Serious ebay / paypal problem

[china38]

Hi, i dont know what to do at the moment apart from have a panic attack which i am doing so already.

I tried to log in to my ebay account earlier today as i wanted to buy a new telephone, but i could not log in, as it was saying invalid password/username. So i tried again, anyway, long story short i checked my emails and seeminly it had been changed (not by me!)

So i got on to ebay live chat, and they told me that there had been around �15,000 worth of stuff listed and that it was done so by a 3rd party.

My paypal account was also taken (yes, i did use the same password which was around 16 letters / numbers) and as they were selling, they were also using my paypal account to do this too. I cant get access to paypal but paypal confirmed this on the phone with me and they put a block on the account.

According to ebay, around �9000 of items have already been sold and paid to my paypal account, however according to paypal, there is no money in there as there has been many purchaces using my account this morning.

Where do i stand in a legal sence as this was all done under my account adn my paypal account. Ebay told me that they will remove the auctions (which they have) and refunded the listing fees and such, and inturn no feedback can be left as they are all removed now, but in regards of paypal, if people do chargeabcks (which i fully expect them to do so) where will that leave me?

I also asked if paypal can close my account down as i never ever want to use paypal again for anything and they siad no, i have to wait untill i get htis all sorted out.

this is not good for my health as i have a fwe serious medical problems (high blood preasure, previous heart attack, etc...).

ANy advice would be great!

[Ethel]

jillius, China has said the hacker changed his email address and he had an email about it but never bothered to read it

[Jillius]

Sorry Ethel, I must have missed that bit lol. I sort of skimmed over the post but it was a bit too long winded to absorb everything lol.

[china38]

Ethel - thanks for trying to explain, i do understand what you are saying, but the only thing i was trying to work out (and did not word it correct) was what if the scammer bought say for example a tv and they used the funds that they got for the "sale" of the bogus items, and the person has sent the tv to them?

I only got 1 email and that was regarding the change of email address

[Ethel]

In that case the person who sold the television could lose out, but this is where PayPal seller protection comes in to its own and what we pay our fees for. If the television seller has followed all the rules then he will keep his money and PayPal will bear the loss.

This is a highly unlikely scenario - the television would have to be posted, which needs a postal address. Any scammer would not be too keen to leave traceable details.

Now, if the television seller allowed the scammer to collect the television, he will be in breach of the PayPal rules and will lose out.

You will not stand to lose this money, not one single penny.

PayPal will have alerted all the sellers that the transactions are fraudulent and have been cancelled. But really, your only concern is that you will not be liable. Your PayPal account is blocked whilst it is all being sorted out. There can be no chargebacks against you personally.

[Rollo]

"You are not responsible or liable for that money "

That is arguable in law. If you negligently give away your log in/security details you can be held liable for any loss. It is somewhat unlikely that you would be held responsible, but it is not 100% certain.

[Ethel]

I found this is the terms and conditions of PayPal, which should put your mind at rest:

If you report and we verify that there has been an Improper Account Access related to your Account, we will reimburse you in full for all unauthorised transactions sent from your Account that occur within 60 Days of the time that you knew or should have known about the Improper Account Access.

https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/policy_pbp-outside#efunds-policy

[china38]

Thank you ethel! I do feel a little more relaxed now. I still wont use paypal again though, as i have lost trust in it. I hope that they can crack down on all of these though!

Thanks again everybody, do feel alittl ebetter. I was just imaginine that i would be halled down to the cop shop and such - scarey stuff

[Ethel]

:) I have used PayPal for over �200k worth of transactions over the years and have every confidence in them - provided you know and understand the rules.

PayPal isn't at fault here - it is a nasty thieving so and so.

I'm sorry you've had such a rotten experience.

On Monday morning, telephone PayPal to discuss it all and get reassurance, just to put your mind at rest.