Archived from groups: rec.games.pinball (
More info?)
I have never been the victim of identity theft, but I have seen some
postings and shows on what to do. My suggestions may not do you a
bunch of good, but they will probably be more helpful than those
received to date.
My guess from what you have posted is that your friend got burned by
replying to an email that threatened his or her ability to continue to
use PayPal. He or she went somewhere, logged in and typed in critical
information. Once he or she did that, the criminal cleaned out the
PayPal account and the AmEx, which is probably the info that he or she
provided on the fake PayPal page. So, it is unlikely if this scenario
is correct that anynoe got the SSN, which one would not typically type
into PayPal. Of course, anything is possible.
AmEx is going to be much better with regard to this issue. Typically,
credit card companies limit liability to $50 in the event of fraudelent
charges. He or she should immediately contact AmEx and ask for the
security division. The people in that department are very experienced
in this type of issue. They will typically immediately cancel the card
and issue a new card with a different account number. Then, they will
go over charges with the victim one by one, separating real charges
from fraudulent charges. In many cases, they will send the victim
documnetation to sign, affirming which charges he or she did not incur.
They will routinely remove any fraudulent charges and not charge any
late fees until the account is resolved.
PayPal is probably a different matter. As far as I can tell, its
protections are much less effective than those offered by the credit
card companies. My guess is that the victim should contact PayPal
directly, identify the fraudelent transactions specifically. PayPal
has some procedure in place to resolve these issues, but my guess is
that PayPal errs in favor of PayPal, which is to say they do not
release any funds back to the victim until the whole matter is
resolved, if at all. I looked on their web pages and they have all
kinds of information about avoiding being ripped off in this fashion,
but no practical advise on what to do if it occurs. Ultimately your
friend is in a bad position, as they probably did give out their
account name and password, for which they are solely responsible. Not
sating it is fair, but it may be the way it is.
In terms of moving forward, I would recommend that you pass on the idea
of asking further questions in newsgroups and go directly to the source
for information and guidance. The Federal Trade Commission maintains a
web page that will answer your general questions, including the SSN
question. It is at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
I am sorry this happened to your friend. Good luck in getting this
resolved.
Ron
billtedpin wrote:
> This group has some helpful people here.
>
> I was hopeing someone here would have some knowledge of what to do when
> your paypal account is cleaned out. Yes, this is probably the wrong
> forum but I figured someone might have an answer before I go posting on
> an unfamiliar forum.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram