Identify theft

Donna_M_PleaseHelp

Dear MSE,

I have been a victim of identity theft. 

Someone has been using my PayPal account, which I set up many years ago and only used once for paying something online. 

The account was hacked and they changed the email and phone number on the account, meaning I have no access to it. Everyone at PayPal is refusing to speak to me because I don’t hold the email or phone number linked to the account. 

I now have a debt collector agency sending letters to my parents house - where I haven’t lived for 12 years - demanding that I pay the money back. 

I can not afford to pay back the debt that has been racked up in my name. 

What do I do? 

sourcrates

Getting more common unfortunately, make a report to Action fraud, get a reference number from them, then if debt collectors write again, write back and explain the circumstances, give them the ref number, and leave it at that.

See here -

Action Fraud

Once reported, and ref number obtained, you have a defence against any liability, once informed in writing, most collectors should back off.

Make sure access to any bank or card details has been removed, and cannot be accessed by anyone using the PayPal account.

Action fraud won`t do anything, they only act in cases where large scale fraud has taken place.

If this is just happening with a PayPal account, it should not affect your credit file, as its not a credit product, which is one less hassle to contend with.