My PayPal Account Was Compromised. Six Months Later, I Am Still Waiting for Answers.

In January 2026, something happened that I never expected.

An unfamiliar phone number was added to my PayPal account.

Shortly afterward, my password was changed.

Then, a total of $517.90 USD was spent through three separate transactions that I did not authorize.

At first, I assumed this would be a straightforward case. I reported the issue to PayPal and expected the transactions to be investigated.

Instead, I received a response stating:

"We've completed our review of your unauthorized activity case, and we've determined there was no unauthorized use."

According to PayPal, the transactions were "consistent with my transaction history."

That answer left me with more questions than answers.

What troubles me most is not only the money.

It is the security process.

PayPal did send email notifications regarding changes to my account. Unfortunately, the email address associated with that account was not one that I checked regularly, and by the time I noticed the messages, everything had already happened.

However, during the entire incident, I never received:

• Any SMS verification code

• Any login authentication request

• Any security challenge requiring my approval

  
  

An unfamiliar phone number was added.

My password was changed.

Money was spent.

Yet I received no active verification request.

As someone who uses online services every day, I find this difficult to understand.

For months, I continued communicating with PayPal.

Today, after more than an hour on the phone and conversations with five different customer service agents, I raised the same concern again:

Why was no verification triggered during these critical account changes?

To PayPal's credit, the case has now been reopened for review.

I received a new case confirmation email and was told that a response should be provided within 7 to 10 days.

At this point, I am not writing this article to accuse anyone.

I am writing it as a record.

A record of what happened.

A record of the steps I have taken to resolve the matter.

And perhaps a reminder to anyone using online payment platforms:

Email notifications are useful.

But notifications are not the same thing as protection.

I hope the reopened investigation provides clear answers.

If it does, I will update this article.

If it does not, I will continue documenting the process.

Because sometimes the most important thing a consumer can do is keep a careful record of the journey.