Someone used my Gmail email address to setup an account...

jsparks40
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First off let me give a little background:  My primary email address is a Hotmail.com address which I have had since the 1990s.  Second, my secondary email address is a Gmail.com address (same username just different domain) which I have had since circa 1999.  Gmail was still pretty new back then so there is NO WAY in Hell that someone else out in the world is going to have the exact same Gmail address as me.  My account is secure and all recent activity listed is all by me.

 

So the other day I got a surprise email in my Gmail informing me that I created a new paypal account.  Which was NEWS to me!  So I tried logging on, using my Gmail address and of course I couldn't because I don't know the password, and the One Time Code they use for Forgetting Passwords was going to a phone number I certainly didn't recognize.  I got another email stating that the account had a new login from a device located in Louisiana, USA.  I live 4 to 5 states away from Louisiana.  So it's clear that someone who I don't know has used MY Gmail email address to signup on here for a new account.  

 

I went to the Help section of Paypal and used their Contact Us Messaging to let them know someone is using my email address, I provided screenshots of the emails that I have been getting, and pretty good descriptions of what's going on.  But Paypal Support's reading comprehension sucks, and I'm sure it's because English is not Paypal Support's Primary Language. 

 

Deepa explained: 

"Dear ******, let me inform you that every customers can create the PayPal account with their own email ID. So, they might be having same name like yours and had PayPal account.

 

But the financials and other residential address phone numbers will be different.

11:12 PM

- Deepa"

 

WTF?  That isn't "their own email ID" because it is MY GMAIL Address!  This might not be such a big deal to some people but I will mention that this same exact situation is also happening on Robinhood.com.  I got an email from them a few days ago saying the same stuff, that a new account has been created and it is using my Gmail address...  That's just a bit suspicious that someone setup accounts on a Stock Trading site as well as Paypal using my Gmail address.  I also know that they are using my first and last name they just moved a single letter.  I've already alerted Robinhood.com to it so as far as I know they are at least flagging it or something on their end.

 

So anyway, sorry for the long story.  Is there ANY way that I can make Paypal Indian Support really understand what I'm trying to say and have them at least remove my email address from that suspicious account??  So frustrating when ANY support people don't really listen/read what you tell them.  I also feel like Paypal wants money, so if they can get tons of active accounts they don't really care if the accounts are legit.

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jsparks40
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It's not a fake/spoofing/phishing email, it is a legit email from Paypal.  I guess I'm just going to mark this as answered because every other post I've read just like this one all end the same with Paypal not accepting responsibility.  Thanks for trying though, Cora9.

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jsparks40
Contributor
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Upon searching Help Community, this is a pretty Common occurrence with Paypal not doing a damn thing about it except telling people to contact Google.  Wow.  Isn't there a Government official/Senator we can call to get involved with this poop?  😠

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Cora9
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Paypal will not help, DONOT OPEN THOSE EMAIL,SEND THEM TOO SPOOF@PAYPAL.COM
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jsparks40
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It's not a fake/spoofing/phishing email, it is a legit email from Paypal.  I guess I'm just going to mark this as answered because every other post I've read just like this one all end the same with Paypal not accepting responsibility.  Thanks for trying though, Cora9.

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wkdpaul
Contributor
Contributor

I have a similar problem, someone is using my gmail but with a dot in it (search for "Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses"), so basically, I'm now getting legit paypal emails about transactions and account modifications from another account. I can't log into it since I don't have the password and there's no way to contact the person.

 

Seeing that paypal doesn't care, every day I go on the "forgot my password" page and bombard the associated phone number with authentication codes in hopes the account owner gets the message (I know the phone number is legit, the guy used the same email on different services and I was able to get it fixed with their support, but paypal apparently doesn't care about user's security ! oh well !)

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Will2021
New Community Member

I've had my gmail address since 2004. I have a "." in my name. Same with my Paypal. Someone else registered without the "." with the same name, and it's a pretty common name in USA, Russia, Germany. I keep getting their purchase details, their "inability to deliver cash cards" - it's it someone trying to scam me? How did they get passed approving the mail in the first place? 

 

I think I have my solution: Don't use Paypal if you use Gmail - it's dangerous. Someone could reset my account (I have MFA enabled). But I think I will stop using Paypal as they have not addressed this. I'm an ancient user of Paypal too. If I cancel Paypal, I'll cancel ebay - there are better options these days. I'll see if I can contact customer support. I'm the first on gmail and paypal with this name as I've been on here since the onset, for both.

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mgtopham
New Community Member

Hey!

I just had this issue, too--they claimed a version of my email with no "." between my first and last. Frustrating that they were able to confirm that address given that the request for confirmation came to me.

 

They set up 2FA with a cellphone on the account so I couldn't just go and say I forgot the  password and lock it up. They then added a secondary email to the account, presumably to keep me from getting the emails from whatever they were looking to do. At best this is an inconvenience and at worst they'd be collecting cash for typos on my email. Either way, I don't know how they were able to confirm the account without access to my email account.

 

I forwarded copies of the emails I received to both spoof@paypal.com and PayPal's unsolicited email inbox. Fortunately, I didn't have the same experience as some folks replying here and customer service reached out within a day saying they had deactivated the account.

 

I suggest other folks running into this do the same. Hopefully you get the same response I got. 

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