Has PayPal Gone Insane ? Advice Requested

KRS1 said:
Paypal records:

1)computer name
2)label name of hard drive
3)IP address
4)service provider
5)stores flash (LSO) cookies recording your browser history, the DO track forum post if username and seller name is the same.
6)stores regular cookies of course

plus more things i dont know about.
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If you are doing any amount of online transactions, it is advisable to learn how to remove this type of information from your PC each time you close a browsing session, as well as have software ( or hardware ) in place to prevent it in the first place...

or am I the only one running both a hardware and software firewall :)
 
John T Wylie Jr said:
If you are doing any amount of online transactions, it is advisable to learn how to remove this type of information from your PC each time you close a browsing session, as well as have software ( or hardware ) in place to prevent it in the first place...

or am I the only one running both a hardware and software firewall :)
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You might be. I've been working in the IT field for a long time, and I've never seen a good software firewall. Having both is redundant! Like having 2 antivirus programs, while wearing tinfoil hat and underwear.
 
ooitzoo said:
So does your bank. Keep in mind that the reason PP is doing this isn't to mess with you or to make life more difficult. Its likely because on an external (governmental) demand or internal investigation.
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My bank doesn't have a copy of my passport or drivers license. Neither do any of the credit card companies I have cards with. They are doing it to gather information they have no business possessing and the way they go about it is insane: Completely freezing the account until a drivers license or passport is scanned and sent to them. What does my physical address have to do with my IP address? Nothing, because I use proxies, and because I use multiple computers in various cities. If I suspect fraud I'll contact my credit card company. I don't need paypal freezing my account when I want to make a purchase.

The only reason I use paypal is because I can send payments to people when I buy things on here or if I want to use a credit card without revealing the CC# to the seller. I don't accept payments and I use the account a few times a year. I have nothing to report to the IRS because I'm not making money, only purchasing. They have no reason to freeze my account other than to gather personal information they have no reason to possess.

I can't wait til people hack into their databases and steal not only CC#s but copies of passports and drivers licenses. That'll be fun.
 
That really sux Roland.Youre likely right about the Canada banking and Wa. state PO box thing.It must have raised a red flag along with the amount you spend.Should be none of their f-in' business,but privacy and freedom has been spinning down the toilet the last few years.Good luck.
 
Seals said:
That really sux Roland.Youre likely right about the Canada banking and Wa. state PO box thing.It must have raised a red flag along with the amount you spend.Should be none of their f-in' business,but privacy and freedom has been spinning down the toilet the last few years.Good luck.
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I agree 100% it is a combo of bank and PO box..and sucks.
 
RevDevil said:
You might be. I've been working in the IT field for a long time, and I've never seen a good software firewall. Having both is redundant! Like having 2 antivirus programs, while wearing tinfoil hat and underwear.
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Redundancy is the name of the game , if my system got any more redundant, I would have to be running MARATHON.
 
Sorry you're having all this trouble Roland. This is exactly why I do not and will never use PayPal.
 
fj40jay said:
I base this on my experience. What should I base it on? It seems like to me no matter what i say you choose to dispute it.
Yes banks are EVIL, EVIL Bastards. And with that same logic, I could find faults and flaws with every thing in this world.
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I never said that they are evil. They're not good either. Those concepts apply to people not corporations (which are much more like machines then actual living people.) BTW, without modern banking I can gaurantee that you wouldn't enjoy anywhere near the lifestyle that you enjoy now. Ever try to negotiate terms for an inter-state transaction where one party sends goods and another tried to pay in cash or some analog (gold, silver, barter, etc.)?

RevDevil said:
You might be. I've been working in the IT field for a long time, and I've never seen a good software firewall. Having both is redundant! Like having 2 antivirus programs, while wearing tinfoil hat and underwear.
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QFT x 100

Fanglekai said:
My bank doesn't have a copy of my passport or drivers license. Neither do any of the credit card companies I have cards with. They are doing it to gather information they have no business possessing and the way they go about it is insane: Completely freezing the account until a drivers license or passport is scanned and sent to them. What does my physical address have to do with my IP address? Nothing, because I use proxies, and because I use multiple computers in various cities. If I suspect fraud I'll contact my credit card company. I don't need paypal freezing my account when I want to make a purchase.

The only reason I use paypal is because I can send payments to people when I buy things on here or if I want to use a credit card without revealing the CC# to the seller. I don't accept payments and I use the account a few times a year. I have nothing to report to the IRS because I'm not making money, only purchasing. They have no reason to freeze my account other than to gather personal information they have no reason to possess.

