How to Contact PayPal Customer Service

PayPal is an American online payment service provider with customers worldwide, serving individuals, small businesses, and large businesses alike. When a customer experiences issues using the company's service, they may contact customer service agents or read quick-fix articles. Contacting customer service is best when the self-help option fails. Concerned customers may contact PayPal via phone, email, social media, or live chat. 

How Do I Contact PayPal Customer Service via Phone

PayPal's customer service line is (888) 221-1161. Although this line is available round the clock, the time to call is between 5 A.M. and 10 P.M. on weekdays 

Pros of Calling PayPal Customer Service 

• Fast way to resolve urgent money and account issues
• Tiered support is available
• Available round the clock

Cons of Calling PayPal Customer Service 

• Long wait time during peak times
• Poses a barrier for non-English speaking customers

How Do I Contact PayPal Customer Service via Message Center

Another way to contact PayPal is through the message center on the website. This can be accessed by clicking the HELP tab on the bottom-right corner of the page.

Pros of Using PayPal Message Center 

• A fast method to resolve issues like account recovery
• Real-time support if you cannot speak at the time
• Convenient for customers with phone-call anxiety

Cons of Using PayPal Message Center 

• Tiered support is unavailable
• Poses a barrier to non-English speaking customer

How Do I Contact PayPal Customer Service via Email

While PayPal customers cannot initiate an email with customer service, they may receive an email from customer service when an agent escalates a message center conversation. An official email looks like "fullname@paypal.com." 

Pros of Emailing PayPal Customer Service

• Record of the conversation is available for reference
• Helpful when a customer needs to provide supporting documentation to resolve their issue
• Personalized solution

Cons of Emailing PayPal Customer Service

• Long wait time of up to 48 hours
• Customers cannot initiate an email conversation
• Slow for resolving urgent issues

How Do I Contact PayPal Customer Service via Twitter

All concerned persons can contact PayPal on Twitter via @AskPayPal.

Pros of Contacting PayPal on Twitter

• Record of the conversation is available
• Customers can see if other people have similar issues
• Suitable for persons with phone-call anxiety

Cons of Contacting PayPal on Twitter

• Tiered support is not available
• Not useful for getting help during peak volume times
• Potentially exposes a customer to fraudsters

All concerned persons who intend to complain to PayPal on Twitter should avoid fake PayPal support accounts. Avoid disclosing any private information such as bank account numbers, SSN, and account details on this public platform. Real PayPal agents do not request these details from a customer.

Three Tips for Contacting PayPal Customer Service

Here are some tips to help you get the best service from a PayPal customer support agent:

Preparing to Call 

It usually takes time to get connected to a PayPal customer care representative. One way to best utilize that free time is by jotting down a brief complaint description. 

During the call

Go straight to the point and keep things specific unless the agent requests background details. Also, practicing professional etiquette helps build rapport, which can go a long way. You can start with nice words like "please" and "thank you."

After the call

Note the solutions provided by the agent immediately after the call, including dates and other vital details you may forget otherwise.

PayPal Customer Service Scams

Scammers have devised multiple ways to hijack login details, steal money from customers, or trick customers into revealing sensitive information about their accounts. These scams typically happen over the phone. 

The best way to confirm the identity of an unknown caller is with a reverse phone lookup, especially if the person claims to be a PayPal employee. The phone number search shows the individual's registered details, publicly available information, and even employment records. More importantly, searchers also get to see if other people have reported the number for scams.  

Three Common PayPal Scams

Advance fee fraud, overpayment scams, and fake sweepstakes are some of the common scams that happen to PayPal customers.

Advance Fee Fraud

This is where a stranger contacts customers about giving them free money. However, to send the money, the fraudster will require the target to send some money for issues such as taxes or legal documents. 

Overpayment Scam 

Here, an individual sends you a payment that exceeds the purchase price of a particular order. Suddenly that person requests that you wire back the difference. The con is that the payment was likely made from a stolen credit or bank account. Hence the payment could be withdrawn anytime, which means you lose the money sent and whatever else you gave away.

Fake Prize

In this con, a stranger contacts you about a win that you have with the organization. However, the request for a handling fee, but once this money is sent, the stranger will vanish.

Eight Signs of a PayPal Scam

1. The caller tries too hard to sound official. Fraudsters impersonating PayPal agents tend to go overboard when trying to sound official.
2. The caller uses high-pressure tactics. Although this type of scam is easy to spot, people who are in financial distress are prone to fall for it. Fraudsters may even be aggressive, threatening, or use abusive language.
3. The sender has a strange email address.
4. A reverse phone search on the number shows different information from what the caller told you.
5. The caller or send has poor use of grammar. PayPal customer service agents are trained to communicate properly and professionally with customers. So if the caller consistently makes grammatical errors, that is a big red flag.
6. There are discrepancies in brand material, especially the logo and color theme.
7. Your browser flags a link as unsafe. Most browsers today have in-built tools that help to warn users whenever they are about to visit an insecure or unsafe webpage. Generally, secure websites use HTTPS tags rather than HTTP. Websites using the latter are common with scammers.
8. The request for money appears out of the blue.

Does PayPal Customer Service Do Callbacks

No. PayPal customer service agents do not typically do callbacks. If a customer suddenly gets a strange call or message from an unknown person, it is likely a scammer. If in doubt, contact PayPal directly yourself using the aforementioned methods. 

Three Reasons to Contact PayPal Customer Service

• Inability to access accounts. At times, PayPal customers suddenly cannot access their accounts. This complaint can be made and resolved through a phone call or texting support on Message Center.
• Delay in receiving payment. This complaint also can be made and resolved through a phone call or texting support on Message Center.
• Canceling a transaction: This usually occurs when a PayPal user attempts to cancel a payment or if a cancellation fails. This kind of situation can be speedily resolved by calling support or getting help through Message Center.

The Bottom-line When Contacting PayPal Customer Service

Customers can get help by calling PayPal customer service or using Message Center. Alternatively, they may reach the company on social media. The choice of support channel depends on the urgency of the issue. Call and Message Center remain the best ways to get help for urgent issues. Quick support via the company's social media accounts is not as fast. In all these, customers must be watchful and avoid falling into the hand of a fraudster.