# Paypal Locked My Account



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Here's the short story. Basically I had an unauthorized transaction from my account which paypal found immediately and stuck a freeze on the account and a reversal of the money transfer. I also called and filed a "unauthorized access" claim to speed up the process. Apparently, someone transfered money into my account, and then quickly withdrew their amount and more. A simple money laundering scheme so that its more difficult to track the flow of moeny. After three days, all the money that was withdrawn from my bank account and paypal balance was placed back into my paypal account. So that's good news.

However, the problem is that my paypal account is frozen until the following steps to unfreeze it are completed.

1. Change Password - done
2. Verify Credit Card - done
3. Verify home address - still pending

In step 3, in order to verify your confirmed home address, you had to call paypal from your registered home telephone number that isn't a cell phone. Unfortunately for me, my cell phone is my only phone and the most updated registered number on paypal. So after talking with paypal reps, they said they would send me a code to my house so that I can input it on the website. Once I do that, completing step 3, my account will be removed from "limited access."

I'm curious to see if anyone else had to get a code mailed to them to unfreeze their account or open their account, and how long it took to receive that code. It's been about 7 business days since they said they would mail the code. I'm a little anxious to get my money out of the paypal account as it is a large sum of money that's being held.

-John N.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Call them back.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

By the way, any email that asks you to log-in to PayPal to "verify" that your account is active, should be forwarded to PayPal first so they can check to see if it's a phishing attempt.

The emails look VERY legitimate, so you have to be on your guard.


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## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

I had someone hack into my Paypal account as well.

I didn't have any balance in there, but they opened a Paypal buyer credit account and bought some stuff for a total of around $1000.

I spent quite a time trying to straighten this out (and still am). In fact, I'm still getting collection calls from the Credit company that issued the money.

Needless to say, I closed my Paypal account and will probably never open one again. If someone wants Paypal, they will have to take a money order or I'll buy from someone else.

Good Luck with your mess,
Brian


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

That's too bad John. 
I had a friend who passed away in a car accident and they would not give her husband authorization to get "their" money back, even though he provided all of the documents saying that he was a joint owner of the bank account, along with all of the legal certificates. It would have cost him more to hire a lawyer to straighten it out than to just let it go, so he took a hit there.

I really like the advantages of Paypal, but I did go the extra step of opening a special checking account that never has more than $100 in it, so if something happens, it won't be a huge loss.


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## evercl92 (Aug 14, 2006)

I actually called them the other day. The verified my account using my cell phone number (I too don't have a land line). Granted it wasn't for un-freezing my account, but they did accept my cell as the number.


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## onemyndseye (May 12, 2006)

same here.... I verified my account with a cell. My only phone 


Hope you get it straight John 
-Justin
One Mynds Eye


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

John N. said:


> I'm curious to see if anyone else had to get a code mailed to them to unfreeze their account or open their account, and how long it took to receive that code. It's been about 7 business days since they said they would mail the code. I'm a little anxious to get my money out of the paypal account as it is a large sum of money that's being held.
> 
> -John N.


Took me about two weeks (including weekends, mind you) to get the letter. It comes in a PayPal envelop with their blue logo in the top left corner. Inside is a numeric code I believe. You click on the link to verify your address and it asks for the code. Type it in, and voila!

My friend's account was also locked, but for a different reason. He had an auction on eBay for a pricey cell phone. He was covered under the Seller Protection Program and the buyer was covered under the Buyer Protection Program. he received their PayPal payment, transferred the money to a bank account, and then shipped the phone via Priority Mail w/ delivery confirmation and signature confirmations.

He get an e-mail from PayPal about a week later saying the funds are frozen because the buyer reported that the item wasn't as described. They claimed that the phone my friend sent wasn't the phone he advertised on eBay...complete lie.

Long story short, they filed for the Buyer Protection Program which required them to send back the item and provide proof. They sent my friend back rocks in a Priority Mail box...yea, rocks. They used that delivery confirmation number as "proof" they sent the item back. Now he's out $350. I think he's still trying to get his money back.

I keep less than $150 in PayPal just in case something happens.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

I have used PayPal, but not very often (once a year, maybe twice a year) and therefore trust it as far as I can throw it (figuratively). 

Now the State Employees Credit Union on the other hand, SEFCU for short; has been so good to me over the years - I have found out the hard way - that not all banks or credit unions are the same. 

John N., I look forward to hearing a happy ending to your story. 

