Consumer complaint received 2025-04-08 00:00:00
Product: Prepaid card — General-purpose prepaid card
Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer — Charged for a purchase or transfer you did not make with the card
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
In XXXXXXXX XXXX, I was the victim of a well-documented XXXX XXXX ' XXXX XXXX 

In the process I was deceived into opening a PayPal debit card at the direction of the scammersthis was my first time using or opening a PayPal debit card. I was instructed to perform certain steps, like download a screen tracking app, open a PayPal debit card and transfer 'a code amount ' believing I was simply providing a code for a legitimate reason in order to access my XXXX Account again as they claimed my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX been compromised. It turned out to all be part of a scam. As a result, I unknowingly facilitated a fraudulent transaction of approximately {$460.00} to a party on PayPal with the name XXXX. The total amount debited from my account was {$480.00}. 

As I later discovered this scam is not unique and has been reported on by XXXX in an article titled XXXX Customer Service Is A Scam Literally ( Link : https : XXXX ) The article describes the exact tactics that were used on me. 

After realizing I had been scammed, I took immediate action : I reported the charge to PayPal, but they repeatedly denied my claim and I was unable to pursue the other party due to their denial of my claim, stating the transaction was " similar to past activity '' despite the fact that I had never used a PayPal debit card before nor do my typical transactions ever go above {$50.00} on average. 

In frustration I reported the scam to my bank, which conducted an investigation and ruled in my favor, refunding the full amount. I now have documentation from my bank stating that they ruled in my favor and that the charge was fraudulent which is attached. 

I also reported the issue to local police, and have attached the police report. I contacted my phone company, as I feared my phone had been compromised during the scam and can provide phone log information if necessary. 

Additionally, I filed a fraud report with the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ) to officially document the scam which I have provided in order to protect myself from future fraudulent activity. A case number was issued by the FTC, and I am happy to provide further details if needed. The FTC report is attached. 

After my bank refunded the amount, PayPal months later claimed that I had been double credited and had an outstanding balance on the XXXX XXXX suggesting I had received a legitimate " double '' refund that they now needed to recover. They also claimed that my bank had not won their case, despite my bank telling me they had. This claim from PayPal was entirely inaccurate, as the transaction was fraudulent from the start. 

I have made several attempts to resolve the issue with PayPal over the phone and in writing. Each time, I was told that a ticket would be opened, but no written communication was provided or I was halted in my ability to communicate with any person about the reasoning behind PayPal 's steep disagreement of fraud. I was also told that PayPal would contact my bank again per my request when they told me they thought that my bank had not won, but this never happened to my knowledge. When I've tried to explain the situation to PayPals customer service, I was treated rudely and even yelled at by a representative. 

PayPal is now pursuing me for repayment of the funds that my bank refunded, and has stated they are turning my account over to XXXX, a collections agency. 

I have made every good-faith effort to report and resolve this fraud, and my bank validated my claim. 

I am requesting that PayPal cease collections activity, clear the debt, and close this case.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief