Bill Me Later Fraudulent Account

[sweatheart1017]

So someone opened a bill me later account through my paypal and charged 500.00. I've contacted paypal, billmelater, the credit companies, and the police. I've also filed a report with the FTC. I'm still waiting on Bill Me Later's fraud department to contact me, which they havent. I filed a dispute on my paypal account, but it's not showing up. I tried twice. Does it have to be reviewed or go through some sort of process before it shows up on my account under open cases?

[SharonWonders]

I too just discovered that a fradulent BillMeLater account has been opened up in my name, and thanks to their 6 month same-as-cash deferred billing, I just now received an overdue statement for a purchase I did not make in MAY 2011!  So I am just beginning the ordeal of dealing with the charge; I have just now related the details to BML and they are supposed to forward it to their Fraud Department. 

What really freaks me out is the fact that the scammers knew my LAST 4 DIGITS of my SSN (!) in addition to my DOB and phone number.  They used this to open this fradulent account, they set up an email address I never had and had the $511 worth of goods from JR.com (who I had never heard of) shipped to a 3rd party address. 

I truly hope this works out well.  I will keep this post current on the outcome. 

[SharonWonders]

This is a quick update to my March 6th post "Re: Bill Me Later Fraudulent Account". . .

It took a few weeks, but I did receive a form from Paypal's Bill Me Later to complete.  I advised them that this was indeed a fradulent purchase made in my name.  I sent it in, and have yet to hear anything back.

What worries me is that Bill Me Later asked whether I filed a police report on the matter.  When I contacted my local police dept., the basically advised me that there was liitle use to do this after so much time had elapsed from the actual incident (and it was evident that they had little interest in taking time to do said report). 

Again, I feel Bill Me Later is ripe for fradulent purchases, percisely because there is no way for victims to have any idea what has happened until AT LEAST 6 months have gome by - and by then I am sure the theives have moved on . . . .

I will post any developments.

[b-nana]

i just received a letter from billmelater denying me for an account i NEVER tried to open-- my husband set me up with a paypal account last month and DID NOT include billmelater in that at all.  i have never had any problems using paypal previously, altho in the past few months ive gotten really tired of forever having to be wary of accidentally clicking the stoopid "bill me later" button when i make a payment.  i ALWAYS pay right up front for my online purchases and AM NOT interested in any online credit line.

this stinks of "legal fraud" to me... and i am so glad that they evidentally felt my personal credit score too low to justify fraudulently opening a credit line on my behalf without my permission or knowlege. sheeeesh! just one more thing to have to beware of in this enlightened age we have made for ourselves, eh

[so-upsetting]

I just received a letter from BillMeLater thanking me for choosing them, but I did not.  The one purchase I made on the day in question has been deducted from my PayPal account.  From comments on various boards, I do not know what to do.  Is this a PayPal **bleep** up?  Or identify theft?  I do not see any way to email BillMeLater without registering with them, which I am NOT going to do - I am scared to do that.  Now, after years of feeling good about PayPal, I am wondering whether it is safe to use them.  This is so disturbing . . . and having to waste time on a beautiful weekend . . . no way to get answers.  The phone number on the BillMeLater is NOT tollfree.  Can you imagine?

[b-nana]

i share your frustration.

when i called Paypal for information on how this attempted linkage may have occurred, they had no answers. so they transferred me to "their Bill Me Later Department" at phone# 866-528-3733.  Both Paypal & BillMeLater are owned by eBay, btw... cautious reader, take note.

meanwhile the rep at BME merely said they had no account information listed on file for me, and recommended i call Equifax to place a "fraud alert" on my file there.  another fyi... Equifax is an investor in BME, so ive since learned.

after insisting i offer up all sorts of personal info to verify my identity (including my SSN#), the very aggressive rep at Equifax seemed uncommonly eager to sell me their "extra protection package" for the low low price of $14.95/mo, claiming that to be the only way i can request a specific financial institution (ie BME) be blocked from performing credit pulls on my report- with or without my prior authorization!  after being forced to ask many questions i finally ascertained that, evidently, all a so-called fraud alert does is place a 90-day flag on your file which any financial institution (again, ie BME) CAN choose to ignore! in other words, having the flag placed is absolutely useless to prevent anything and may just bite the consumer later on.

however i went ahead and flagged my account, and declined purchasing the "additional protection".  i really do not appreciate being extorted in this way.  im having a difficult time understanding how any of this is even legal- it is certainly not ethical.

im now receiving junk emails from Equifax purporting to offer yet another "protection package" for only $16/mo. but why should anyone be required to pay a monthly fee in order to even have the hope of being able to prevent some bank from being able to open UNAUTHORIZED ACCOUNTS on their behalf, in their name, and WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE???

i spent 20 minutes dancing verbal circles with the out-of-country rep at Equifax- and he never once inquired as to which financial institution i was attempting to block from access to my credit files... i suspect he knew exactly who had attempted to open a completely unauthorized account in my name, becoz after reading literally hundreds of other complaints about both Bill Me Later and Equifax business practices, all signs point in the direction of Equifax being yet another full partner in what is lining up to be a HUGE MESS FOR LOTS OF PEOPLE!

it might be a wise action step to begin contacting business attorneys for their legal expertise...

[so-upsetting]

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond, b-nana!  Doesn't sound encouraging.  It's amazing to me how far back the complaints go because BML only started coming up as an option on my PayPal transactions about a month ago.  I've been dealing with PP for many years without issue.  How depressing.  Sounds like it's time to find something else.  I had known about the eBay tie.  Goodness . . . isn't enough money enough at some point?  Guess not.

I've only emailed PP so far.  Will have to snail mail BML to find out about the transaction because I can't find an email on their website. 

Grrrrrrrrrr

[VeryUpsetting]

I received a bill in the mail today for something I DID NOT purchase and, most especially, with the bill me later option!  Do I have to close everything to protect my accounts?  Where do you start and what do you do?  This really **bleep**!

[b-nana]

i agree it is soooo frustrating. and like you, i am not sure what exactly is the right thing to do.  a consumer advocacy agency i spoke to, who confirmed they have been receiving more complaints just like these, recommended making a police report for identity fraud, placing a lock on my credit file, getting copies of all my credit reports, and filing an official fraud complaint with the State Attorney General's office.... at this point,  unless you live in CA (where 2 class action lawsuits have been filed), im not sure what else to do.  If you are fraudulently being told you owe a significant amount, perhaps you would want to look up the California actions to see if that is an option for you?

sure hope all this gets straightened out and made right!