The North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center warns of the so-called “guest account scam” that fraudsters use to cash in via Paypal. Criminals abuse PayPal’s guest account function to make purchases using other people’s bank details.
How the whole thing works is now explained North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center and warns that you need to be particularly careful. The perfidious thing is that those affected have hardly any options for protection in advance, but they can defend themselves.
The principle behind this scam is shockingly simple: The perpetrators use the guest account function offered by PayPal, which allows customers to make payments by direct debit even without their own PayPal account. All you need to do is provide an IBAN. However, during this process, the fraudsters do not provide their own bank details, but rather those of their victims.
The consumer advice center is now urgently warning against this new form of fraud, because PayPal currently does not offer an option to block your own IBAN for guest payments. An identity check, for example through test booking, as is common with other payment services, is also not carried out. Those affected should take action in the event of unauthorized debits.
It is particularly important to take action promptly and not wait for incoming claims. A quick reaction can help to avoid possible negative consequences such as entries with credit agencies. The consumer advice center recommends the following:
The consumer advocates explain how it can happen based on the case of Kristian W.: He had received a claim of 56.75 euros from the payment service provider PayPal – for a purchase that he knew nothing about. He checked with PayPal and learned that the money could not be withdrawn from his bank account.
The account in question no longer existed since 2018. He didn’t pay the claim because he hadn’t ordered anything. PayPal’s reaction: A letter from a debt collection firm. It now demands 88.25 euros. Cybersecurity infographic: Emails remain the biggest security risk
The account details probably come from an old data leak and have now been used by unknown fraudsters for the guest account scam. This is not the first time that payment services have faced such problems. A few years ago there were similar incidents with the payment app of a large discount retailer. The direct debit procedure has also been repeatedly abused by fraudsters when purchasing Germany tickets.
