by Maria W.
Member since:
March 9, 2008

OMG, my sSon in Law's paypal got hacked into!!

November 22, 2008 04:19 PM EST
views: 390 | comments: 54

My daughter just called me and gave me the bad news.
She went to the bank yesterday to get some money from her account to pay bills. Her paycheck is direct deposit, so she should have had about $1.100.00 dollars in there and instead found out she was $1,800.00 dollars overdrawn. My SIL has a paypal account because of his ebay business and 2 different people hacked into his account, making it look like he bought something from them. I can't believe this is happening. good thing though is paypal already found the people and are getting my SIL his money back, but just the thought that someone can do this is unbelievable. The bank is working with them too, so i guess it will be alright. I can't believe there are thiefs like that out there, it's scary. Makes me wanna take my money and hide it under the mattress, like they did in the olden days. Ok, i'm done venting, lol.

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Comments: 54

Mary Bee Nov 22, 2008, 4:21pm EST
That is terrible.....I hope Paypal can figure it out for him.
Sue D. Nov 22, 2008, 4:21pm EST
That is crazy, and exactly why I don't use paypal.
JoAnn C. Nov 22, 2008, 4:21pm EST
I'm glad paypal and the bank are working to correct this for you daughter and son-in-law. that's scary
Michelle C. Nov 22, 2008, 4:24pm EST
Hmmm... That's why I'm always liery about using Paypal. I have been iffy and hesitant and tend to ask experiences of Paypal quite often due to my account being hacked by third parties before, but yet, most people I talk to, never had the problem at all, either, so it surprises me and I keep wondering what is going on with Paypal. :sighs:
Brian T. Nov 22, 2008, 4:25pm EST
I have to suggest staying away from pay pal because of the criminal element out there. I had a friend get her checking account hacked into through pay pal also. Someone withdrew over 500 bucks out of her account at an atm in Italy.
Heather W. Nov 22, 2008, 4:29pm EST
I have had paypal since 2004 and never had a problem. My mother has had hers even longer. As long as you never respond to paypal emails with links (paypal will never send you a link via email), change your password every so often (you should do this for every site really), and pay attention to the URL in the top of your browser (if it isn't paypal.com don't enter your information), you should be fine.

