PayPal support: the real phone number

A real PayPal rep won't ask for your password or a code, and a recorded call asking you to ring back is a warning sign. If something sent you looking for this number, that message was the scam.

Last checked against paypal.com on 1 November 2026.

PayPal ·
PayPal Customer Service · United States 1-888-221-1161
Customer Service1-888-221-1161
Matches paypal.com, checked 1 November 2026
All PayPal numbers we checked (3, in 3 countries)
United States
PayPal Customer Service1-888-221-1161
Australia
PayPal Complaints about our Services1800 073 263
United Kingdom
PayPal Report fraud0800-368-7155

The real PayPal

  • You contact them, through the app or Help Center
  • Never asks for your password
  • Never asks for a verification code
  • Never asks you to install software
  • Never asks for gift cards

THE SCAM

  • "You've been invoiced for $499.99. Call us to cancel"
  • "Your account has been limited"
  • "Read me the code we just sent"
  • "You were refunded too much. Send it back"
  • "Install this so I can help"

This is what the fake warning looks like

This is what the fake text looks like

  • The number in it is not PayPal's
  • Check your PayPal account yourself, in the app
  • The rush is the trick
  • Don't call it. Forward it to phishing@paypal.com.
SECURITY ALERT PayPal: Invoice of $499.99 for Tech Support Services. If you didn't authorize this, call 1-202-555-0116. 1-202-555-0116
Illustration of a fake pop-up. The number shown is not real.
PayPal: Invoice of $499.99 for Tech Support Services. If you didn't authorize this, call 1-202-555-0116.
Illustration of a fake text. The link shown is not real.

Safer than calling

The PayPal app

Check your activity there, not through a link.

paypal.com

Type it yourself. Never follow a link in a message.

PayPal Help Center

Contact PayPal from the Contact page there.

Questions people ask

Is 1-888-221-1161 really PayPal?

Yes. It's PayPal's customer service number in the US, listed on PayPal's own security page. But a caller showing this number may still be a scammer, because caller ID can be faked. Hang up and call it yourself.

I got a PayPal invoice for something I didn't buy, with a number to call

Don't call it. Log in to PayPal yourself, in the app or at paypal.com typed by hand, and check your activity. PayPal's advice for a message you aren't sure of: don't click links or call listed numbers, and forward the email to phishing@paypal.com.

An automated call asked me to call PayPal back

Don't. PayPal says: "If an automated call provides a number and asks you to call back, don't." Contact PayPal through the Help Center instead.

A PayPal agent asked for my password or a code

Hang up. In PayPal's words: "Account info, passwords, or validation codes are for your eyes and ears only. Even a customer service rep shouldn't ask for them."

I paid a scammer or let them onto my computer. What now?

If they had remote access, disconnect from the internet. From another device, change your PayPal password and call your bank. Report it to PayPal through the Help Center. Then go to What to do now.

Already called, paid, or let them onto your computer?

What to do now

Not sure about a message you've been sent?

Check it free