by Garfy » Fri Oct 02, 2015 3:36 am
Right now, you need to confirm you saw this on Paypal.
If you got an email saying something like "you paid $600 click here for more info" then clicked that link, you could have been taken to a phishing website. Which looks identical to paypal, but is not paypal. In your web browser, type in paypal.com and login and look at your payments like this. Do not click any link of any kind that will take you to paypal.
While you are doing this, look at your address bar (copy and paste it if you have to) to confirm you are still on the paypal website.
Additionally, on another computer if preferable (or at a ATM machine), check the account your paypal is linked to, and see if the $600 payment is on your statement.
If you have done this, and you do not see the payment on the paypal website, what you need to do is go and change all of your passwords.
If the payment is still on your actual real verified paypal account, then chances are at some point in the past 6 months, someone gained access to your paypal account. Probably by getting your account and password. Someone who commits this kind of crime will never get your details and immediately use them, this makes the crime very easy to track. They'll have access to your account for a good few months because you're probably not going to remember clicking a suspicious link half a year ago.
Anyway, if your paypal account has been used to make a large payment, you need to contact paypal and let them know about it. Usually they'll have protection set up for this kind of fraud. You should also scan your computer for viruses, malware, rootkits and so on, and then if you know you are in the clear change all of your passwords.