called, hello, I’m told you wanted to talk to me, not hello I’m from PayPal, absolutely awful service, 
I just don’t know what to do, I’m not paying them any money, as it’s there mistake. For allowing this to happen. There threatening me with debt collectors even tho the case is still ongoing. I just really need some good solid advice on what to do next?

Teapot55

You must be really worried. I know I would be. 

I’m wondering if you should be phoning your bank to let them know what has happened. You don’t want Paypal trying to take the £799 from your linked account. 

MalMonroe

My daughter was the victim of a very similar PayPal scam and PayPal confirmed she had been scammed but not to worry as they were in dispute with the other person's bank. They froze her PayPal account. As in your case.  

Time dragged on and in absolute desperation (she felt that PayPal didn't believe her, in spite of their protests to the contrary) she sent an email to Anna Tims at the Guardian, see this link - https://www.theguardian.com/money/series/yourproblems

To our absolute amazement, not long afterwards, her letter was published and Anna helped her to get PayPal to sort out the problem immediately, unfreeze her account and remove any 'outstanding debt' (which was pure fiction). 

You may not want to do that but my daughter was desperate and at her wits' end and it worked. She felt as if everyone she spoke to at PayPal was speaking back in a foreign language. Her PayPal account was also apparently in debit by $300 - when she hadn't even used it for overseas transactions and didn't know what was happening. She was also threatened with debt collectors but she stood firm and did not send them a penny. Don't let this threat scare you.

I cannot believe that they are so incompetent. Your situation is almost exactly the same as that of my daughter and it's still happening. If you google PayPal and fraud you'll find that many other people have suffered and are suffering in the same way to this very day.

One thing I will say, though, is that PayPal never did take any money from my daughter's bank account. They are not allowed to do that without the account holder's permission because that's just plain theft. So please don't worry about that. And if they do steal your money, you will get it back. 

You could contact Action Fraud.  They have received many complaints about this kind of PayPal scam.

You can also complain to the Financial Ombudsman on this link - https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faqs/all/can-complain-paypal

Although the Ombudsman may take a bit longer than Anna Tims to sort things out as they have a bit of a backlog. But they did help me with a problem recently. I had to wait but they sorted it out.

Citizens Advice may also be able to offer advice

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/

I know it's really frustrating but it may take a while to sort. Try not to panic because that's when you may start paying people who don't deserve to be paid. 

You really could do worse than copy and paste your post above into an email and send it to Anna T. Even if your letter isn't published, the team at the Guardian may be able to offer advice. 

All is not lost. I do wish you well, as I know exactly what you're going through.