Online fraud

[Otis]

Anyone else suffered with it?

A while back my missus had someone buy an iPad and a laptop from our Groupon account and now tonight I have just had three messages from Paypal saying I have requested the transfers from my bank account to my PayPal account of £2,000, £2,000 and £2,000.

Considering I only have £16.29 in my account I think they're not going to be able to pull this one off, but these things are bloody annoying, the amount of work and clearing up you have to do. Grrr!!

 

[Nick]

Anyone else suffered with it?

A while back my missus had someone buy an iPad and a laptop from our Groupon account and now tonight I have just had three messages from Paypal saying I have requested the transfers from my bank account to my PayPal account of £2,000, £2,000 and £2,000.

Considering I only have £16.29 in my account I think they're not going to be able to pull this one off, but these things are bloody annoying, the amount of work and clearing up you have to do. Grrr!!

Are you sure it's a real PayPal email and not a scam?

 

[xcraigx]

Always type the PayPal website address into your web browser and check your account that way, never use a link from an email even if it looks legit. It's invariably a scam. I've lost count of the amount of times I have to remind the wife the emails she is getting are scams. Its probably a good thing she's bankrupt and has no money for the scammers to get their hands on!!

 

[Otis]

Are you sure it's a real PayPal email and not a scam?

Yep.

Logged on to PayPal and the payments are pending.

 

[Otis]

Always type the PayPal website address into your web browser and check your account that way, never use a link from an email even if it looks legit. It's invariably a scam. I've lost count of the amount of times I have to remind the wife the emails she is getting are scams. Its probably a good thing she's bankrupt and has no money for the scammers to get their hands on!!

I haven't been on PayPal at all though for ages, so not logged on at all.

This is legit. I got the emails, so didn't click on the links and just went straight into my PayPal account separately and there's the 3 pending transactions stating I have asked to transfer money from my bank account into my PayPal account and that this will be done on or before the 5th October.

 

[Otis]

Have triple checked and the 3 mails are all legit PayPal emails.

Just checked PayPal's checklist re how I know it is a mail from them and not a dodgy one.

The email says nowt about clicking this link or anything else the slightest bit dodgy. Definitely legitimately from PayPal and their legitimate service email address.
And I know not to click on a link within an email.

 

[xcraigx]

Click on the pending payments within PayPal - is there an option to cancel? I've not been prolific on PayPal for a few years now but I'm sure cash transfer transactions used to have a cancel option right up until it actually cleared into the PayPal account.

If someone's got hold of your log in I'm not sure why they didn't just make some purchases and add a different address for shipping. The companies being ripped off would invariably have sent the items out before anyone was aware there was an issue. Transferring cash to a PayPal balance takes days and gives the user plenty of time to notice a problem and rectify it.

 

[Otis]

Click on the pending payments within PayPal - is there an option to cancel? I've not been prolific on PayPal for a few years now but I'm sure cash transfer transactions used to have a cancel option right up until it actually cleared into the PayPal account.

If someone's got hold of your log in I'm not sure why they didn't just make some purchases and add a different address for shipping. The companies being ripped off would invariably have sent the items out before anyone was aware there was an issue. Transferring cash to a PayPal balance takes days and gives the user plenty of time to notice a problem and rectify it.

No, no option to cancel. Just says the transactions are pending and now under investigation, because I reported them.

 

[Otis]

Click on the pending payments within PayPal - is there an option to cancel? I've not been prolific on PayPal for a few years now but I'm sure cash transfer transactions used to have a cancel option right up until it actually cleared into the PayPal account.

If someone's got hold of your log in I'm not sure why they didn't just make some purchases and add a different address for shipping. The companies being ripped off would invariably have sent the items out before anyone was aware there was an issue. Transferring cash to a PayPal balance takes days and gives the user plenty of time to notice a problem and rectify it.

They are barstards these people. With the missus' one they bought a laptop and an iPad and she got an email to confirm, so we cancelled it straight away. Checked the Groupon account and all was seemingly legit except for the fact that whoever got in the account changed the delivery address to an address in London. We got straight onto the police to tell them thinking they could nab them, what we us having the delivery address, but they calmy said it was pointless and the thieves wouldn't be at that address, but that they would just wait outside the property and when the delivery was made they would just jump out of a car or a van and claim the parcel. The police said the owner of the property wouldn't know a single thing about it.

 

[xcraigx]

So what have you (not) purchased this time round or is it just a money transfer?

I would hope anyone who uses PayPal to sell expensive kit would not post to an unconfirmed address as they are highly unlikely to be covered in case of fraud / claims irrespective of whether someone signed for said item.

 

[Otis]

So what have you (not) purchased this time round or is it just a money transfer?

I would hope anyone who uses PayPal to sell expensive kit would not post to an unconfirmed address as they are highly unlikely to be covered in case of fraud / claims irrespective of whether someone signed for said item.

Yeah, not purchased anything. This is just stating I have asked to transfer £6,000 from my bank account into my PayPal account. Sounds like lining up for a purchase. Maybe it is a PayPal only deal somewhere. not sure, but usually it just takes the money straight from your bank account anyway doesn't it.

 

[xcraigx]

Now that really is odd. As I said earlier, if they have your log in details they can make a few purchases and alter the send to address. By the time the seller knows it's a con they have probably already posted the item out and they are screwed. In this case the scammers has given you a weeks notice that they are up to something. I can't think why somebody would go about a con this way but it's a good thing they have as you've had plenty of pre warning and a seller hasn't been burnt.

 

[Otis]

Now that really is odd. As I said earlier, if they have your log in details they can make a few purchases and alter the send to address. By the time the seller knows it's a con they have probably already posted the item out and they are screwed. In this case the scammers has given you a weeks notice that they are up to something. I can't think why somebody would go about a con this way but it's a good thing they have as you've had plenty of pre warning and a seller hasn't been burnt.

Yeah, it's really weird. When I make PayPal payments I never go into my PayPal account, I just choose the PayPal option and it is all linked to your account anyway isn't it.

Strange one. You would think that they can get into my bank account, but there is no other suspicious activity other than these PayPal transactions. Very odd.

 

[LastGarrison]

Probably goes without saying but make sure you change your password for PayPal as well....

 

[Otis]

Probably goes without saying but make sure you change your password for PayPal as well....

Done!

 

[pastythegreat]

Anyone else suffered with it?

A while back my missus had someone buy an iPad and a laptop from our Groupon account and now tonight I have just had three messages from Paypal saying I have requested the transfers from my bank account to my PayPal account of £2,000, £2,000 and £2,000.

Considering I only have £16.29 in my account I think they're not going to be able to pull this one off, but these things are bloody annoying, the amount of work and clearing up you have to do. Grrr!!

I had a call from the bank a few weeks back. Somebody was in Sunderland trying to purchase something with my card and was checking if it was me as I'd only been using the same card an hour earlier in Coventry.
I'm in the same boat as you though Otis, if anybody wants to swipe from my bank, they'd better make it fast. My wages go in on Thursday and are gone by Friday so good luck getting anything out of me. Will never get more than a few hundred quid from my accounts!

Sent from my SM-G928F using Tapatalk

 

[robbieray]

Its Groupon, someone purchased goods using my wife's card, she is registered with Groupon they refunded us ..we had to have new cards..we also unregistered from they they apologized

 

[robbieray]

Anyone else suffered with it?

A while back my missus had someone buy an iPad and a laptop from our Groupon account and now tonight I have just had three messages from Paypal saying I have requested the transfers from my bank account to my PayPal account of £2,000, £2,000 and £2,000.

Considering I only have £16.29 in my account I think they're not going to be able to pull this one off, but these things are bloody annoying, the amount of work and clearing up you have to do. Grrr!!

Cancel your Groupon account mate

 

[clint van damme]

I've been done a couple of times through Paypal, biggest amount was £200. They sorted it out very quickly to be fair to them.

 

[Sick Boy]

Got a call at 9pm one night back in 2011 asking if I'd just tried to buy something online from China for 5 grand. Never a nice experience.

 

[Otis]

Cancel your Groupon account mate

We did, immediately and have never used it again since.

 

[Otis]

Weird one this. Just been on to my bank and there is no suspicious activity at all. Looks more likely like someone has managed to hack into my PayPal account.

Have changed my password with them and also informed them, but the bank are saying it is a PayPal problem and nothing is wrong at all on the bank account front.

Would make sense now I guess that if someone hacked into PayPal they would try and add funds to my account from my bank in order to then withdraw the money.

Hope no-one else has a similar problem. Like I say, I haven't done any PayPal transactions for quite some time.

 

[Otis]

It's the inconvenience as much as anything else. I stayed up until 2.20am trying to investigate and change personal details etc. and I then had to get up at 4.20 anyway, so just a couple of hours sleep.

 

[richnrg]

They are barstards these people. With the missus' one they bought a laptop and an iPad and she got an email to confirm, so we cancelled it straight away. Checked the Groupon account and all was seemingly legit except for the fact that whoever got in the account changed the delivery address to an address in London. We got straight onto the police to tell them thinking they could nab them, what we us having the delivery address, but they calmy said it was pointless and the thieves wouldn't be at that address, but that they would just wait outside the property and when the delivery was made they would just jump out of a car or a van and claim the parcel. The police said the owner of the property wouldn't know a single thing about it.

so the police know what they are going to do, when and how they are going to do it, and at which address, but have no interest in waiting there to catch them in the act?

