Citibank Scam

[Gosper1958]

I had 4 x $99.99 withdrawn from my linked bank account without my authorisation. I reported this and the case was closed, identified as unauthorised activity but no money was returned. The money was immediately withdrawn before hitting my PayPal balance to a Citibank account, again an unauthorised transaction. I disputed this as well but the case has been closed and recorded as not unauthorised activity. I am out of pocket $399.96 due to this scam and Pay Pal and it's 100% protection is rubbish.

This is the second time that my account has been hacked. I have changed passwords etc. the last time I had a very difficult time getting my money returned. I had many phone calls to rectify the situation. Should have closed my PayPal account altogether.

[Peta-ann]

Okay I'm so glad I found your comment. The same thing has just happened to me. Two times $199.99 has come out of my account and 5 times 14.44 uploaded then withdrawn into a citibank card (that is not even confirmed!!!) I have been out of service for a week so haven't kept an eye on my accounts etc. 😫 so someone has hacked my account, uploaded this citibank stuff... I see paypal support saying make sure the password is unique.. mine couldn't be more unique!!! We do everything to keep ourselves safe from scammers and still get robbed. This is not our issue !!! Surely paypal is responsible. I rang the credit card hotline in australia and he says (like many other) that paypal is pretty good and will refund the money. Fingers crossed. I can't afford to lose $800+ 😫😫😫

[Bforner]

i also just recently had this issue,

i tried to dispute the transaction but the resoluition center kept telling me 'cant dispute this type of transaction'

$99.99 was eventually taken from my account and as i looked at my payment options i found there was a citibank account linked to my paypal account... this isnt my bank account or any account i am associated with.. i tried to closwe my account, couldnt do that either as there was a pending transaction... removed all my cards and bank accounts from account yet money still transacted... also something to note too was my account had been changed to a 'business' type account... seeing as paypal couldnt help my situation to dispute this issue i contacxted my bank directly and they put a dishonour on the transaction - waiting to see how it plays out but in the past my bank has been good at defence so fingers crossed... think paypal really needs to look at their security and resolution center seeing as its their biggest claim to use them?

[akiburrchoton]

I just got scammed in the similar way! I was googling and found this thread. This is absolutely unacceptable as this is Paypal's responsibility to protect unwanted access like this! They cannot say "USE UNIQUE PASSWORD" rather thank solving the problem! Users must care their money, so they would surely protect their account with strongest possible password. 

Paypal must refund us and solve everyone's problem after proper review. I lost 1029 AUD and as a student this a huge blow for me. I can't accept it!

[PayPal_Meghan]

Hello @Bforner and @akiburrchoton, 

Welcome to the PayPal Community Forum, and thanks for your posts! 

I'm sorry to hear you've both had transactions made on your account without your permission. I know how scary and frustrating it is. If the transaction is still pending, as you had mentioned, @Bforner, that's likely why you couldn't file a dispute right away. If the transaction does update to a 'Completed' status, you'd be able to file an unauthorized dispute following the steps in our Help Center here: How do I report an unauthorized transaction or account activity? 

After filing the dispute, please ensure you've reset your password and security questions. Here are a few tips on creating a secure password. I also recommend adding 2-Step Verification to your account. It adds another layer of security to prevent unauthorized transactions. When you have a few extra moments, I also suggest reviewing, How to spot phishing emails. Phishing emails are a common way fraudulent people/companies gain access to customer's login information. 

I hope this helps and you both obtain a refund! 

- Meghan

[Bforner]

Hey Meghan,

my bank's defence worked after i reported a fraudulant withdrawl attempt and they declined the transfer so in this case i am one of the lucky ones that caught this early enough that i didnt end up being out of pocket.. i am vigilant in regularly checking my emails daily so i attribute this to also being a factor that i caught this early enoguh to do something about it, i have since changed my password and also added 2 step verification to my account so hopefully this doesnt happen in he future

however its a bit unfortuante that you have to wait for a fraudulant transaction to be completed and out of pocket before you can report it to paypal, needs to be a function that you can stop a transaction if you feel it is unauthorised to stop people having their bank accounts drained

[Sasm80]

Same thing has happened to me today. $280 gone! Trying to communicate with PayPal staff via message centre and he just doesn’t understand what I’m saying! Telling me to contact my bank yet it hasn’t got anything to do with my bank because that’s not where the funds have gone! Frustrated!

[NamADL]

I also got this problem with PayPal, approximately $500 was withdrawn from my account through unauthorised citibank card, so I have made a claim through their resolution centre. They sent me back a message the day later said that the transactions were not unauthorised and closed the case. This is so disappointed so I’m sure that I will close my Paypal account soon. Before doing so, I will post this on every social channel I’m currently on and will make a warning to all of my friends about this unreliable service! You don’t know how to protect your customers and refuse to be responsible so such ashamed!

[Drafter7]

Same thing just happened to me, they tried to transfer out $10,000. It say's it denied and PayPal locked my account, let's hope it says that way...

How the heck did they get into my damn account? I've used PayPal for 6 years with no hackers getting in... crazy stuff.

[djm998]

I had two amounts of 499 (ish) taken.  Citibank were not able to find the details of the account at all, so it appears it was some kind of spoofed account.  So far I have been able to be refunded one amount.  The other is still pending after a third phone call and them re-opening the dispute.  The two originally disputed cases were closed immediately by PayPal on the grounds that they were authorised transactions.  Crazy times, I have 2FA on EVERYTHING 😞

[Deeks6]

I have now recently had this scam pulled on me. The first I knew was Paypal informing me of suspicious transactions. When I check acvtivity, there are 4 amounts of US$280 supposedly deposited in my Paypal account by a "Juan [removed]" and then a withdrawal of $1160 into a Citibank account. I do not have any Citibank accounts and no such transactions. So Paypal have a severe security problem if someone can add a bank account to a Paypal account that is not their own. Paypal now tell me that it has decided in the "buyers" favour. There WAS no buyer in the first place. I will also take this to the media if they take that much money from me unlawfully. Paypal needs to be better than this.