My mom was scammed. How do I reach a live human being, or file a report?

[santamonica811]

I have this PayPal account.  It has probably been 20 years (at least!) since I have used it.

Today, I found out that my mom's was scammed via PayPal.  Someone got a hold of her bank checking account number and opened a PayPal account in her name.  And then, over the course of a few months, took a bunch of money from this account and sent it to a fake charity, which was held in the name of someone who had recently died.  obvious scam.

Okay, my goal is to reach a human being here, so I can ask, (1) How to close down this fake account in my mom's name, (2) How to have PayPal block all future attempts by anyone to open a new PayPal account in her name/with her banking information, and (3) How to start a request for a refund.

1.  Tried to fill out something on this website.  But, of course, I have no idea what the login is for the fake account, so I can't get there.  Tried to send off something under my own account.  But I have found it impossible, as PayPal (correctly) notes that I--on my own account--have no transactions in recent memory.

2.  Tried instead to call Customer Service.  No luck.  Got a recording that falsely says that Customer Service is currently closed, in spite of the rest of the message saying that it's actual open during the day on Saturdays (I tried calling about 1 in the afternoon).  Also, the phone tree that callers have to navigate ask for login info, which the scammers have but I and my mom do not have, of course.

Any suggestions?  😞

[PayPal_paula]

Hi santamonica811, 

I am sorry to hear what has happened to your Mom. The best option in this situation would be for your Mom to contact her bank directly. As you have mentioned the account was not set up by her it would be down to her bank to file the report to us on her behalf so we can investigate. They would also need to ensure that her bank details are secured and have not been registered anywhere else. 

I hope this helps, 

Paula