Consumer complaint received 2024-06-04
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc (DC)

A fraudulent case was made on an old PayPal account of mine that had been inactive for several years. The PayPal website told me no account existed under the email address, so I had no way to access it to refute the case. When I alerted PayPal to the activity on this old account, they told me I didnt have to worry about it because the account was closed, and they ignored my reports of fraud. Nevertheless, the case was decided in a scammers favor, I had no opportunity to pay the cost, and it was sent to a collections agency. 

PayPal has told me this old account is closed, but it clearly isnt. I am requesting written confirmation that the original account associated with the following transactions is closed for good. I would additionally like PayPal to contact the collections agency XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) on my behalf to recall the {$100.00} debt ( Reference Number : XXXX ) and terminate their collection authority as I never had an opportunity to reply to the case or pay the amount, PayPal Support repeatedly provided me inaccurate information, and it was fraudulent activity in the first place. 

I would gladly pay the amount to PayPal even though it was due to fraudulent activity but I do not want a collections account to appear on my credit report. 

The following is a timeline of events that led to this situation : XXXX XXXX, XXXX I received an email from PayPal ( XXXX ) titled Case ID # XXXX has been automatically closed. The email said a case opened by XXXX XXXX had been closed because it was not escalated, and as a result I owed no funds. I confirmed the senders address, and that this was actually from PayPal and not a phishing email. 

This raised red flags for me, as I had not used a PayPal account associated with XXXX in more than five years, and I thought I had closed the account several years ago. When I clicked the button to view the case details, it took me to a login page. I immediately attempted to reset my password on paypal.com using this email address, and was told that no account existed. 

The email provided the Case ID : XXXX ; a transaction date of XX/XX/XXXX ; a transaction amount of {$72.00} USD ; a Transaction ID : XXXX ; and an Invoice ID : XXXX. 

I did not know who XXXX XXXX was and I had not used this account, so I assumed this was some sort of fraudulent case being leveled against my inactive account. While I was glad this case was resolved in my favor, it concerned me that there was activity on what I believed to be a closed account, and I didnt want this to happen again. 

I tried to create a new account with the email XXXX to see if it would allow me to access the XXXX XXXX. I was able to successfully create a new account under this email address despite the fact it was apparently the subject of an existing case but this new account was not linked to the case as I hoped it would be, so I couldnt see details for the fraudulent claim. 

I called PayPal at XXXX, provided the Transaction ID, and was told that the account at XXXX associated with that Transaction ID is a closed account and that I wouldnt have to worry but that they could see I created a new, unrelated account with that email earlier in the day. 


XXXX XXXX, XXXX I received a new email from PayPal to XXXX titled Your buyer has filed a case. The email stated that a buyer has filed a chargeback with their credit card stating they canceled recurring billing despite prior confirmation from PayPal that this had been a closed account for a long period of time. 

The email provided the Case ID : XXXX ; a transaction amount of {$89.00} USD ; a transaction date of XX/XX/XXXX ; a buyer name of XXXX XXXX ; and a Transaction ID XXXX XXXX. 

The email provided a button to respond to the case, stating, Log in to your PayPal account and go to the XXXX XXXX to provide any information you might have by XX/XX/XXXX to help us resolve this case. 

It again raised red flags that this had the same transaction date as the prior case and I was frustrated this was happening again after PayPal Support assured me the account at XXXX was closed. 

Because I couldnt log into this account, I had no way to provide information to refute this case. I dont know who XXXX XXXX XXXX or why another dispute would even be able to be filed with a long-inactive account that PayPal stated was closed. There is no conceivable transaction that would have been made on this account especially one with recurring billing, so this was clearly a fraudulent case. 


XXXX XXXX, XXXX I received an email to XXXX titled Reminder : Action required for Case ID XXXX. 

This email contained new information, including a contact for XXXX XXXX : XXXX ; the Buyers Transaction ID : XXXX ; and the Invoice ID : XXXX. 

I reached out to XXXX XXXX via a phone number I found online at fpta.org ( XXXX, ext. XXXX ), and she stated she hadnt used PayPal or filed a dispute. If you reach out, Im sure she could confirm this. I imagine someone must have gained unauthorized access to her account and is using it to file fraudulent disputes so she could also be a victim of fraud. 

The email again told me to log into the XXXX PayPal account to provide supporting documentation for the case. I still had no way to access this account, as I had been told it was closed, I couldnt reset my password, and now I had created a new account with the same email address that appears to be completely disconnected. 

I tried replying to the correspondence Id received from XXXX and received no response. I also reported the fraudulent activity to XXXX and received a confirmation email of my request titled Thanks for your submission, but never received a follow-up. I also called PayPal and was unable to reach a live agent. 


XXXX XXXX, XXXX I received an email to XXXX titled Update on Case ID XXXX that stated that the disputed amount of {$89.00} USD had been debited from my account without a listed reason, along with a {$15.00} USD Dispute Fee. 

This occurred without me being able to provide any supporting documentation to refute this fraudulent case. I also received no notice that this would need to be paid nor did I have access to the original XXXX PayPal account to even make a payment. 

I was livid that this occurred despite PayPal Support previously assuring me me that this account was closed and giving me no opportunity to make statements in my defense. 


XXXX XXXX, XXXX I received a letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX a collections agency, stating that they maintained a {$100.00} USD debt from PayPal that needed a response by XX/XX/XXXX, with Reference Number : XXXX and Account Number : XXXX. I put together that this was the {$89.00} disputed amount in addition to the {$15.00} dispute fee, totaling {$100.00}. 

I was shocked that PayPal would send fraudulent debt to a collections agency without giving me the opportunity to dispute it, while ignoring that I reported it as fraud to PayPal support, and while not giving me any alert the debt needed to be paid or way to pay the debt. 

I called PayPal Support again and was again told that the old XXXX account associated with the case had been closed. I asked how an account they told me was closed could have activity that I couldnt even refute and they told me again that the account was closed, which was extremely unhelpful. I demanded to speak to a supervisor to prevent this issue from happening in the future, and I was told Id receive a call back which never came. 

Because I am not certain that this issue will not come up in the future, I request that PayPal provide me with written confirmation that my account associated with Case ID : XXXX is truly closed and will no longer face fraudulent cases. 

I also request that PayPal contact XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on my behalf to recall the {$100.00} debt and terminate their collection authority. I never had an opportunity to reply to the case or pay the amount, it was fraudulent activity, and PayPal Support repeatedly provided me inaccurate information, ignored my fraud reports, and assured me something like this couldnt happen. 

If PayPal is not amenable to these requests, I will seek to retain counsel and pursue legal options, as I have lengthy documentation of fraudulent activity being perpetuated on my account. 


XXXX XXXX, XXXX I sent a certified letter to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX USPS XXXX XXXX XXXX ) asking them to provide me with relevant documentation under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to validate this debt within 30 days of receipt which the collections agency failed to do. 

Thank you for your consideration!