Suspicious website transaction; paypal account involuntarily closed simultaneously

[Raggytaz]

Hi all. My wife purchased two items from a highly suspicious website on 13-11-2022 at 11:10am. Shortly before the confirmation email from the aforementioned site, she received an email from PayPal at 10:43am stating that her account had been closed. She dismissed the email as an attempt at phishing and made a mental note to bring it to my attention when time allowed. Nevertheless, she claims did not close the PayPal account.

I concluded that the email was genuine and sure enough, she's now unable to login to PayPal. Indeed, her account no longer exists and is inaccessible. Despite a chat with the PayPal call centre, the operator was unable to grasp what was being relayed to them, and the enquiry was fruitless.

Now, I find it hard to make the leap that the suspicious website was able somehow to both receive payment for the transaction 27 minutes after her account was closed, and infiltrate her PayPal account in order to close it without her credentials, but on the face of it that's precisely what has taken place. Does anyone have experience of this happening before?

[sharpiemarker · Accepted solution]

@Raggytaz 

I suggest the account owner (you or your wife) call PayPal as guest caller (since her account is closed) and ask to be directed to the fraud department because her account was closed without her doing it after inadvertently making a purchase at a suspicious website.

Log out of all accounts and go to:

https://www.paypal.com/uk/smarthelp/contact-us     

Click “Call Us” option on the bottom.   
Click “call use as guest” link.

or

1. https://www.paypal.com/uk/smarthelp/contact-us     
2. Click Password and account access.    
3. Click Login problems.    
4. Click Call Us after “This information might help” box.    
5. Click “call us as guest” link.