PayPal Chief Says Credit Card Hacked, Used For Spending Spree

(RTTNews) - PayPal President David Marcus says his credit card information was recently hacked while he was visiting Europe.

The PayPal boss tweeted on Monday, "My card (with EMV chip) got skimmed while in the UK."

The information was taken "at the hotel I was staying at. They then cloned it and went on a shopping spree" involving "thousands of transactions," he tweeted.

EMV chip technology, widely adopted in Europe and Asia, is supposed be to a more secure system than the magnetic stripe cards still used here in the United States.

But crooks may getting much better at exploiting the EMV chip cards, just as some major U.S. retailers and credit card issuers have announced plans to phase out magnetic stripes.

The UK's Daily Mail reports Marcus' card had both the traditional magnetic strip and an EMV chip, making him even more vulnerable to hackers.

Marcus says that using his own company's service would have prevented the theft.

"Obfuscating card data online, on mobile, and now more and more offline remains one of PayPal's strongest value props," Marcus added on Twitter.

The company says its free app can link your bank account, debit or credit cards to your PayPal account, which can then be used anywhere PayPal is accepted.