Stop using PayPal (formally someone stole my money)

**Shinobi128** · 24 Aug 2003, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by Dragonmaster Dyne

how does one cancel thie paypal acct? they sure dont make it easy to find info for that

Login into PayPal, click on "Profile," and from there you should see the "Close Account" link.

**bandit** · 24 Aug 2003, 09:32 PM

I have had PayPal account for over 3 years now, and not a single problem with them.

**Regus** · 24 Aug 2003, 10:04 PM

I thought about getting a paypal account, but when I found out that it required access to your bank account I wanted no part of it. I only deal in money orders.

**Mzo** · 24 Aug 2003, 10:08 PM

You can start a free checking account with most banks, like, say Washington Mutual (which is what I did).

Have the account open and use it only to send and receive money from PayPal. Never keep assloads of money in there, just transfer in and out as needed.

Might sound like a lot of work but it isn't, and I like being instantly paid after an auction ends, I like paying people the day an auction is over so I get my item quicker, and I like to be able to send and receive money between friends in case of an emergency. It's a good system, just don't forget that, much like everything else in the world, people are dicks.

Be smart, protect yourself, and you'll be fine.

**gameoverDude** · 24 Aug 2003, 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by icepop

Good luck with the investigation. Unfortunately it's likely to take a very very very very long time.

My Paypal account has been under "investigation" for almost a year now after some bastard ebayer claimed I never sent their item and got PayPal to freeze my account and get their money back. Because the person didn't want insurance and I didn't send it with a tracking number I had no way to defend myself. PayPal does indeed suck.

The paypalsucks website has a lot of good information. Use the phone numbers there to try and speed up the process. Good luck.

If I sell something on eBay, I'll say upfront that the item won't be sold without insurance. If a buyer doesn't want insurance and T&C, let them look for another seller. I just go ahead and add these fees into the S&H whether the buyer wants them or not- if they don't, tough shit for them.

As for those who are having trouble with PayPal, there's Girard Gibbs & De Bartolomeo, a legal team that's taken an interest in PP issues- right on the front page of paypalsucks.

Sorry to hear that about your PP account. I'd tell Troll Hunters on that bastard eBayer- it's theoretically possible he was trying to claim a false nonreceipt of the item to scam you and get the item for free.

Here's some Unbelievable Bullshit- how are you to know if a buyer is paying with a stolen credit card? Does PayPal expect a seller to be Kenny Freakin' Kingston?

Originally Posted by paypalsucks.com

4. If you are a bona fide, up-standing individual with hundreds of successful transactions, but someone pays you with a stolen credit card, your account (by PayPal's own admission) is immediately flagged as being "criminal behavior" and any money in that account is confiscated. If a customer "disputes" the charge, same thing happens. (See email above.)

**bandit** · 24 Aug 2003, 11:57 PM

4. If you are a bona fide, up-standing individual with hundreds of successful transactions, but someone pays you with a stolen credit card, your account (by PayPal's own admission) is immediately flagged as being "criminal behavior" and any money in that account is confiscated. If a customer "disputes" the charge, same thing happens. (See email above.)

Actually that is wrong. Someone bought a $200 item from me with a stolen credit card. PayPal reversed the payment to investigate. Luckily I didnt send it out. So happens, it was a stolen credit card. I called up PayPal to make sure that nothing will happen to my account (I transfered whatever I had to my bank account to be on the safe side)..and the person said, I am not responsible nor liable as I did not know it was stolen.

**sleeve** · 25 Aug 2003, 04:26 PM

Shinobi, this may sound silly, but have you tried asking your bank to refund the money?

Your first recourse in a situation like this, where someone has fraudulently accessed your bank account, should be to deal directly with your bank.

After looking at www.paypalsucks.com, I have a lot more questions than answers. Could someone in the know point me to exactly where on that site it explains how PayPal's encryption technology is unsafe?

More to the point, how can some random person steal someone's checking account number from PayPal and use it to draw funds from that account? I don't doubt that it's possible, but the site doesn't really explain how. And I'm certainly not going to use some ramshackle "alternative" being advertised at that site. PayPal is the most reputable service of its kind, and until I find a definite answer to these questions, I'm going to keep using it. I will probably set up a PayPal-only checking account, though.

**bandit** · 25 Aug 2003, 05:22 PM

Originally Posted by sleeveboy

Shinobi, this may sound silly, but have you tried asking your bank to refund the money?

Your first recourse in a situation like this, where someone has fraudulently accessed your bank account, should be to deal directly with your bank.

After looking at www.paypalsucks.com, I have a lot more questions than answers. Could someone in the know point me to exactly where on that site it explains how PayPal's encryption technology is unsafe?

More to the point, how can some random person steal someone's checking account number from PayPal and use it to draw funds from that account? I don't doubt that it's possible, but the site doesn't really explain how. And I'm certainly not going to use some ramshackle "alternative" being advertised at that site. PayPal is the most reputable service of its kind, and until I find a definite answer to these questions, I'm going to keep using it. I will probably set up a PayPal-only checking account, though.

They probably didnt get the checking account number. What the person probably did was make a purchase using the checking account directly..thats how the $1400, was taken directly out of the checking account. The person couldnt have transfered money as it would take 3-4 business days from checking to PayPal (vice versa), as to an instant transfer of funds from the bank account to whatever the purchase is or from checking to another paypal account.