Fraudulent PayPal Account Created Using My Email Address

Zoom7000

Right, I've had the right run of the mill this week. Someone has managed to create a fraudulent PayPal and eBay account using my email address. (Live.com) They have used my first name, but a different surname. They have used a delivery address somewhere in the north of England where I have never visited in my life and used someone else's credit card. I thought it was an honest case of wrong email input when the account was created. However, recently I got all these emails from PayPal saying they have received chargebacks from the credit card company because the person who owns the credit card has complained that they probably didn't make the purchases. One of the sellers emailed me saying he wants the money back within 3 days or will start legal action. I emailed him telling him that I was not this person and it was not my delivery address or credit card. He was not too happy and said he will be taking legal action. I told him to go ahead, because it was not my name on the purchases, not my credit card and not my delivery address.

I called PayPal and the Indian Support didn't really know what was going on. So, basically after much difficulty, I have sent the emails to spoof@ebay.co.uk, spoof@paypal.co.uk and service@paypal.co.uk. I also sent an email to PayPal through their help centre with much difficulty not being in control of the account that was created, but have not heard anything back from them.

I'd like to know, how someone can create a PayPal account without clicking Activate in the activation email. As far as I'm aware no one has comprimised my email account, but I have changed my password anyway.

Is there an email address that I can complain the issue to eBay and PayPal without the need for an actual PayPal account and not have to summerise in 1000 words? :mad:

frivolous_fay

I would try Live Help in the useful links sticky. Don't waste your time trying to email idiots.

iieee

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are you sure they're not phishing emails? I get those sort of emails all the time to addresses that I'm not registered for ebay with.

Have you been onto the paypal website and seen if it will send you a new password if you click on the 'forgotten your password?' link? That would prove if the account actually exists. It seems like a strange thing for a scammer to do when hotmail addresses are easy to come by.

soolin

The simple answer is that a new account cannot be opened unless someone had access to your email account to activate the link when it was sent. Therefore this leaves the possibilities already mentioned above that either you have a key logger virus and someone does have access to your email as well, or else the emails themselves are phishes.

Zoom7000

Right, I gave PayPal a call using a number I got from another forum, anyway explained everything to the guy in the Resolutions centre, and he's put a double restriction on the account and requested that my email addy be removed from the account, however, he did advise me to ditch the email account and create a new one, but I explained that is rather annoying seeing as I use the email addy for other things. Anyway, we established that I have nothing to do with the issue and that my email addy was fraudulently used.

He said he has no contact with eBay though, and I haven't received any details from eBay but I might like to inform them of the situation. I think I'll leave it until they contact me because I have never had any emails from eBay.

As far as I know, my email account hasn't been compromised. I didn't have any suspicious emails sent out from my address and all of the PayPal emails have been always been unread. I have never clicked any links in any of the emails so I have no idea how the account could have been activated. The weird thing is all the purchase confirmation emails used to say the account and delivery address are not verified. So it is all as big mystery. Either way, PayPal have been notified and hopefully that is that sorted and now I can rest!

BritBrat

Who is your Email with?

Some like Orange you can change what is before the "@" sign and you will still get the mail, I must have 100's of different ones on the same account using that method.

Also if you have a domain name and use that for Email you can do the same but you need to edit your settings to [EMAIL="*@mydomain.com"]*@mydomain.com[/EMAIL] then you can put anything where the "*" is and it will get to you.

Orange example: MSE[EMAIL="MSE@MY_NAME.orangehome.co.uk"]@MY_NAME.orangehome.co.uk[/EMAIL]

You can make orange accounts for free (Dialup) but you have to dial in every now and then or they will delete the account, but for the sake of 20-50p a year who cares.