Consumer complaint received 2026-02-04 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: TX

Complaint narrative:
Company : PayPal , Inc .

I am filing this complaint regarding PayPals refusal to reimburse multiple unauthorized transactions from my PayPal account, despite PayPals own acknowledgment of suspected unauthorized access and despite my subsequent appeal.

I have maintained a personal PayPal account since XXXX ( email : XXXX ), linked to my XXXX XXXX XXXX checking account. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXXour unauthorized transactions were initiated from my account to two PayPal accounts that are completely unknown to me. I did not authorize any of these transactions, do not recognize the recipients, and have no personal or business relationship with them.

The unauthorized transactions are as follows : Two transactions to XXXX XXXX in the amount of {$500.00} each ( one completed ; one did not complete, yet PayPal continues attempting to debit this amount from my bank account ) Two transactions to XXXX XXXX in the amounts of {$400.00} and {$500.00}, both completed The total amount involved is {$1900.00}. Some of these transactions were labeled as Friends & Family, while others were labeled as payments to a seller, even though the recipients are unknown to me and I did not initiate or authorize any of these payments. I do not know whether these recipients are individuals or businesses. This inconsistent transaction classification is not consistent with my normal account activity and is indicative of account misuse or takeover.

I discovered the unauthorized activity on the morning of XX/XX/XXXX, when I noticed PayPal attempting to deduct additional funds from my XXXX XXXX XXXX checking account, including an attempt to collect the previously failed {$500.00} transaction. 

At approximately XXXX XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX, PayPal emailed me stating : It looks like someone was trying to use your PayPal account without your permission.

PayPal then temporarily restricted my account, including disabling the ability to send money, receive money, and withdraw funds. This communication clearly indicates that PayPal itself detected unauthorized or suspicious activity on my account.

I filed a formal unauthorized transaction complaint with PayPal on XX/XX/XXXX. Within minutes, PayPal rejected my claim, stating only that the transactions were consistent with your account activity. No meaningful investigation appears to have been conducted, and PayPal did not request any additional information, documentation, or clarification before denying my claim.

A few days later, I filed a formal appeal of this decision. PayPal again rejected the appeal, citing the same generic reason, without addressing PayPals prior acknowledgment of unauthorized use, without explaining how the transactions were deemed authorized, and without providing any evidence of an actual investigation.

Despite acknowledging suspected unauthorized access, PayPal has refused to reimburse the completed unauthorized transactions and continues attempting to collect the failed {$500.00} transaction from my bank account.

I believe PayPal failed to : Adequately prevent or mitigate unauthorized access to my account Conduct a reasonable or good-faith investigation into clearly unauthorized transactions Act consistently with its own fraud detection findings Provide a meaningful appeal review Cease collection efforts on an unauthorized transaction

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation