Fradulent Charges on PayPal Linked AmEx Card

Hey

I have an Amex that I use with PayPal

Recently I had a PayPal charge from an eBay store that I did not make with an account that is not mine, or my PayPal account has no record of. As soon as it finished pending I reported it.

Thing is this wasn't the first time a fraudulent PayPal charge to an eBay store has happened to me and last time it happened it kept happening and ended up getting a new card to stop it.

Does anyone know how this is happening?

If I find another fraud PayPal charge to a traceable eBay store, and I caught it early, does it help to message that store to cancel or delay that order till I can report it?

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Comments

  • +2

    It’s possible the device you use to access PayPal has malware OR that your PayPal account has been hacked.

    P.S: Welcome to OzBargain :)

    • I thought that i may been hacked, but if someone is using my account i would of assumed the charge would show up on my paypal statement. I'm not sure how they would of extracted my card information from my account, it usually displays the card info as partially censored. Thanks, I think its time to make new accounts and passwords.

  • +1

    IMHO PayPal fraud is 10x as hard as standard credit card fraud, never had my PP compromised but have had a few CC

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/550486

    • +1

      That fraud charge appears on my CC but not PP.
      My assumption so far is that somehow my card details leaked and was entered into another Paypal account, I think this because it there was no verification process when i first added my Amex to my PP account. Following that logic i'm seeking ideas as to how my card details leaked.
      Anyway i'm going to order a new card.

      • +1

        more likely, They got your card details and linked your card to a new paypal account.

        Report to your bank/Amex and get a new card.

  • Have a look at whether you have authorised any automatic payments to any merchants.

    (Click on the 'Gear' icon on the top right, then click on Payments, and then click on Manage Automatic Payments.)

    If you've authorised any automatic payments, and your account at the merchant gets hacked, then the hacker can keep using your card for their own purchases.

    The other possibility is that your Paypal account is somehow hacked. This is possible if you used the same password for Paypal as some other website. In which case, if that other website gets hacked, then your password can be released in the Darkweb, and hackers will try to use your email & password combination to access other websites like Paypal.

    You can check if your email address was part of some known data breach, at this website:

    https://haveibeenpwned.com/

    • The charge went to an Australian ebay store for a well known fashion brand. I have never made auto payments to ebay, let alone the appetite to spent $100+ on clothes this year.

      I had already checked my accounts on haveibeenpwned and i have not been compromised so far. I'm making new accounts and new passwords, i'm just a little confused at what i'm doing wrong.

  • Do you have 2FA setup on your PayPal?

    • I do, and use it with my number (instead of the authenticatior app). But i'm worried about keeping it on. I've hears numbers can be hijacked, but from what i know it requires your phone service to be cut which i haven't experienced.

  • +1

    With ebay there us an option I recall to pay by credit card which is done thru PayPal. Sorta like a guest payment so it won't appear in your PayPal account. But your card is charged by PayPal for the eBay transaction.

    Maybe that is it.

  • Thing is this wasn't the first time a fraudulent PayPal charge to an eBay store has happened to me and last time it happened it kept happening and ended up getting a new card to stop it.

    Does anyone know how this is happening?

    Your card probably just gets compromised. It happens sometimes, possibly an online store you use regularly?

    If I find another fraud PayPal charge to a traceable eBay store, and I caught it early, does it help to message that store to cancel or delay that order till I can report it?

    If you like, they might not believe you though and could just be effort for nothing. See this recent post about a guy doing it for Kogan. Although that was Apple products in the thousands.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/541728

    I believe it ended well for him/Kogan

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/8796920/redir

  • Something similar happened to me. The bank said that they are using random numbers until they hit a card number that works. I was concerned of my computer being hacked etc. but it hadn’t been. It was just bad luck for me. Cancel the card and get a new one. I did and have not had any trouble since.

  • I have recently had a fraudulent Pay Pal transaction linked to my AMEX card. This was to do with accommodation in Scotland. PayPal have not responded to my request for advice on how this could happen.

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