Scary - Paypal fraud attempt

[Libby Pritchett]

So, this morning, I had an email receipt of a recent debit card purchase using my Paypal debit card for $1 to hotels.com in Paris, France.

Needless to say, I am NOT planning on paying for a hotel in France.

So, I called Paypal because I was worried that maybe that $1 was just a "test" to see if they could put a larger purchase through.

Thank goodness I called! Someone had tried to charge over $900 on my debit card!!! Thankfully, paypal recognized it as fraud and denied the transactions. But since my card has been compromised, I had to cancel it and order a new one which will take 2-4 weeks to arrive. Inconvenient for sure, but SO much better than dealing with identity theft!

And thank goodness for email receipts because I never would've been the wiser without it!

So, I guess the moral of the story is to always check those accounts. My paypal card is attached to my bank account as a back up source of funding, so this could've gotten UGLY.

[maryinaz]

Yikes - that is definitely scary! I've had my debit card number stolen and they charged $500 against it - thankfully the bank refunded us within a few days.

I'll definitely keep my eye on Paypal!

[heathergw]

Yikes!!! So glad you caught it!!!

[dailydwellin]

Oh, that is very scary!!! I'm so glad you caught it.

[haydensmommy217]

that is scary so glad you caught it going to keep an eye on my paypal too

[Sarah8914]

that is scary! I wonder how it happened?

I actually unlinked my bank acct because I didn't want anything like this to happen. It is connected to a credit card, but I don't worry as much about something happening on a credit card--since it's not my money just sitting there!

So glad you caught it!

eta: didn't realized it was a paypal debit card! I was just referring to my paypal acct.

[Julie Billingsley]

girls, don't get all riled up over Paypal... Libby said it was her Paypal debit card. Same thing could have happened with ANY debit card issued by any bank. Luckily for her it was Paypal because with each transaction they send an email to you, so Libby caught it quick!

Earlier this year I had someone get my Wells Fargo debit card number and charge a plane ticket to Singapore and a bunch of clothes from Justice. Wells Fargo caught it but I didn't know anything about it until I tried to use my card and it was declined. I am 99% certain how my card number was stolen, it was an online place that makes dog IDs that I had just made a purchase from. I also had it done a few years ago when I used a brand new card at a restaurant. It was the only charge on the card, then a week later, I got hit with a giant unauthorized charge. Now I only pay cash at restaurants. grrrr.... why are some people so awful?

Good job Libby on catching that! What a nightmare it could have been!!

[mummytothree]

Ugh so sorry Libby!!! And yes it could have been any where. Hubby just had it happen to his debit card through iTunes!!! Thankfully he too got a text right away and was able to stop it before anything happened!!

Heck I have had it happen to me when I use my own card!!! Last year I used my card twice at Wal Mart in the same day. They were both little purchases and then came home later that night and ordered a $200 dollar carseat online from Wal Mart and not even 2 minutes after I hit purchase (and I had to do verify by Visa also with my chase card) our bank phoned us and we both got texts and emails about it verifying it was really us who placed that online order!!!

The best defense is to make sure you are checking your accounts daily, making sure you are using reputable sites online and not letting your card out of your site when paying at brick and mortar places!!!

[LJSDesigns]

I've had it happen to me through itunes as well and was fortunate that my bank took care of it right away for me. I keep a very close eye on all my accounts as a result.

[Julie Billingsley]

so how is it happening through itunes? Hackers getting into itunes?

[eranslow]

My Mom was just telling me about how someone got my Dad's debit card and was making charges on it - only they were making small charges only once a month. She noticed it first in July and didn't think anything of it (was a $24.99 charge). When she noticed the same amount in August and knew they hadn't done anything she started investigating. Turns out it's a huge scam that's burning a lot of people.

[jaylensmom]

That happened to me...someone went to a grocery store in New York (I'm in California) and charged their groceries...my bank denied the charge and called me to ask if it was me...

[MandaT]

Thankfully you caught it.

I get emails from "PayPal" in my spam a lot that have purchases, etc...on accounts that don't even have PP accounts. Hackers/spammers/phishers are getting crazier daily.

[Tracyfish]

I had that same thing happen with a credit card only they tried to hit it with $0.00 so I never got notification. I just happened to log on and see the transaction and headed it off before they could do anything else. It was from a hotel too with a .com.

[carrie1977]

Oh man....that's so scary that this has happened to so many of you.

[Nikki Epperson]

We don't even have bank debit cards anymore because our numbers kept getting stolen, along with our pin numbers. How does that even happen?!?

So glad you caught it! It's so scary.

[deebirks]

Wow! This has happened to my bank debit card in the past and luckily they turned it off before it turned disastrous. Scary.

[mummytothree]

Originally Posted by Julie Billingsley

so how is it happening through itunes? Hackers getting into itunes?

Yes they hacked my hubby's account and they bought tons of apps (like $100 dollars worth) for their iphones. It was some dude in China. The worst part was he was a slick one and changes all my hubby's info so we would have never know except for our bank!!!

Our bank took care of us in like 2 hours. But he hd to jump through HOOPS to get his account restore. And the worst part is you have to have a debit/credit card tied to your account or have a $$ balance!! So he went and bought $200 bucks worth of iTune gift cards and put that on his account so we didn't have to have our card on there!!!

What's weird is iTunes didn't remove those apps from his account so now we have $100 dollars of useless apps on our account all in Chinese!!!!

[Julie Billingsley]

ah, smart thinking! I just removed my card from the App Store since I have a balance.

[LJSDesigns]

Originally Posted by mummytothree

Yes they hacked my hubby's account and they bought tons of apps (like $100 dollars worth) for their iphones. It was some dude in China. The worst part was he was a slick one and changes all my hubby's info so we would have never know except for our bank!!!

Our bank took care of us in like 2 hours. But he hd to jump through HOOPS to get his account restore. And the worst part is you have to have a debit/credit card tied to your account or have a $$ balance!! So he went and bought $200 bucks worth of iTune gift cards and put that on his account so we didn't have to have our card on there!!!

What's weird is iTunes didn't remove those apps from his account so now we have $100 dollars of useless apps on our account all in Chinese!!!!

What drove me crazy is I don't have an itunes account, I was just purchasing a gift card for my brother, and when I contacted itunes they told me they couldn't help me without an account number. That is when I turned to my bank. My bank took care of it right then and there and even expressed me a new debit card at no fee. Now I am terrified to buy anything at itunes.

[Arual]

We have had this happen to us several times over the past 16 months or so. Our bank told us that our card number is most likely being stolen at the gas pumps (we use it outside at the pumps several times a week.. both my card and my husbands card). So ever since they told us that, we go inside and have the cashier run it through and we haven't had a problem again ... yet... knock on wood.

One time, they went shopping at Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills..... even *I* don't get to shop there, but yet they sure did with my debit card! Jerks. But USAA is awesome and each time this fraud happened, we had our money back quickly.

So .. my point is... try and not use your debit cards outside at the gas pumps.

[my2monkeys]

We had this happen with one of our credit cards - the charging company cancelled the charge so the bank thought it might be just a type error but issued new cards anyways.

One of my really good friends was telling me about how her card has been hit twice. The first time the people ran up a huge charge but after jumping through some hoops her bank returned the money and issued new cards... then it happened again this summer but the bank didn't allow the charges and froze her account. She thinks they got a hold of her credit card numbers when she let the drive thru person swipe her card at a fast food restaurant. These people took her card numbers and "made" cards with their name on it.

[Tronesia]

Similar situation happened with my SO's debit card. Someone hacked into his AOL email account; Microsoft connected is XBOX live acct to the email and they used his email info to change his Microsoft passwords and bought $75 in PC games. Microsoft did not want to believe us but we were both at work that day and only buy XBOX games. We got our bank on the phone with them and they finally cancelled his Microsoft Live account; then opened it again a couple of weeks later and the same person paid $50 to renew a subscription and that's when they finally believed it was fraud. He had to get a new debit card...thankfully, they didn't mess up any of our bill money. I just hate that people have to hack and steal from others...it's just crazy. The worst part- there really is no REAL way to avoid it.

[LenaGardner]

I had it happen...my card being used at real stores....in another state...while my card was in my hand! Apparently they create their own cards now! My bank manager said it happens all the time now. He also warned me about the iTunes thing. He explained to me how they do it, too.

He said it starts with hacking your email. Then they take your email address and see if you have an iTunes acct with that address. They see if the same password works. If it doesn't, they reset the password (which goes to the email they've already hacked). Once they're in...they're in.