UPDATE: Monday, Dec 11, 2023 · 4:08:35 AM +00:00
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Mike Rofone
I'm happy to tell you that sometimes things do go right. PayPal actually did respond to my fraud alert and they have cancelled the four charges that were made to my account. I have changed my password and have hopefully learned enough to avoid something like this happening again.
I'm glad I told my story, it seems like a lot of people have had similar experiences and hopefully it has raised awareness or reminded many to be vigilant about the scumbag scammers you can hardly avoid anymore.
The best advice I got from all the comments is DON'T PANIC IF YOU GET A CALL LIKE THIS, HANG UP AND CONTACT THE COMPANY YOU ARE BEING ALERTED ABOUT YOURSELF. You never know for sure you're dealing with who you think you are when they initiate the contact.
Here’s what happened to me. I got a robocall yesterday claiming it was from Paypal. It was an alert warning me that someone was attempting to change my password. If it helps the number was (888)401-5203.
The automated voice said that someone was trying to change my password and IF IT WAS NOT ME, I should push #1 on my phone now. When I did I got another screen that had six empty boxes on it and was told I was being sent a 6 digit number through a text and that I should enter those numbers in the boxes to stop it. When I did nothing happened for a minute or two and then the call disconnected. I quickly got 3 more calls with the same requests. I figured the scammer was attempting the same thing again so I sent the numbers I was told to on each of those calls too.
I immediately went to my paypal account, which was accessible from my ebook because my password was saved in it. Seeing no new activity on my account I thought I had averted disaster and went about other things. When I checked it again this morning I saw 4 pending purchases from my account with a company called Eneba Inc. I did a quick search on them and saw the following comment:
Enaba is not a scam, it is a gray market key site. Different sellers have different ways of getting their keys. Some of them probably buy keys from legit retailers when there is a sale,and sell it on eneba, but some sellers probably use stolen credit cards to get the keys…..
So the end result is someone apparently used the six number code I sent them to access my account and change the password. Now I’m trying to get the charges removed through Paypal, but since they use an automated dispute resolution program it requires three things, one of which I can no longer do. I was asked to identify the unwanted charges, review my Paypal account activity and to say if certain things were done by me, and to change my current password. I can’t do the last one because it requires my old password before I can put in a new one.
End result is I will probably have my Paypal account suspended because I don’t know any way to contact an actual human and explain this to them. There is no box to fill or answer I can give the system that will work. I can only hope someone actually reads the explanation I sent to them in my request and take action. I’m not hopeful for that to happen.
THIS SUCKS, but I am fortunate to use a bank that is small and they know me personally, so I won’t have a problem with going there tomorrow and getting a new debit card issued and the charges removed. But I buy a lot of stuff on Ebay, and I used Paypal to make purchases from out of country because my bank will automatically flag any of those as fraudulent and I have to call them to tell them to allow the charge. So I won’t get burned and have my bank account wiped out, just the inconvenience of no longer having Paypal.
Hope this story helps other Kossacks from going through this. As for me, I’ve got an old friend to see and a Marx Brothers movie to watch, so I won’t be responding to any comments right away, just thought I should put out this warning in a timely manner.