I can't wait til people hack into their databases and steal not only CC#s but copies of passports and drivers licenses. That'll be fun.
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This made me chuckle a little bit. You seem to take a somewhat naive view of the world and the Govt. They aren't there to be logical or user-friendly. They are there to fulfill a goal which, by its nature, may not be very rational or friendly to the citizen.

The hacking piece I completely agree with. Its kind of annoying that they ask for some much while not taking the appropriate precautions with peoples information.
 
rprocter said:
On a societal level it is troubling to learn of yet another form of monitoring of regular citizens by government and large businesses.
Freedom is lost by increment, each being small enough that although begrudged, is accepted, until ultimately every move by every citizen is monitored.
I fear "America, Land of the Free" is becoming "America, Land of Monitoring Everything".
I'm 65 and the loss of personal freedoms in every aspect of life has been extreme during my lifetime.
roland
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I agree....and its only going to get worse. Look at stuff like the NSA spy center being built in Utah. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/all/1

I'll keep this brief since it's off topic (I only brought it up because the OP took the conversation to freedoms and lack of) but it scares the heck out of me. People say "you have nothing to worry about if you've done nothing wrong" to that I say: history is littered with people that have been harmed by governments and had done nothing wrong. If we were sure it was the Mother Theresas of the world in charge of this stuff I'd feel better. But you are much more likely to get a Hitler type personality seeking the power than a Mother Theresa.

Back on topic: I've had no problems with Paypal after like 8yrs but I've been reading a lot of horror stories from people in the industry. I will be expanding payment options soon.
 
My PP account has just been "restored".
"Our review is complete and we have restored your account"
The rest thanks me for my patience. I was impatient. Maybe one day 'they' will be able to know this and keep my access suspended longer as punishment.
Anyway, back to practising my knife addiction.
roland
 
rprocter said:
My PP account has just been "restored".
"Our review is complete and we have restored your account"
The rest thanks me for my patience. I was impatient. Maybe one day 'they' will be able to know this and keep my access suspended longer as punishment.
Anyway, back to practising my knife addiction.
roland
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Glad to hear it man.
 
I just received a very similar email. It turned out to be a phishing scam. It looks like this:

Information Regarding Your account:
Dear PayPal Member:

Your PayPal account has been limited!

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system.We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.We requested information from you for the following reason:

Our system detected unusual charges to a credit card linked to your PayPal account.

Reference Number: PP-161-298-880

This is the Last reminder to log in to PayPal as soon as possible. Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access.

We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety.

Click here to activate your account



We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department
Copyright © 1999-2012 PayPal. All rights reserved. PayPal FSA Register Number: 115167.
PayPal Email ID PP161
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Like a fool, I clicked the link. It took me to a VERY convincing reproduction of PP's real site. It was only that the url was called www.trixcash.......com, that I realised it was a scam. I didn't enter any information, never the less I changed all my IDs after scanning my PC with Malware, Spybot etc.

I reported it to PP, and they told me that:

①The email from PayPal always begins with your registered full name like Hello Adam Szymura.
Many phishing emails begin with Dear PayPal Member or Hello PayPal user.
②Your account is not limited. There is not any PP case created your account.
③We will never let you click any link to enter your credit card information or password.
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So be VERY careful.
 
Los Angeles said:
If you've really done $500,000 worth of business and most of it was NOT for auction or websites with checkout features, then it's likely that your account has been flagged for drug money laundering. That's a major problem with Paypal right now, and that's why they won't tell you WHY they need hard proof of your identity.
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Bingo..... :thumbup:
 
I just got the PP "Your Account Has Been Limited" email today with the request for updating my credit card information and other crap. I logged onto PP and found nothing of the sort. The "link that they sent me to "update" was really convincing and would read "limited" when I clicked on links. But when you look at the URL it is not PP. I checked with the real PP community forum and there are MANY of these scams out there. The advice they gave was to never enter info or log in from "linked" sources. I reported the email by forwarding to spoof@paypal.com

I have my browser Sandboxed, so I feel confident that I didn't accidentally dowload any funny business.

Some of you have said to just jump through the hoops? I would be very careful that you aren't jumping through someone else's hoops. Some of these scams are so complex that they have folks taking phone calls and everything.

WHENEVER YOU LOG ONTO PAYPAL, TYPE THE URL INTO THE ADDRESS BAR, YOURSELF!
 
Rick, that's very interesting. My episode was with PP. It began when i tried to pay for an ebay item and found that my account had been "limited".
The email you received shows that scammers are copying this "account limited" language.
roland
 
Yes... I realize yours was the real deal and I'm glad you got it sorted out, brother. This was clearly a scam and I almost fell for it. The only thing that was out of place was a request to update my CC info. I have never used my credit card for PP and previously spoke to a representative that told me I should never have to.

QUESTION EVERYTHING!
 
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