# Unauthorized Paypal transaction. A scam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 21, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645 "2025-02-21T23:06:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/1 "2025-02-21T23:06:14Z")
I received this email today: Unauthorized Payment Processed from Your PayPal Account. Your PayPal account was used for an unauthorized transaction of $654.92 to Coinbase, and you must immediately contact PayPal’s Fraud Prevention Team at +1 (888) 928-7792 to prevent further unauthorized activity. - Review and sign the document sent by PayPal Customer Care. - Use the security code Created by Yahoo Mail - We’ve identified an unauthorized transaction made from your PayPal account to Coinbase: Amount: $654.92 Transaction ID: PP-00124004958 To safeguard your account and process an immediate refund, you must contact our Fraud Prevention Team at: +1 (888) 928-7792 Your account’s security is our top priority, and we’re fully committed to helping you address this matter swiftly. We appreciate your immediate attention to this alert. Best regards, PayPal Security Team +1 (888) 928-7792 Do you think this is legit? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/2 "2025-02-21T23:09:32Z")
Log into [paypal.com](http://paypal.com) by typing the URL and see if any transactions occurred. Don’t click any link in the email, do not call any number. That doesn’t appear to be their default fraud number (877-438-4337) which does not mean that this email is not legit. If your account is fine it’s ok to contact them to see if they want you to forward the email. But if the email itself is fraud, it’s not anything to worry about, it is in itself an attempt to get your info. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/3 "2025-02-21T23:10:07Z")
Don’t call, use the PayPal site. I got two today about an Address be added. Someone is spoofing Paypal’s Email Address. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/4 "2025-02-21T23:11:43Z")
I monitor our company quarantined email daily. I’ve been seeing 10-20 scammy PayPal messages a day for the last week or so. As @thelurkinghorror pointed out, log into PayPal by typing the URL and checking your account. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/5 "2025-02-21T23:11:46Z")
It’s a scam. I received a few of those and I don’t even use Paypal. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/6 "2025-02-21T23:13:13Z")
THANK YOU, EVERYONE! I logged into my account, and nothing is amiss. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/7 "2025-02-21T23:40:08Z")
I almost got bagged, but I got a little satisfaction. I got an email with a “statement” from the Geek Squad, which I’ve never used, for $476 for a renewal of something. Please call this number … I did. I felt the creeps right away. I don’t want to put too fine a point on it but the Indian (prove me wrong) gentleman who answered the phone just said, “Support.” When I asked him to repeat it I heard a kid screaming in the background - or maybe a cat, or a chimpanzee, how the fuck do I know. I did give him my name but I was very wary. He had me read off this long-ass Transaction ID (that he misidentified as Order Number) that I could tell he was not recording in any way, shape or fashion. Then he started asking me about my pay-pal account (which I rarely use and surely didn’t have $476 available in it) and how I must have been scammed by a public hacker but golly-gosh-gee, don’t you know it, he can help me get my money back. I didn’t really pay attention to what he said next as I was too busy reading about this very scam online - I had already checked my bank balance and nothing was missing. I snapped back to attention when he said, “I’ll connect you to our technician who will connect with your laptop.” “You’re not connecting to my laptop.” “Then how will I be able to find out who did this?” “I think we know who did this. This is a scam - I just looked you up. Eat shit asshole.” I swear to Vishnu that’s verbatim. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/8 "2025-02-21T23:49:54Z")
That’s great. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/9 "2025-02-21T23:54:20Z")
Scam, no doubt. Had a couple in several of my e-mail accounts already. Only one account is linked to paypal. One of the e-mails even showed a yellow paypal logo instead of blue. This is the new Nigeria scam: first find out the really naive ones. Then fleece them. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/10 "2025-02-21T23:55:20Z")
> [@Newtosite](#): > > I logged into my account, and nothing is amiss. Similar fake transaction notices arrived in my email. PayPal support suggested I forward the notices to [phishing@paypal.com](mailto:phishing@paypal.com) - they need to know just how prevalent this is and what fresh tricks the fraudsters are trying. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/11 "2025-02-21T23:56:41Z")
I received one at my work email address that isn’t even attached to a PayPal Account lol. I think the last time I actually used PayPal was more than 10 years ago with my personal email account. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/12 "2025-02-21T23:56:46Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Someone is spoofing Paypal’s Email Address. A lot of times, they make it obvious: I typically see my address as a bcc (blind carbon copy) along with at least one other address. If an issue actually existed, they wouldn’t be sending the same transaction number to multiple addresses. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/13 "2025-02-22T00:07:32Z")
> [@Newtosite](#): > > (888) 928-7792 [Another “PayPal” (888) 928 number.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-scammer-motherfuckers/977240/592) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/14 "2025-02-22T01:48:23Z")
I’ve gotten over a dozen of these over the last few days. If I had a paypal account, I’d be screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/15 "2025-02-22T02:10:58Z")
Why would you think this obvious scam was real? ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/16 "2025-02-22T02:17:19Z")
This was my first experience with a scam in an email. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/17 "2025-02-22T02:29:26Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > “I think we know who did this. This is a scam - I just looked you up. Eat shit asshole.” > > I swear to Vishnu that’s verbatim. Get the Hindi translation off of Google first, then run it through a speech synthesizer/converter. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/18 "2025-02-22T03:31:38Z")
I got a text almost word for word about two weeks ago. I have never used paypal in my life. A scam. When I get something like that about a credit card, I always call the number on the back of the card(which is always different from the one in the text) and never click on the link. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/19 "2025-02-22T12:08:28Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I’ve gotten over a dozen of these over the last few days. I win a AAA travel kit pretty much every other day. At least that’s what the email titles tell me. mmm ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645/20 "2025-02-22T12:48:10Z")
> [@Newtosite](#): > > This was my first experience with a scam in an email. Either you’re blessed, or you have a very, very good spam filter. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unauthorized-paypal-transaction-a-scam/1014645.md?page=2)