HELP!!
It has been a couple of years since I last used my Paypal account and it appears that some things have changed … I think. I went to add funds to the account to make a couple of book purchases and before Paypal will transfer the funds they require ‘Additional Proof of Identity’.
I am being asked for a Photo ID, copy of my Social Security Card, and proof of address. Is this something that has been instituted in the last couple of years, or am I getting phished?
Thanks for any help.
Bob C.
Bob, With that amount of info in the wrong hands, You’r scr**d!.
Do A Google search…. Then Call the 800 number and talk to a real person. If in Doubt about the real person your talking to. Ask to speak to their supervisor.
If you don’t feel confident in what you’r doing, then don’t do it.
Dave,
I have since called Paypal, and apparently this is something they have had to institute since I last used Paypal several years ago. This information is ONLY required if you are going to make a direct money transfer from your bank account/credit card TO Paypal. If the Paypal is retrieving the same funds from your linked account this does not apply.
What started the whole issue was I was going to purchase A Century + 10 D&RGW. In the past I had always determined my purchase, transferred the funds to Paypal, them made the purchase so the funds were already in Paypal. Not so any longer. I have my Paypal tied to a small checking account with a max of 100 bucks overdraft. Limits possible damage. Now I will just need to make sure the deposit is on the checking account, Paypal will do the rest.
Thanks for the answer Dave. It never hurts to double check.
Bob C.
Bob, I used to use PayPal in exactly the same way. I only gave them what they needed to get the payment done but then the slime balls wanted my credit card number, then later my bank details, then this, that and the other until they eventually find out where your grand mother hides the recipe for her special sauce.
Now they insist in me giving them a mobile phone number but I just don’t happen to have one. I am forced to push the ‘Pester Me Later’ button to get in. Geez!
Andrew
Not sure of the banking laws ‘down under’, but here in the states Paypal eluded to the Federal Government requiring them to procure that information. At the moment I am letting this slide, but I do intend to do some investigating to determine whether this is just more invasive arm bending by the business or if it truly is more intrusion into citizens private lives by ‘Big Brother’.
Either way, for the moment I got my purchases made, one book for work and two for hobby. I will be keeping a close eye on the account to see just what transactions take place. I did make sure that this is not attached to any of the household accounts, it is a stand alone in a separate bank. The intent here is that with only a checking account linked to Paypal, only keeping a small balance and adding funds to the checking as required will limit damage to a maximum of the allowable overdraft by the bank.
Bob C.
I do know that a while back, Some of the scum started using PayPal to launder drug and Stolen CC money. PayPal had regulators all over them, and this may be part of their “Fix”.
I have used Pay Pal for years, and have the account linked to my bank account. So they do not require any additional information from me to make a transfer in either direction. I actually have found it safer than some other means of payment. For example making a political donation, you supply no numbers or addresses, just make the payment. No credit card information is exchanged, and all emails come to me through PP.
Now we all only have to worry about one place being hacked, Pay Pal itself.
Sounds Phishy to me Bob. I can’t stand paypal… their fees keep going up and they keep demanding more and more information and access to use their services or else.
When I first signed up years ago I linked a credit card to it then that wasn’t good enough because I had ot be verified and they wanted to link my bank or checking account which I will not do.
The only option was to open a seperate checking account with $100 bucks in it.
I did get banned from paypal once because according to them someone at my address violated their policy but of course they wouldn’t say how or who. I never did figure that one out but abotu a year later I was able to restart with them.
paypal is lousy but if you wnat to do business on Ebay you have to use it.
give them as little as possible Bob.
@Dave - That thought crossed my mind last evening as I was getting into bed, after chatting with them. Your comments sort of solidify that train (pun intended) of thought.
@Todd - I thought it sounded phishy as well. First I posted here knowing that there are a fair amount of Paypal users here who might have run across that in the last 2-3 years. After posting I went ahead and looked up their customer service number on their site and gave them a call resulting in the information I provided in my second post. I keep as little in the checking account as the bank will allow until I ma ready to make a purchase. This limits my total liability to about 100 bucks (the maximum the bank will allow on an overdraft).
