I just got a call from someone who claims to be from Paypal and conducting a phone survey. I’m not sure if it’s genuine but my guess is that it’s not. Thank God for the automatic voice recording I setup on my PDA phone so now I have proof if required. This Chinese guy (recognizable from his accent and my experience at NTU) called from phone number +862128913333 (again, note the China country code) and said Paypal wanted to conduct a survey since I was one of their big customers (yeah, right!). Strangely, he wanted my Paypal email and registered address to “verify” my identity. Now, I have done many surveys and all of them have been anonymous, i.e. without any need for verification. When I asked him which country he’s based at and whether he was Chinese, he replied that he can’t disclose because of Paypal’s policy. Hmmm… so he could verify my identity but not vice versa, although he was the one needing help with the survey. What’s scary is that he knew the last 4 digits of my credit card with Paypal in addition to my phone number. Anyway, I refused to provide the information and told him that… “I can help you with a general survey but I won’t provide any personally-identifable information since I can’t verify your identity. Otherwise, use Paypal’s email - I’ve received emails from Paypal’s customer care before so I don’t see why the survey can’t be done the same way. And to let you know, I have your phone number and my PDA phone automatically records all incoming phone calls.” That was the end of the conversation. :) Forward this warning or post to your blog so people you know who use Paypal don’t get conned.
paypal scam going a notch higher. thanks for the heads up!
can u share with us the conversation, larry?
Comment by malique on November 1, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Thanks for the info
Comment by khairul neezam on November 1, 2007 at 8:30 pm
malique: the gist of the conversation is already in the post. I’d rather not share the MP3 file publicly so that the perpetrator can expect a surprise. ;)
Comment by Larry on November 1, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Thanks for the heads up..
i got the same call too, and thankfully i did not give out any, just becouse i am wary about disclosing informations
I think this fool need to be stopped and reported..
Will be linking this from my website too
Have a nice day larry
Comment by Suthan M on January 2, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Hi. I got same call from this number on 5th Janualy.I didn’t give out, but I was scared to read this article, so I called Paypal japanese customer service center now.
The Operator said Paypal really game me a call!!!
He said he’s going to check up the reason of this call,then call me back.
He added Paypal never ask personal infomation like the address, or e-mail address by phone.
I asked him why this number is from China, he answerd Paypal has custer service center in China, U.S, and Singapore.
This number isn’t a fraud, so if you got a call like this, I recommend to ask Paypal.
Comment by reiko on January 8, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I just received the call from this number. He asked me for the email address but did not ask for address and other personal information.
Then, he asked me bout the business I am doing on the auction site. I answered all his question.
Right after he hung up the call, I googlef for the number and found this website. Immediately when I see the word “FRAUD”, I ring up Paypal in Singapore.
Their response was efficient. That’s good. After few minutes, they responded that the call was actually made from Paypal.
Thank God and I am so relieve now.
Comment by jen on December 19, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I also get call from same number two time…I have not give them any information, is there any serious mater?
Comment by Vineet Maheshwari on June 29, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Thank for you information, I will do the some action if they call me.
Comment by Dadan on August 25, 2009 at 4:16 am
Hi,
Got same call.I had asked paypal “how they know details of me having paypal account” in any progress I will inform
Comment by mayank on September 6, 2009 at 10:21 pm
I thank palypal for the quick services they give because my paypal was used by an abbuser and when i contected them, they solved the problem within 24 hours .keep up the good work thank you once again
Comment by Mary Cutajar on September 19, 2009 at 11:19 pm
guys, this no. is actually from paypal and there is nothing to worry about.
they just make calls to verify their records, to check if we authorize transactions we made, to take small surveys etc stuffs.
so dont worry.
cheers,
preyank
Comment by preyank on November 24, 2009 at 4:35 pm