Received unidentified "PayPal" payment - bank and PayPal deny knowledge

Question

I recently received a payment to my bank account. The sender is shown as 'Paypal'. I can't think what the payment is for.

I contacted PayPal, who say they have no record of this payment, and the reference code is not a PayPal transaction ID.

I contacted my bank, who say they can't identify the sender.

Any idea what could be going on?

when they say "they can't identify the sender" do they mean they have no ability to determine the sender? or do they mean they aren't required to tell you? — mhoran_psprep, Commented Jun 27 at 14:24
Your first thought should be that this is the precursor to a scam. — fred_dot_u, Commented Jun 27 at 14:49
Just for clarity's sake, do you even have a Paypal account connected to your bank account that would have relayed this payment? — jeffronicus, Commented Jun 27 at 16:01
Also for clarity: does "I recently received a payment to my bank account" mean it's visible in your bank's online portal (after logging in your normal way, not using a link in any notification you might have received) or just that a text/email says you have received some money? — TripeHound, Commented Jun 27 at 16:06
@TripeHound It's visible in my mobile banking app, logged into in the normal way. — mjc, Commented Jun 28 at 15:29

mhoran_psprep · Accepted Answer · 2024-06-27 14:53:36Z

9

There are several things it could be:

An innocent mistake. Expect that it will be corrected by reversing the transfer. So make sure the balance stays high enough to not go negative if the reversal happens.
The beginning of a scam. You will be contacted by somebody claiming to be the bank, PayPal, or the person who sent you the funds. They will want you to send the money someplace else. Expect that they will also reverse the original transfer. Thus stealing funds from you.

answered Jun 27 at 14:53

mhoran_psprep

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It is remotely possible that someone makes a transaction out of utter stupidity that matches a scam. The chances are less than one in thousand, and they can ask their bank for help sorting it out. Losing money makes you sad. It’s better they are sad than you are sad.
– gnasher729
Commented Jun 27 at 21:55

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