Consumer complaint received 2026-05-05 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
On XXXX XXXX XXXX, I was targeted in a coordinated XXXX XXXX scam involving multiple fraudsters. I listed furniture for sale on XXXX XXXX when a person using the fake name " XXXX XXXX '' contacted me expressing interest in purchasing my item. Shortly after, I received a phone call at approximately XXXXXXXX XXXX from phone number XXXX. The caller impersonated a PayPal representative and claimed they were calling to verify my account so I could receive payment for my sale. They knew my full name, email address, phone number, and home address indicating they had researched me thoroughly before executing this scam. The caller walked me through creating two PayPal XXXX XXXX and instructed me to send them to the same phone number XXXX, claiming this was part of their account verification process. I was not aware I was actually sending real money to fraudsters. I was deliberately deceived into creating these links under false pretenses by criminals impersonating PayPal. Simultaneously " XXXX XXXX '' kept me engaged on XXXX XXXX, distracting me while the fraud was being executed. I also received text messages from XXXX impersonating PayPal saying they were validating my account. The two XXXX XXXX were immediately claimed by : - XXXX XXXX PayPal Transaction ID : XXXX {$500.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX PayPal Transaction ID : XXXX {$500.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX This was a coordinated criminal operation involving multiple individuals working together to steal {$1000.00} from my PayPal account through social engineering fraud. Actions I took : - XXXX XXXX XXXX : Immediately called PayPal fraud department and reported the unauthorized transactions - XXXX XXXX XXXX : PayPal opened a case but closed it immediately stating these were valid transactions - XXXX XXXX XXXX : Attempted to reopen case through PayPal Resolution Center was blocked - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Blocked all PayPal ACH transactions at my bank - XXXX XXXX XXXX : Turned off overdraft protection on linked bank account XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Reported fraud to PayPal via XXXX, XXXX and XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX : Filed FTC complaint at ReportFraud.ftc.gov - XXXX XXXX XXXX : Called PayPal again requesting case to be reopened PayPal closed case a second time stating valid transactions - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Filed IC3 complaint with FBI - XXXX XXXX XXXX : Opened formal fraud dispute with bank PayPal has failed to conduct a proper fraud investigation and has repeatedly closed my case without acknowledging that I was deliberately deceived by criminals impersonating their representatives. This is a well documented XXXX XXXX social engineering scam pattern that PayPal is aware of. PayPal 's failure to investigate and reverse these transactions has caused me a financial loss of {$1000.00}. I am requesting the CFPB to : 1. Require PayPal to conduct a proper fraud investigation 2. Require PayPal to reverse both fraudulent transactions totaling {$1000.00} 3. Hold PayPal accountable for failing to protect customers from known social engineering scam patterns on their platform Total financial loss : {$1000.00} Payment platform : PayPal Scammer phone number : XXXX Date of fraud : XXXX XXXX XXXX FTC Complaint Reference : XXXX XXXX Submission ID : XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation