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SpencerH
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Co-Ruler of my patch of land south of Birmingham Alabama
Feb 2002 time: 23:36
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This is what I'm talking about. It didnt exist when I first signed up with paypal, and I think it's bullshit.
quote: PayPal encourages eBay buyers and sellers to become PayPal Verified to build trust on eBay. Verification helps to authenticate a member's identity which increases the security of the PayPal network for everyone.
As a verified PayPal member you will also enjoy the following benefits. You will be able to:
Increase your sending limit.
Fund your payments with your checking account.
Improve your reputation because other eBay users will know you're Verified.
Pay your bills online with PayPal's FREE BillPay service.
To become Verified simply add a bank account to your PayPal account. PayPal then sends two small deposits to your bank account. Just find the deposit amounts and enter them on the PayPal website, and you'll be Verified--it's that easy. Get Verified today! |
If you're not 'verified' i.e. give them access to your bank account, you have very limited use of paypal.
Here's why you shouldnt give them your bank account
quote: WARNING! PAYPAL!
If you have, or are thinking of having, an account with www.paypal.com, read this.
In September 2001 I ordered a product online for $280.90 from a health website. The website asked for my credit card as is normal and I gave them my visa debit number. This visa number is a debit account - it is hooked up to a bank account of mine which is hooked to my paypal account. Imagine my shock and horror when I saw that the money was withdrawn, not by the seller, but by Paypal!
I phoned paypal and asked how this was possible. They informed me that the seller had opened a paypal account in my name, and took the money out that way. The seller did not steal any money from me - BUT they then had an account hooked up to my bank account - so there was nothing stopping them in the future from withdrawing other sums of money from me. They did not subsequently close the account.
I phoned paypal and told them to close this second account. Guess what? The person I spoke to said that I couldn't! Because I didn't know the password! And the email address for the new account did not go to me! I asked, how could I know the password since I didn't open the account? In desperation, I then wrote a letter to the Managing Director but got no reply and I assumed the matter was handled. A year later I learned that this account was still in existence!
Paypal has since put a block on this second account so that it cannot be used, but they won't close it for me. I have to wait a total of three years (two years to go) before it will close itself due to inactivity.
One worrying aspect of all this is that I was never sent any correspondence to inform me of the second account in my name (linked to my main account). I learned of its existence only by studying my bank statement, seeing that the money was paid to paypal (not the seller) and phoning paypal. It takes little imagination to imagine some unscrupulous person saving up credit card numbers, opening second paypal accounts that the credit card owners are unaware of, and then withdrawing millions of dollars on one day and heading off to South America.
It is clear that the business model for paypal has a massive security flaw.
So - be warned! If you have a paypal account DO NOT under any circumstances link it to any bank account with any sizeable sum of money! In other words, don't give paypal a debit account number or merchant account number. And you might like to phone them to find out how many accounts are in your name.
Much worse stories (involving the loss of thousands of $$$s) at www.paypalsucks.com
www.endpaypal2002.netfirms.com
http://aboutpaypal.org
Copyright ©: Stephanie Relfe - 2002
www.relfe.com
Email:Stephanie@Relfe.com |
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