BERKSHIRE, N.Y. (WBNG) — A Berkshire-based day trading company lost nearly $80,000 from its PayPal account in a fraud scheme before being reimbursed by the company.
The company owners are now sharing their story to warn other business owners about scams of this nature.
James and Robin Buchman own The All Go Day Trader. The business uses PayPal for all customer subscriptions and payments.
On Jan. 10, James Buchman said he logged in to transfer the account balance to their bank account and found the funds nearly gone.
“January 10, I went in there and I knew there was supposed to be around $82,000 in there and it showed something like $43,” James Buchman said. “There was 7 or 8 names, person-to-person transfers, thousands of dollars each. Cleaned everything out.”
The Buchmans contacted PayPal, and representatives confirmed the activity was fraudulent. After several conversations with the company, the Buchmans were reimbursed.
Robin Buchman said the business was founded after James lost his eyesight and could no longer work in his school district.
“The use of technology and different platforms you can use to speak to other people and all the different programs that are out there for people to utilize to have control in how they invest their own money,” Robin Buchman said. “I said, ‘Why don’t we make a community where people can get together, and we can help them learn about the programs?'”
Robin Buchman said there are steps business owners can take to reduce their risk.
“There are ways you can use online payment programs, like PayPal, but maybe in a way that’s safer,” she said. “Connecting it to a credit card that is all you’re using it for, or a bank account that’s empty and that’s all you’re using it for.”
In a statement, a PayPal spokesperson said the company does not tolerate fraudulent activity.
“PayPal does not tolerate fraudulent activity, and our teams work tirelessly to protect our customers,” the statement read. “We continue to proactively use sophisticated fraud detection tools and manual investigations, as well as work closely with law enforcement agencies to mitigate potential issues and help our customers.”
PayPal encourages anyone who suspects fraudulent activity to change their account password and closely monitor their account.