 

[Otis]

so the police know what they are going to do, when and how they are going to do it, and at which address, but have no interest in waiting there to catch them in the act?

That's about the size of it.

 

[richnrg]

 

[Captain Dart]

That's about the size of it.

Mmmmm... how many people have the password, is it complex enough, definitely don't use a dictionary word use a garbage string and stick some punctuation chars in (!"£$%^&*).

 

[Otis]

Tye police just say you'll get the money refunded by either the seller or the bank.

Mmmmm... how many people have the password, is it complex enough, definitely don't use a dictionary word use a garbage string and stick some punctuation chars in (!"£$%^&*).

Only I have the password. I don't have any punctuation characters in there though. As soon as I start doing that I forget all my passwords.

 

[ovduk78]

My wife was looking for a 2nd hand iphone for our son and found a place online that sold reconditioned ones and bought one. It never arrived so she contacted them and they apologised and refunded the money. 2 months later a payment of £60 was taken off the same credit card she used and when she queried it with the bank it had come from the same company & the bank refunded her the money. A month later another payment of £360 was taken off her credit card from the same company and again she queried it and it was refunded and her bank cancelled her credit card and issued her a new one. I don't understand how fraudsters think they are going to get away with doing this, they seem to have a legit company with an address, email, phone etc but surely they are eventually going to get caught, maybe they hope that not everyone notices the odd payment on their cards and they make plenty of money that way, scumbags!!

 

[Captain Dart]

Only I have the password. I don't have any punctuation characters in there though. As soon as I start doing that I forget all my passwords.

I've been using LastPass | Password Manager, Auto Form Filler, Random Password Generator & Secure Digital Wallet App, it hold most of my passwords in a vault and you only need one master (bloody well complex) p/w.
If lastpass were ever compromised it would be a bugger but it will generate really secure passwords for you and I've found it useful for a few years now.
Fortunately you can dump the password vault so you can make an independent backup to a usb stick just in case they go tits up.

 

[Otis]

Grrr!!! they're f***in numpties, the lot of them!

I reported the problem to PayPay online. That should then open a case in their resolution centre. I stated that I hadn't authorised these three transfers totalling £5,500 and that I wanted them stopped. When I clicked back I got a message to say that they were reported.

Also then rang my bank, Santander to inform them. They said there were no anonomlies on my account, but as I pointed out to them, the message from PayPal was that the funds from my bank account to my PayPal account would take placeand be in my account by the 5th October. Told them to keep an eye out, which they said they would.

Lo and behold, got paid just yesterday and now have received a message from Santander stating that I need to deposit funds into my account by today or I will incur charges and will have an unauthorised overdraft. Bloody numpties, I told them to look out for a transfer. Just rang them and they said 'yes, £2,000 from your account today!'

Just checked on Pay Pal and now my case has disappeared!

Trying to ring PayPal is a joke, because it is automated messages and just sends you round in a neverending loop. 'Say in two words the reason for your call!' So I state 'unauthorised transaction!' It then tells me to log online. When I do that I cannot do anything other than just look at my account. Every time I say 'unauthorised transaction' it just takes me to another message saying that if I log in I can see my summary!!! In the end when it said 'Say in two words' I said two words that were rather inappropriate and that then took me to an actual person. The fraud and security department though doesn't open until 9!! What happened to 24 hour customer support, especially for fraudulent activity?

GRRRR!!!

 

[Nick]

So the bank has given paypal £2k after you told them not to?

 

[Otis]

Nearly!! I just stopped them.

I have just spoken to PayPal and they said ring your bank and they will simply cancel the Direct Debit to PayPal and that will stop any and every transaction!

Thing is, when I rang the bank yesterday morning (or whenever it was) they didn't even suggest that and that was all they had to do apparently. They just said no anomolies on my account and they would 'keep an eye out.' With a simple click they could have just cancelled my Direct Debit, or told me to at least anyway.

Shockingly poor.

 

[Nick]

Yep it will setup a direct debit link with Paypal so it can link to take money from your account. Stopping that should prevent any money going direct.

Then it will have your cards as well seperate.

 

[Otis]

Yep it will setup a direct debit link with Paypal so it can link to take money from your account. Stopping that should prevent any money going direct.

Then it will have your cards as well seperate.

I didn't realise that PayPal was set up as a Direct Debit. Had I known that I would have just cancelled it myself. Always just thought it transferred money from my account to PayPal at my request.