In a viral video that has amassed 350,000 views, TikToker Katie (@katiedotcom) said hundreds of dollars disappeared from her bank account as a result of a PayPal hack.
“PayPal hacking update,” read an on-screen caption.
The woman wasted no time and immediately began her tirade against the company.
“Do not ever use PayPal,” she urged.
Katie said she noticed a little over five hundred dollars was missing from her bank account from a transaction attributed to PayPal, which she barely ever uses. She said she only has an account with the company to collect the “TikTok pennies” she earns from her videos, yet a large sum was missing from her bank account.
“Someone added their phone number,” she said, referencing her PayPal account. “Somehow, someone successfully hacked me, added their phone number, and sent themselves $500.”
The TikToker said she was also charged a $14.89 transaction fee.
She said she immediately took action and filed a dispute with PayPal, but the company pretty much blew her off.
“I got an email saying ‘no fraud detected,’” she said.
According to Katie, PayPal said the transaction appeared to be normal for her account.
“It absolutely did not line up with my account history,” she fired back in the clip. “I get like $14 from TikTok sometimes. I have never made a purchase or sent money to an individual, let alone a $500 amount.”
After she called PayPal, a customer service representative promised to help her get her money back, Katie said. According to her, he acknowledged the charge did not, in fact, line up with the way she typically uses the account and assured her she would receive the funds within three to five business days. Katie said she contacted the company again days later and was told there was nothing they could do because the company does not refund personal transactions. She also said she was directed to file a dispute with her bank.
@katiedotcom if there was ever a time for my a video of mine to blow up i am PRAYING it is this one 😭 if anyone knows anything i can do please pet me know i am so desperate at this point i never imagined they wouldnt immediately see it’s fraud. i have never been so disgusted with a company and i will be closing my account as soon as the money is refunded. it isn’t even worth the tiny bit of money i get from tiktok if i cant be sure paypal will protect my money this is so beyond scary. #paypal #paypalmoney #paypaldispute #theft #paypalhelp #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – katie
That’s when the runaround began. Katie said her bank redirected her to PayPal. Yet again, PayPal urged her to file another claim and then promised to refund her, she said.
“What is going on?” Katie asked. “I’m going to lose my mind.”
In a follow-up video, the TikToker said PayPal declined her new claim.
The Daily Dot reached out to Katie for an update via TikTok comment and reached out to PayPal for comment by email.
In the comments section, some viewers reported having similar issues with the platform.
“Had this happen with Venmo, which is also PayPal,” user KtAnn wrote. “I immediately closed my bank account before the $$ was taken and now they call me saying I owe $200… like no. but good luck with that.”
Others said they never link their PayPal accounts to their bank accounts to ensure they won’t get hacked.
“This is why my PayPal is only linked to a Visa card that’s linked to a separate bank account then my main account that I only put money in to buy stuff so there’s nothing in the account when not using,” user RaptorRed10 commented.
“You have a bank account attached to your PayPal?” another viewer added. “I refuse to do that. It’s it’s own account with a card. If there’s too much in my PayPal, I take out.”
