PayPal customers are currently receiving messages from a lawyer.
PayPal customers in Germany are receiving letters demanding payment for purchases they never made. Consumer protection agencies warn this is a scam, and lawyers advise recipients not to pay.
Criminals exploit PayPal’s guest checkout option, which allows purchases without a registered account. They use stolen names, addresses, and IBANs to make unauthorized payments. Victims often discover the fraud only when they receive payment reminders or notices from debt collectors.
According to lawyer آنا-لوسيا كورن, these unauthorized guest payments do not create a legal contract between PayPal and the account holder. Victims are protected under payment services law, and chargebacks via the bank are generally allowed.
Affected users should act immediately: dispute the charges in writing, request that PayPal stop using their data, initiate a chargeback, and file a police report to document fraud. Importantly, only court-issued payment orders are legally binding, and any such order must be contested within 14 days.
To prevent fraud, account holders are advised to share IBANs only with trusted merchants, monitor bank statements, enable payment notifications, and block fraudulent creditor IDs. In cases of repeated scams, changing the bank account may be the only solution.