Consumer complaint received 2025-01-05 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I was approached by a stranger ( XXXXXXXX XXXX mid XXXX 's, slim build, around XXXX, XXXX ) around my house when I was on my way to work. He told me he left his phone on XXXX and asked me for help. I used the XXXX XXXX ( which will hide my phone number ) to call the number he provided, but no one picked up. As I tried to walk away, he grabbed my phone and started typing into it. I asked if he is texting the driver and he said yes. However, I was really suspicious because his fingers keep swiping and he seemed to be very nervous and distressed. I told him I need my phone back because I was late for work but he kept telling me the driver was replying and he would circle back in couple minutes. Feeling unsafe and uncertain if he was armedI am a woman and was aloneI chose not to escalate the situation ( stand behind him to check what he was doing on my phone or grab my phone back ). After approximately XXXX minutes, he handed my phone back, said the driver had arrived, and quickly ran away although I did not see a car nearby. On the way to work, I immediately checked my accounts and found an email from XXXX to confirm a {$3000.00} transaction on Venmo. I immediately blocked it and went into my Venmo account and found out there was a {$2500.00} transfer to " XXXX XXXX ''. I immediately contacted Venmo, XXXX, and the police department to report the fraud. Venmo told me there was another transaction of {$45000.00}, which was denied due to insufficient fund ( total : {$2500.00} + {$3000.00} + {$4500.00} ). I requested Venmo to freeze the receiver 's account so he would not have access to the fund and the agent told me this is what they usually do during investigation. Venmo assured me they would freeze the recipients account during their investigation. However, I later received a misdirected email meant for the recipient stating, " We are happy to keep this disputed amount of {$2500.00} USD available in your Venmo balance as we continue to resolve this case. '' This suggested that the account was never actually frozen. XXXX initially credited my account on XX/XX/XXXX, but later reversed the credit on XX/XX/XXXX, claiming Venmo had denied the claim. When I followed up with Venmo, they said the case was still under review. Throughout this process, neither XXXX nor Venmo contacted me for additional information ( Venmo customer service repeatedly assure me that their claims departments would reach out within 10 business days ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I proactively submitted my police report to both institutions using links provided by their customer service teams ( not their claim department ), who also didn't know why no one had ever contacted me. Later that day, Venmo informed me I had " lost '' the case because I filed the dispute through my financial institution. I suppose they meant because the money came from my checking account not from Venmo balance, it is not their responsibility. However, this reasoning feels both unjustified and misleading, as the source of the funds should not negate their responsibility to investigate the fraud properly ( not to mention a lot of people also encounter privacy breach with Venmo because of their faulty system design ). Furthermore, had XXXX sent me transaction confirmation emails for each unauthorized payment, I could have blocked all transactions, not just the {$3000.00} XXXX. Venmo is dodging their responsibilities to protect customer 's assets from frauds ( saying I " lost '' because the money came from my bank directly and not my Venmo balance so it is not their business ), lies about how they handle fraud ( not actually freezing the scammer 's account and stolen asset, no claim specialist contacted me within 10 business days x 2 ), and defective security system against unauthorized transactions. I hope CFPB can intervene to ensure my case is fairly reviewed, my funds are recovered, and appropriate measures are taken to prevent others from becoming victims of similar fraudulent activity. This experience is extremely frustrating and discouraging as I was just trying to be a kind and helpful person. It is important for this person to get his legal consequences as this amount of money already constitute a felony, and not just a crime. From how quick that person was able to do 3 transactions within 5 minutes, he has obviously done it several times. It also reflects how easy it is to break through Venmo 's security system even though I have my biometrics turned on ( by choosing forget password and use PIN code sent via XXXX  to reset password, etc ). It is even more ridiculous that they send the message meant for the receiver to my account, which just demonstrate how careless they are handling these cases ( and cause even more mental distress to the victim! ). If that person can get away with the money, this is basically encouraging crime and more people will fall victim to him.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation