PayPal scams are not the most common because the platform has many security measures to prevent them and protect user data. However, they can still happen, and it is important to be alert to any strange notifications.
Different users have gone through this type of theft; unfortunately, several have fallen into the scammers’ game to get their data and personal information. Although most cases have been successfully resolved, the bad experience remains.
Cases of money theft through PayPal
As we mentioned before, it is a situation that has arisen more than once. One famous case was that of Dolores Reed, a PayPal user with many years of trust in the platform’s services.
She received an email from PayPal indicating fraudulent activity on her account. Panicking, she logged in and clicked on the link in the email to change her account password and prevent theft.
However, the fraudsters sent the email, and they had full access to Dolores’ account. They emptied the account with hundreds of dollars in a few minutes. Many users have fallen in the same way.
In 2021 alone, approximately $20 billion were estimated to be lost to fraud. This type of scam is known as a “phishing email.” It alerts you to some strange activity so that you enter your data and then they can steal your account information.
What happens if I am scammed on PayPal?
Although it is complicated to detect whether the email is a scam, the best thing to do is call PayPal customer service. Now, if at some point you fall into the scam due to the desperation of the moment, the first step is to make a complaint.
You must call the platform through the contact number found on the platform and explain the situation. That way, an investigation will begin and PayPal can find a way to return the funds to where they belong.
It is not advisable to answer the email received because you will contact the scammers again. It is also necessary to get the authorities required to file a report and try to locate the scammers.
Another alternative is to log into your PayPal account and cancel any “pending” payments being processed. If the scammers are making a transfer to their accounts, you may still have time to stop the payment.
This procedure is as simple as going to the account summary and looking for the strange payments under “pending” and clicking “cancel” under the payment. To complete the cancellation, click on “cancel payment”.
The downside is that most scammers accept payments immediately to prevent account owners from being able to cancel transactions before they are fully processed.
Can the money be recovered?
The only way to get your money back is when you act immediately and become aware of the scam to contact technical support and block the transaction you are about to make.