Sucks that this happened though, but I'm willing to wager their account got hacked because of one of those reasons (easy to guess or crack password, clicking a link via email, or a fake paypal page).
Heather W. Nov 22, 2008, 4:31pm EST
Check this out
and this for more ways to protect yourself.
Abby N. Nov 22, 2008, 4:33pm EST
How awful! I hope they sit in jail a long time!
Netty B. Nov 22, 2008, 4:35pm EST
wow! this is awful! so glad the caught the culprits
Netty B. Nov 22, 2008, 4:35pm EST
I have used Paypal for about 4 years and never had a problem
Janet "Jax" B. Nov 22, 2008, 4:36pm EST
Glad they caught the people...and PayPal is insured too, which is a good thing. Thank goodness I've never had an issue with Paypal either....
karen h. Nov 22, 2008, 4:37pm EST
that is horrible hope all gets better for them
Candy S. Nov 22, 2008, 4:37pm EST
I think the same thing hiding my money and not putting my money in banks. I just found out my bank may be closing at the end of December.
Rob Appell Nov 22, 2008, 4:39pm EST
Another reason I don't like PayPal...and we're being forced to open ourselves to hackers stealing from our accounts. My income is direct deposited into my bank account, but I only leave enough in it to cover checks written to pay bills. The rest, I take out and keep in my mattress already. Not quite that extreme, but all of my extra cash is here at home with me where I know where it is. Nobody can hack into it here.
Jennifer N. Nov 22, 2008, 4:42pm EST
I'm with Heather here. I've had my account since 2004 and have never had any problems.
B F. Nov 22, 2008, 4:48pm EST
The reality is there are people who will hack into anything they can, steal identitities, rob banks, break into houses, and whatever else it takes to get your money... I am out of sanitary places to keep my money absolutely safe!!!
Glad that Paypal and the bank are straightening this out!!!
Mrslisae Photography E. Nov 22, 2008, 4:49pm EST
Paypal is good about handling hackers...Ours' got hacked just last month and was completely restored within three days
carolyn b. Nov 22, 2008, 4:49pm EST
That's really terrible, I'm so sorry about that
Oh my lord!!! That's horrible!
Donna S. Nov 22, 2008, 4:54pm EST
thats happened to a few people i know recently. the key is to change your paypal password every month or so -so it doesnt keep happeneing.
Donna W. Nov 22, 2008, 4:57pm EST
I am so sorry for your daughter and sil loss .Nothing is safe any more.
Maria W. Nov 22, 2008, 4:59pm EST
Thanks all for your comments.
I have had paypal since about 2003 and used it for my ebay business at the time, but don't do ebay nomore. I never had any problems either. Guess it happens at times and i been just lucky so far.
Cortney R. Nov 22, 2008, 5:00pm EST
That is really bad. It's scary how people can do things like that.
Charlie B. Nov 22, 2008, 5:19pm EST
Glad they found out who did it.
Sophie S. Nov 22, 2008, 5:27pm EST
I hear stuff like this all the time from a friend that works at a bank. That is why I have an entirely independent bank account tied up to my paypal account. As soon as I can I withdraw the money and put it into an account that paypal is in no way connected to.
Maggie Y. Nov 22, 2008, 5:32pm EST
:O I'm so sorry! That must really suck and I hope it gets fixed soon.
Denise C. Nov 22, 2008, 5:54pm EST
I was reading Heather W's comment and I am glad she posted what she did. I have been getting emails from Paypal and I NEVER open them. I just delete. I have never had a problem and I pray that I never do. I have been getting alot of those Paypal emails. Maybe the theivery is on the rise because of the holidays.
tammie p. Nov 22, 2008, 6:00pm EST
oh that's just terrible
golds g. Nov 22, 2008, 6:13pm EST
thats sacry to hear I don't use paypal for that very reason people are either trying to scam into your account or hacking ...
Ron (in complete sheeple overload) W. Nov 22, 2008, 6:13pm EST
Heather up there tells the story, it isn't uncommon to get a fake url in their name, but it isn't Paypal, and it isn't their fault if you fall for those things. Long time Paypal user, and I've never had a single problem, but as Denise says, you have to be careful.
Natalie Neal Whitefield Nov 22, 2008, 6:52pm EST
Those emails that say they are from Paypal usually are linked to some kind of scam and I never respond to those. (I do alert Paypal if I get one of those emails so they can trace it) We always run our Paypal account into a separate bank account which is only for our dealings with Paypal. If we sell items and money comes into that account, we remove all the money immediately into a different account, as others here have advised. I do hope Paypal and your bank will get it straightened out quickly. Thank you for sending the alert out to the rest of us so we are aware of this problem.
Lona Herling Nov 22, 2008, 7:21pm EST
So sorry to hear about this , nothing is safe any more.
Karen M. Nov 22, 2008, 8:47pm EST
Wow..glad it is all going to work out !
APE 131313 Nov 22, 2008, 9:33pm EST
I had an incident a few years ago and have yet to have them straighten out my account password. I just gave up on them and since I don't shop on eBay anymore since the postage went so high....................no prob here.
Whitney A. Nov 22, 2008, 9:34pm EST
That's crazy! But it's good that everything is going to get worked out for them.
Cindy B. Nov 22, 2008, 9:40pm EST
I'm glad he is getting the money back! =) I always thought paypal was safe. I guess nothing is any more.
Dagmara H. Nov 22, 2008, 9:58pm EST
I am glad everything workout for them. I guess with today economy situation everything is possible
Debby O. Nov 22, 2008, 10:54pm EST
It happened to us once too! Report it to paypal and to your bank. Most banks will cover you losses. Seems nothing is sacred anymore or safe, not even your identity!
vickey w Nov 22, 2008, 10:56pm EST
It is scary that somehow people can figure out ways to do this... I am glad though that they caught the crooks who did this...
Laura C. Nov 22, 2008, 10:56pm EST
that's awful! that's one of the many reasons I hate paypal! it's way to easy to hack into..I had that happen to me too. i'm so glad he's getting his money back.
Angela <:3---}~~~~ M. Nov 22, 2008, 11:08pm EST
NEVER have your paypal account linked to the account you get your paycheck in!! That is why I have a different bank account for my paypal no one can get what is not there
Cathy N. Nov 23, 2008, 12:14am EST
I had it happen to me, turned out it was someone at the bank that hacked 32 Paypal accounts.

Just a bit of advice. Do not leave your account numbers attached to your account. Only put them in there when you use them, then delete them when you're done.
Donna T. Nov 23, 2008, 12:55am EST
pretty scary
Karen R. Nov 23, 2008, 4:33am EST
I have a seperate checking account, at a seperate bank, that I use to transfer my paypal money into. I never have much money in there, so if someone tries to steal mine they will be disapointed.
Walter C. Nov 23, 2008, 6:56am EST
wow! thats sad!
Fran S. Nov 23, 2008, 7:08am EST
there is nothing that is totally safe anymore
Denise B. Nov 23, 2008, 10:49am EST
thats terrible
Cyndi B. Nov 23, 2008, 4:08pm EST
That is terrible, but I have to say that it is not PayPal's fault. I had a regular checking account with a very large bank, and that too was hacked into and someone had a good time spending our money to the tune of $3,500 last year. Thankfully we got it all back, but the fear that someone would do it again hasn't gone away. It is very scary feeling that someone can access your account and spend your hard earned money!

I am happy that they are getting their money back - that is the most important thing.
I wish them luck too.
Cyndi B. Nov 23, 2008, 4:13pm EST
Oh, and because it was a checking account that the person hacked, they were able to keep spending...sending us into the negative balance of over $1,000. Then we got hit with overdraft fees (which the bank ended up refunding once we challenged the purchases). Our info was stolen through www.walmart.com.
mary bryant Nov 24, 2008, 9:04am EST
oh my hope everything works out
Maria W. Nov 24, 2008, 7:24pm EST



Everyone!!!
I am glad to say, that Paypal refunded all the money and the overdrafts at the bank are taken care of too. Looks like they lucked out, i am so glad.
Esther IS Flesh and Blood S. Nov 29, 2008, 8:49am EST
Terrible thing to happen but I'm happy to hear that the resolution was good. Great to hear this.
Kimber L. Dec 12, 2008, 1:52pm EST
I don't use paypa. AT LEAST the resolution was relatively simple. That is great paypal was so helpful and the bank so cooperative!
B.B. B. May 24, 2009, 9:01am EDT

i am glad they are getting their money back

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