The fees for me are not currently an issue as the receiver pays the freight. I painfully await the day Paypal figures it can collect on both ends of the transaction. What brought me back to using Paypal was two fold. First there are some vendors I want to do business with that only use Paypal, and second Paypal does offer some protection from the events of Target and Amazon.
Paypal works fine for me, no issues.
once set up and working it seems a violation of privacy when at some stage later them incrementally asking for more details. Feels like you are being conned following their carrot. Perhaps they ask for it all now on a new account because I think there were security issues which forced them to change over the years as Dave said.
I have used them for years with no problems. I do have an account that all my bills get paid from which has a debit card attached. PayPal are linked to that and I just shove what is currently needed there at any time to give some limit to problems. My bank is vigilant with any suspicious activity. They once rang me over a small charge that was actually legit (unrelated to PayPal).
PayPal (and banks) use sophisticated algorithms to detect ‘unusual’ activity depending on your habits. If you do something out of the ordinary, your account can be suspended automatically.
I read once that at any time PayPal holds approximately 2% of money suspended that passes through them. That is a lot when approximately 145 billion passes through them annually (2012).
When transferring money internationally PayPal’s exchange rate is higher than the actual exchange rate. It is similar to SWIFT money exchange charges between currencies. This cannot be avoided no matter how you exchange money through other services.
PayPal are not a bank as such but a money exchange service therefore they do not have to abide by local banking laws in some countries.
PayPal offers a simple way of transferring money between individuals globally and have resolution processes to solve problems. Security is all a matter of ‘trust’ no matter how you look at it. Can you trust the locksmith that made your locks? Perhaps it is best that one entity is trusted rather than having your information scattered all over the world in various hands. Limiting your exposure to potential problems the only thing an individual can really do when the issue of ‘trust’ is involved.
Andrew
Andrew,
Once set up and working …
Well, it once was until the bank I had linked to Paypal decided that they needed additional cash flow and began charging for a free checking account. I closed the account. That was two, three, maybe four years ago. I set up Paypal then because I was developing my motive power/rolling stock roster and was doing a good bit of eBay purchasing. When the bank did their thing was fortunate for me as I was for the most part done purchasing.
PayPal are not a bank as such but a money exchange service therefore they do not have to abide by local banking laws in some countries.
And as eluded to by David above, I agree with him that this exchange service being provided by a United States business, therefore coming under U.S. jurisdiction, has been forced to now keep track of who, with proof of the who, when a CASH movement is made. That is why I can purchase from a vendor and simply allow the vendor to RETRIEVE his funds from my account, generating the trackability the government wishes with out invasion of my privacy.
On that note, I plan to call Paypal again during the daytime hours so I have a chance of talking with someone who will be able provide the information I will be requesting. That being, “Please provide the U.S. Statute requiring this information collection.”, and clarification of what is the disposition of the information once they have it. Honestly, I don’t have great faith I will succeed, but nothing ventured nothing gained.
Bob C.
@Bob, I don’t believe that there is a statue covering PayPal, The bottom line is " These are our rules and if you want to play you must abide within them".
It’s a lot like the “Licensing agreement” on all the software we put on our computer. If you don’t click the “agree” button you don’t get to use the product. [ This is a whole another topic]
Dave - When I spoke to Paypal on the customer service line, the party I spoke to eluded to Paypal’s being required to as for this by a Federal Law. It was late in the evening when I talked to them (late for me and the end of the day for them) so I didn’t think to as then. Will let you know what I find out when I chat with them.
Bob C.
I only have a credit card linked to my Paypal account. That way, the damage is limited to $50 (credit card rules,) and I have someone on my side to help.
I will never give Paypal access to any bank account. You can’t even trust your bank these days.