Scam watch: did PayPal misunderstand remote access software fraud?

Don’t trust Paypal. They have their own view of how things work and refuse to accept normal honest procedures

I have had a phone call saying my National insurance number was threatened. Could this be a scam as I have not taken it further as requested? Their number was/is 07504 804808 & 07504 804393

It seems to me that a lot of this OUTRAGEOUS fraud is happening because of FAR too ridiculously liberal governments, including ours here in the UK. What we need is thoroughly RIGID regulation of all our financial services including those like paypal as it seems to me that the voluntary codes are absolutely no good and our government is being far too soft on our services, just like they are on anti-social yob teenagers who should have to attend compulsory military boot camp after leaving school, plus there should be far stricter discipline in our secondary schools too but that’s another subject. And I think it might also be the case that those who fall victim to these various scams are not using complex enough passwords, and/or are not using security software which includes an anti keylogging feature which is absolutely essential. And if your security program does include such a feature do check the settings and make sure that feature is active. And try running a full system scan before any online transactions as I do, I know it takes hours but it helps keep your system safe and you should run such a scan at least once a week.

I think one problem here is people keeping too much money, possibly all their life savings in some cases, in their current account which I would never do. I think it makes far more sense to keep the vast majority of your savings in a separate savings account which should be out of reach of online criminals and just keep as much as you need in your current account for everyday use. It’s just like the old saying of “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” which is now more relevant than ever. And it also looks like what we’ve got here is an online version of what some anti-social yobs do on the streets and in schools too or wherever where they meticulously take advantage of every possible fault and limitation of the law so that they can manipulate the situation against their victim while they gluttonously FAT gloat and sneer at the victim again and again and always keep just within the law so they can keep on hounding someone or setting them up etc. and taking advantage of every weakness so the likes of paypal have got some serious learning to do and fast about it. This stunt has obviously been pulled by someone somewhere who knows how to twist paypal’s system around against their victims, it’s just like those sly celebrities who take advantage of their fame and status and quietly molest some poor child out of sight somewhere and then take the attitude of “who’s going to believe you?” So I hope our authorities and those in other nations will quickly learn how to deal with this kind of outrageous stunt and get ahead of it and not just leave the victims helpless and of course we ourselves must be thoroughly vigilant while online instead of being all loose and slack and casual as all too often “carefree” means careless, just like casually forgetting to lock up your car while you’re in the supermarket for instance. And I don’t do any online transactions “on impulse”, I have set procedures which I stick to and it’s kept me safe so far. And I’ve had a basic account with paypal for six years now and so far the only problem I’ve had is where it won’t work on some sites and the transaction fails so I have to start again and use my card instead.

I do not have a PayPal account but somebody managed to open one with my bank account details. I began to notice unfamiliar direct debits from my bank account with Santander, who reimbursed me but refused to put a stop on further direct debits accounts being set up. I changed my account number with the same bank but a fraudster managed to do the same thing again. So I changed to a different bank, explaining why to both banks. Guess what? Santander kindly transferred the fraudulent PP account to my new bank. I reported the case to the banks fraud team ( clueless) and to the banking fraud team but they are too overwhelmed to investigate so nothing done. Finally stopped the fraud with the new bank.