Consumer complaint received 2025-02-04 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: PA

Complaint narrative:
On Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, an unauthorized user who had taken control of my PayPal account made crypto purchases and sent much of the funds out of my account to a cryptocurrency wallet. 

That morning, at XXXX XXXX, I started to receive back-to-back emails from PayPal stating that cryptocurrency purchases were complete. I had made no such purchases, nor had anyone in my household. I quickly realized something was very wrong and attempted to log into my account. I discovered that I could not access my PayPal account using my password. I was able to go through the Forgot Password process, send a code to my phone, and regain access to my account. 

I changed my password, hoping that would stop the transactions, but the email notifications continued to arrive on my phone because the unauthorized transactions were still actively taking place. I turned on two-factor authentication and found the page on PayPals website where I could log out individual devices that had active sessions.

After rapidly clicking through the list to log out some of the devices, PayPals site froze, and I could not make further changes or view anything. This was at XXXXXXXX XXXX The transaction emails stopped at this point, so I believe I had successfully locked out the person who was hacking my account. 

PayPals site remained frozen and non-functional for XXXX minutes at this point. 

I called PayPal by phone, but their offices were not open, and I was unable to reach a human operator. The automated system wanted me to add funds and informed me about a hold on one of the unauthorized transactions. I attempted to navigate the system to speak to a PayPal representative, but I was not getting much help. Eventually, I pressed the numeral 1 several times in a row, and the system provided more options, including the option to dispute a transaction. 

I disputed the most recent transaction. The system asked if I wanted to dispute others. I agreed and disputed a few of the unauthorized transactions until the system said it could not add one of the transactions to the claim and that I would need to speak to a representative when available. It was unclear whether the automated phone system had successfully stopped or disputed the active transactions.

I returned to PayPals website, which was finally working again, and found the page where I could dispute transactions online. I added all of the unauthorized transactions to a dispute claim. 

A few hours later, at XXXX XXXX I received an email stating the dispute had been closed. It claimed the transactions were consistent with my PayPal and payment history. However, I have never bought cryptocurrency through PayPal, so this is not consistent with my history. To my knowledge, there has never been a flurry of multiple transactions totaling thousands of dollars within a XXXX period. This is not consistent with my account activity. 

I paid a fee at my bank to block the fraudulent transactions from PayPal. Some of the cryptocurrency funds were immediately removed from my account and sent via the XXXXXXXX XXXX during that 12-minute window. The remaining cryptocurrency funds from the unauthorized transactions are still in my PayPal account and have not been touched by me. 

That evening, around XXXXXXXX XXXX I spoke with a PayPal representative on the phone. I relayed the details of what had happened. She said she would reopen the case for review. I asked where the logins had originated and whether they could provide the XXXX address. The representative told me she did not have that information. 

On Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXXXXXX XXXX., I received a message stating that the reopened claim had also been closed, again claiming the transactions were consistent with my PayPal and payment history. The email mentioned I could request a copy of the documents used to determine the final outcome. 

At XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a message to the claim appeal address provided in the email, requesting the documentation. AXXXX XXXX XXXX., I received an email stating there was a message for me in PayPals internal Message Center. The message said an XXXX address had been consistently logged in since XX/XX/XXXX, and that supporting documents were attached. However, there was an image of a broken image link where I expected to see the documentation, and no documents were available. I tried viewing the message on three different browsers and on PayPals most up-to-date mobile app but could not access the attachment.

I responded and asked for the documents to be resent. I received a similar email from a different technician with the same result. I installed a fourth browser and viewed the message on all four browsers as well as on the PayPal mobile app. I still could not access any attachment. I explained the methods I had used, asked if there was a specific way to retrieve the documents, and requested that they send them via email instead of through the internal Message Center. 

In total, I have requested this information about 10 times through their electronic messaging system. Each time, I received a similar response with no guidance on how to access the attachments and no direct email follow-up as requested. I attached a screenshot of the broken image link multiple times to provide evidence of the issue. Despite my efforts to communicate clearly and suggest alternative methods, each response was nearly identical, offering no resolution. 

No one working on the claim will speak with me or address my concerns. It should be apparent from their logs that I was changing my password, enabling two-factor authentication, and logging out devices at the same time the transactions were occurring in an effort to stop them. I also provided evidence that another nearly identical transaction, sent to the same XXXX XXXX, occurred on the same day, suggesting that the same individual may have accessed at least one other account and used a similar process to take funds. 

I have called PayPal multiple times and have been transferred between various departments. Each representative tells me they can not assist and transfers me again. Eventually, I am told that the employees who can help me are only available through the electronic messaging system, which has repeatedly denied my claim. 

These were not authorized transactions. 
This activity is not consistent with the frequency of my transactions, and I have never purchased cryptocurrency through PayPal. 
My password had been changed, and I was initially unable to access my account when the hack occurred. 
I am a long-time customer and my account has been in good standing for the 17 years I have had it. 

All of this has been ignored and denied repeatedly. Now, I am receiving frequent messages and app notifications from PayPals internal collections department, stating that I owe a large sum of money for these unauthorized transactions.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief