Unauthorized Transaction and Restricted Account

[emm-zee_80]

In September 2022, I received an email from PayPal that said I had sent $34.98 to Alex [Removed] with the note “I’m going back to the gym to get love [emoticons].” This transaction was paid with my credit card. I did not make this transaction, nor do I know anyone by the name of Alex [Removed]. Moreover, I was at work at the time this transaction occurred, so I clearly was not “going back to the gym,” nor do I ever use PayPal to complete transactions – I use Venmo exclusively. I then received an email from PayPal that said, “Potential unusual activity on your account.” PayPal further stated: We saw some activity on your account that didn't match your usual activity. We're concerned someone may be trying to use your account without your permission. They asked that I log into my PayPal account to secure it. I immediately went and changed my password twice and removed an expired debit card, my current credit card, and a former address from my account. I also paused my credit card on my bank account and filed an unauthorized activity case submission with PayPal. According to PayPal's investigation of this dispute, they determined there was no unauthorized use as they "found this transaction is consistent with [my] PayPal history." According to my "history," the last and ONLY time I ever conducted a transaction through PayPal was October 2019, for $30. Moreover, the last known address for my account is a former address that I have not lived at since 2019. So if I was using my account regularly, why would I not update my address? I don't know what history PayPal is looking at, but I did not make this transaction. I asked for the documentation used in the investigation of my claim and they said: The IP address (redacted) used for this transaction has been consistent since Date (13/09/2022) through Date (15/09/2022). The IP was used to log into the account [Removed] of 4 Logins times. Of course the IP was consistent for those days as I was trying to dispute the unauthorized transaction. PayPal had then stated they are permanently limiting my account as they found potential risk associated with it. I also tried messaging the person who took money from me, and of course I was somehow prohibited from messaging them. I was fortunately able to get the transaction disputed through my bank, but now PayPal is saying my account is permanently restricted because I supposedly violated their user agreements. I don’t know how else to get assistance on this, so if anyone on here can help, it would be much appreciated. Apologies for the long message but I wanted to be sure I included all the necessary details.