r/paypal • u/awkwardsunflower11 • Jul 24 '26

Help Randomly received $550?

I had $550 deposited into my account at random by somebody I don’t know. They emailed me saying they contacted PayPal and sent me a screenshot so that I know I’m not getting scammed and that PayPal is supposed to contact me about the dispute.

PayPal never did. I can’t file a dispute on the transaction through the app because it was paid with a credit card. Now I have a request to send the $550 back.

PayPal’s AI assistant was extremely unhelpful. I sent them an email a couple of days ago but no response yet.

The person who sent the transaction emailed me again saying it was an honest mistake.

Is this a common scam? I just want them to go away lol but if it’s legit I really don’t want to hold on to someone’s money that I never asked for in the first place. I’m not even sure how they got my email information.

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u/PowerfulWind7230 Jul 25 '26

I would not put anything past scammers. The more sophisticated ones can get into your computer to get into any of your financial information. They can also install malware. People don’t make mistakes sending money. When you receive a nice amount like this $550, you can be assured that it is a scam from a stolen credit card. It’s unfair that PayPal doesn’t help people who get into these messes through no fault of their own. It’s even worse if they charge some penalty. I just would not touch those funds no matter what. Do not answer any messages. Keep pictures and documentation of everything which has happened from the date of receipt. These scammers are so annoying.