Someone else used my gmail to open a Paypal account; I've never clicked on any emails from Paypal verifying the account, so I don't understand how this can happen in the first place. I only noticed because I started receiving emails on my gmail (addressed to a misspelled first name, last name not close to my own), and at first I thought they were spoofing/phishing emails, so I forwarded them to Paypal, only to receive a response saying those are legitimate emails.
The fraudulent account was set up with my gmail, but NOT my phone number, so I am unable to log-in, reset the password, or close the account.
So I called Paypal's customer service. After being on hold for too long, I spoke with a customer representative who basically told me that since I wasn't the original person to open the account, they cannot do anything. They cannot even contact the person who hijacked my gmail. Only way to close the account or change any settings (such as telephone #) is for the person who opened the account to contact Paypal.
So I tried emailing Paypal's customer service to see if they can do anything. Paypal says something to the effect of, we are unable to resolve this issue via email, please call our customer service to speak with a representative. Which I ALREADY did, and mentioned in my first email to them.
This is more of a rant, because I already know Paypal will do nothing to fix or resolve this issue. I've read other posts saying the same thing. Paypal obviously doesn't care about fraud or identity theft.
