I’ve been a happy user of paypal for many years…UNTIL TODAY. Upon logging in to my bank account to grab information needed for my ongoing mortgage application process, I noticed a $6,000 withdrawal from PayPal. Immediately, steam emitted from my ears as I had not made any such payment and have never made any payment over a few hundred bucks via PayPal. Some type of fraud had obviously been conducted on me despite PayPal’s claims of having an impenetrable system to which I was stupid enough to link my checking account. 

Getting on the phone with Paypal was easy enough and the issue was immediately sent to to the resolution center, which I suspect will be resolved rapidly since I do not know Sergio Sosa to whom I so graciously gave $6,000. What was most concerning to me however was that despite such a large and abnormal payment (I have never made a payment via PayPal for more than $350 since opening this account in 2004), PayPal did nothing to reach out to me. I mean, it doesn’t exactly take sophisticated algorithms to notice something funny happened here. However, despite all of PayPal’s vaunted security technology, I didn’t get a email, a call or text alerting me to potential fraud. Instead they withdrew the $6,000 from my checking account and were ready to send it to the lucky Mr. Sosa.

Upon speaking with PayPal they did say that their detectors picked up the large transaction and put it in some type of escrow in case I did dispute it. That said, had I not contacted PayPal within 10 days, they would have sent the money on. What if I had been on vacation? It is the middle of summer after all. What if I had not checked my bank account for 10 days? Had I not been in the process of getting a mortgage I probably would not have. The fact that PayPal leaves it up to their customers to find fraud is absolutely nuts to me (I am a bit annoyed at my bank as well. While I do have much larger transactions than $350 going through them, they should have raised some red flags to a $6,000 withdrawl from PayPal). 

Going forward, I will no longer link PayPal to any bank accounts and I highly suggest that anyone else who has accounts linked removes them as well. PayPal always talks about how great their fraud system is; however, the fact that they leave it to customers to notice the fraud gives me zero comfort giving them access to my checking account. I will now use Amex as the sole funds provider because you bet your a$$ they would have been on the phone with me within 30 seconds of this transaction if PayPal was trying to pull the funds from them. I will keep you updated on this process and I pray that I do actually get my money returned…