Unauthorized Paypal account & transactions

[zixinzeng36]

My credit card information was stolen online and used to made unauthorized transactions.

For one of the transactions, someone created a PayPal account and added my card on it under a different name and address. This is very strange because the card is already added on my own PayPal account. As a result, the transactions appear on my credit card, but not on my PayPal account.

Is there a way to find this fake account based on my card info?

Why does this inconsistent information not cause a conflict across PayPal accounts?

What can I do to prove that the account is not mine? (and avoid unauthorized accounts like this in the future)

P.S. I was unaware of this fake account until the merchant refused my dispute of transaction. I have reached out to PayPal on Facebook but received no reply so far. I don't know the details of this fake account yet.

[kernowlass · Accepted solution]

@zixinzeng36 

If its added to your account they would not be able to link it to another account.

What probably happened is that they did not link it to another account but used it to purchase items from a merchant that accepts card payments direct but processes them via their card reader as 'guest payments.'

[zixinzeng36]

Hi kernowlass,

Thanks for your reply. I'm still a little confused. From what the merchant sent me, it seems like the payment was indeed made through PayPal. Would 'guest payments' as you described show up as 'PayPal'? 

Also, the card was in my possession the whole time, so I'm not sure how the card reader (I assume you mean physical card reader) gets involved in this.

[kernowlass]

@zixinzeng36 

 it seems like the payment was indeed made through PayPal. Would 'guest payments' as you described show up as 'PayPal'? 

Yes, if the seller owns a card reader supplied by Paypal so that they can receive direct card payments without the buyer logging in to a paypal account .

Also, the card was in my possession the whole time, so I'm not sure how the card reader (I assume you mean physical card reader) gets involved in this.

You said your card information was stolen? So if you pay online the seller does not need the actual card, you just enter the card information during checkout and the seller processes it via their card readers, they don't have to have the card in their possession to do that. Otherwise how would anyone pay online without paypal?

[zixinzeng36]

Thank kernowlass. That makes a lot more sense now.

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I'll also post the reply from PayPal customer service here for people who may be in a similar situation.

In my case, the payment was made through [direct checkout] without adding the card, so PayPal did not notify me when processing the payment.

The customer service people suggested I directly communicate with the card issuer and wait for their investigation.