Oh, and if you want to find a place to put that large amount of money - give me a call. Are you saving that money for something? Or planning on using it soon? 

Again, I hope everything works out for you.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

That's terrible Jan and I hope that doesn't happen to me. I have read reports from the "gripe" forum paypalsucks.com about people have problems despite jumping through the loopholes to restore access to their account. This is one of the reasons why I haven't called again yet. I wouldn't want to delay the process any further if they asked me instead to submit more personal information. 

Hearing Epic's recount of his friend's code taking about 2 weeks is reassuring. It's only been 7 days since they said they would mail the verification code. So I'm just a little anxious, and need to be more patient. The scam story with the cell phone is one of the reasons why I rarely purchase/sell big ticket items on ebay any more. 

Jimbo, the money is not really money that is being saved for anything particular. But it is a lot, and I'll be happier when it goes back into my bank. Which I will remember to transfer out to my savings account, and leave the bare minimum linked with paypal.

So we'll wait and see how things go. I'll give it another week for that code to get here.

-John N.


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## General Tso (Aug 7, 2006)

When Paypal was newer and before it was owned by ebay I sold alot of things on ebay and had it tied to my checking account. This is about 4 years ago. I would simply transfer the money to my checking account when I was paid. This was the stupidest mistake I ever made. Someone broke into my paypal account and withdrew 1200 dollars on Thanksgiving Day to pay for a camcorder. The item was bought with different ebay Id than my own, but was paid with through my paypal account. I received a phone call from the seller the day after Thanksgiving asking me if I had bought a camcorder, and I said no. The crooks (from the Ukraine) had paypaled her 3 times the value of the auction and then told her her to western union the rest of the money to the Ukraine because they had made a "mistake." The seller of the camcorder actually wired the money, I couldn't believe that she was that naive. We called paypal after looking very hard for there phone number, it was not on their website, I think I found it in on paypalsucks.com. They said there was nothing they could do since that could not prove I did not buy the camcorder. I was so furious I called the New York State attorney general and he placed a phone call to them. I was called back the next day and paypal had closed my account and told me they were sending me a check for the stolen funds. It took an entire month for me to get my money back and clear up the whole mess. I had no extra money for Christmas that year and we had put a stop on all our credit cards because my husband and I did not know how much our identity had been compromised. I stopped using paypal for 3 years and have just recently open another account, but it is only tied to a credit card with a 200 dollar limit on it. I hate paypal , but sometimes it is the only way for me to buy things I need or just want really bad over the internet.


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

Sad to hear that john.

I have seen some really bad issues with paypal over at another forum, AR15.com, which a gun related forum. Paypal/ebay is an anti-gun gig so when you use paypal to purchase/sell gun related items they will freeze your account. 

I keep nothing in paypal and the account and only add money when I want to get something.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

WOW.. my paypal has been linked to my business account for the past seven years. If someone hacked into mine... yikes, it would be a disaster.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

eklikewhoa said:


> Paypal/ebay is an anti-gun gig so when you use paypal to purchase/sell gun related items they will freeze your account.


No kidding? I had no idea..... The Mr. is a competition shooter, so he'll be interested in hearing that little tidbit.

They sure don't mind having listings for all kinds of gun related things when they can make a buck on it though....


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> I was so furious I called the New York State attorney general and he placed a phone call to them.


 That is good to know. New York is good for something. :smile:



> I had no extra money for Christmas that year and we had put a stop on all our credit cards because my husband and I did not know how much our identity had been compromised.


 That is horrible. Do you have anyway to purchase Identity Theft Protection? I have heard about this, but have not heard any feedback on it from anyone I know (Consumer Reports).



> WOW.. my paypal has been linked to my business account for the past seven years. If someone hacked into mine... yikes, it would be a disaster.


 Robert, you are scaring me. Please tell me you know someone that knows how to make sure your money is safe and bullet proof.


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

I second what erijnal (James) said about the phishing scams. I received one of these emails that looked EXACTLY like an invoice for an expensive Dell computer that I did not buy. At the bottom of the page there was a link to click on to go to paypal directly if the invoice was a mistake. I thought that I had been hacked into and that someone had used my. The thing looked SO convincing that I clicked on it. Thank goodness our university's firewall protected me! I still had to run down to our tech support guys in a panic. My account is okay, but I learned that you should never click on any link to paypal from your email, but should always login directly.


