Heyo Bookaholics!

I’ve wanted to make this post for a while now but delayed it because I wanted it to include all the information necessary for dealing with this.

Another thing; I know this is suppose to be a Storytime Wednesday (it still is), but I wasn’t able to post this on Wednesday as I had to attend a formal dinner and I like to review my posts before they go live.

I had the idea for this post after I was the victim of a $500+ eBay fraud/ scam. I’m lucky that I check my emails daily and was able to pick up on this.

The Incident:

I received an email – or multiple rather – that was sent to me confirming “my purchase” of 5 x $40 markers plus $70 shipping from an unknown, unrepeatable seller. I was baffled because 1. I’d never made this purchase and 2. Who pays more shipping that costs more than the item?!

I had also received corresponding emails from PayPal regarding this purchase, which pretty much slowed my racing heart because I knew that I could report this and get my money back.

I immediately changed all passwords associated with the hack. These included; my gmail password, eBay password, and PayPal password. Once I had done this I called PayPal.

On The Phone to PayPal:

Let me say that this company, despite their reputation of being hacked, are amazing and safe; because if you get into a situation where you need to get your money back on anything, they will reimburse you 100%.

The lady was very nice and immediately took down all of the details of the hack, also reassuring me that I wasn’ the only one – which was more nerve-wracking honestly – then she proceeded to go through the transactions.

Once everything was confirmed, she began the process to reimburse my money, which comes back to you as PayPal Dollars which you can then transfer into your own bank account.

She provided me with ways to safeguard against a repeat hack, and also just detailed things I should’ve known but had flown over my head; such as the below.

Never save passwords to your financial institutions or accounts that store sensitive, personal data to any device.

If I was to give a rating, I’d give the customer service at PayPal 100%, because even when I called the wrong department they tried their best to help, then politely transferred me to the appropriate department.

What To Do If This Happens To You?

If you notice that you have been a victim of eBay fraud:

Check the method of payment! This will help you to know who to call in regards to preventing your money from leaving your account and entering someone else’s. Once the money leaves your account it is a lot harder to retrieve.
Change passwords to all related accounts!! It is very important to do this, as it is possible all your accounts are connected and once they’re inside one it won’t be hard to access another. Changing the passwords for the affected website; i.e. eBay, and Paypal, as well as your email address will lock hackers out of the accounts if they’re still in.
Call up the company responsible for the transfer of money: this may be your bank or in my case PayPal. PayPal is a lot simpler to deal with as they can track the transaction and deal with these kinds of situations on a regular basis. All you have to do is explain the situation and the service staff will help you through the rest. Always ask for a reference number for your call incase you need to call back!!
Be patient. If they tell you your money will be reimbursed, they will also tell you a time frame. Wait until the time has lapsed and if there is no evidence of your money it is okay to follow up on the matter by calling and quoting the reference number you asked for when you called the first time.

Safeguards:

How to stay safe against hackers:

Always check your emails and bank accounts on a daily basis.
Change passwords regularly.
Ensure your passwords for banking and PayPal, or any other websites containing sensitive information are different from any other password you use.
Never open suspicious emails or ones that look like they could be fake, and don’t click any links in these emails.
Never think this cannot happen to you!

I hope I was able to teach you all something in this post. I am someone who really wants to promote that safe use of technology and I don’t want unprepared for a situation like the one I was in.

I want to thank my mum for teaching me all of this. She isn’t great at technology but you don’t need to be. She is safe with her personal data and taught me to be vigilant with this kind of stuff and to never be afraid to question anything suspicious. You work hard for your money and no one has the right to take it from you!!