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## General Tso (Aug 7, 2006)

After the my paypal incident I looked into identify theft protection and bought it as an add on to my home insurance, it costs me 25 dollars a year and protects me up to 10,000 dollars. I had a similar incident last year at Christmas time when someone tried to open up a domain name using a credit card that I used at target.com. My credit card company noticed odd transactions and shut down the card and called me. Why would I want to spend 800.00 on porn sites on the internet? I now use what I call free identity theft protection, every 90 days I call the credit bureaus Experian, Equifax and TransUnion and tell them to not allow any new credit accounts in my name without calling my house first. This is just added insurance for me. I am a little paranoid about such things after being stung twice. I encourage everyone to take a look at their own credit report just to make sure everything is copacetic. I have a great credit rating and do not want it ruined by criminals.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

General Tso, thank you for letting us know what works. Do you know of others that have been through the same thing and what they have done to protect themselves?



> The Mr. is a competition shooter, so he'll be interested in hearing that little tidbit.


 This may be a tangent, but Jan S. could you tell us a little bit about that? That sounds interesting!


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## ringram (Jan 10, 2005)

I've received several of those and usually just delete them and "report as spam". One time, I forwarded it in a message to Paypal and I never heard back from them. I know its phishing and wish I could grab those criminal c*cks*ckers through the comp and beat them down. But, alas, that's the job of law enforcement. I just wish Paypal and the appropriate authorities would take more drastic action to stop this activity. I know there are a lot of people out there getting screwed. The emails look pretty legit. You just have to know that Paypal will NEVER EVER ask you for your personal info over email. Also, check the domain name of the URL they link in the email. It's probably not paypal.com



erijnal said:


> By the way, any email that asks you to log-in to PayPal to "verify" that your account is active, should be forwarded to PayPal first so they can check to see if it's a phishing attempt.
> 
> The emails look VERY legitimate, so you have to be on your guard.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

*Yippie!*

3 weeks later I received the CODE in the mail, and confirmed my billing address with paypal. Now my account is unlocked, money is currently being transfered back into the bank, and now I'm going to have a happier holiday! I am a happy customer of paypal!

However, never again will I click on a link embedded in a paypal email. 

-John N.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Glad it worked out for you John. 

I forward every single fake Paypal one to [email protected] and they immediately reply telling you that it was a fake. They really want you to forward all of them so they can crack down on these jerks.
Same with E-bay - forward them to [email protected]


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

If you log onto Online Personal Credit Reports & Credit Scores - TrueCredit you can get identity theft insurance.

It cost $10.95 per quarter, it protects you up to $25,000 and some other stuff like lost time in court or jail.

I got robbed and they got all info, birth certificates, social security cards, then opened accounts in my wife's name and went and wrote bad checks at my bank

Everything got squared away, we were on top of it which was good.
This insurance is actually by one of the three credit companies, and you get quarterly credit reports, and they keep watch on your credit for you, and you will always get a call before any accounts can be opened.

This can be a pain, if you are at a store and want to purchase something, you can't get instant credit, but in the long run, it is worth it, just need to plan a little.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Hey John,

I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles. Another tip I've heard is that it is more difficult to break into your PayPal account if it has a different email address to log in than your eBay account. Its just one more road block to the unethical access. 

I too keep a bank account exclusively for my PayPal, online purchases and hobby uses. Its kind of a pain, but I figure the small monthly fee from this very small local bank is short money for the protection it affords. Plus, because its a local bank, they actually carry $200K FDIC insurance on all their accounts (as oppposed to the normal $100K FDIC ins carried by the major banks). Not that I'd ever have that much in there (HA! more like under $100, ALWAYS) but it seems like they're much more in touch with the individuals who have accounts there, so I'm sure that any suspicious activity would be shut down really quickly. 

Years ago, I had a paypal account, and I contested a charge, because I did not recognize the vendor name, as it was different from whom I made the purchase, and wasn't even something remotely indicative of who they were. I then reversed it when I figured out it was legitimate. The transaction went through, but the account had a "hold" on it, and at the time, the recourse was to get a letter of explaination from the vendor I'd contested (yeah, right, it was a big corporation, and I'd spent $30) and it went around and around in circles. There was nothing still owed, and I closed that bank account when I moved, so it just sort of disappeared into the mists of time. I spent hours trying to fulfill what needed to be done, to no avail. I haven't had any issues with my current paypal account, but I'm always wary.

I'm glad it worked out for you John!
-Jane


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