Got a paypal fraudulent account notice

[Croton]

I got a notice in email today from paypal.

According to them, I received a fraudulent payment of $250 last October.

Are they going to charge *me* $250?

Is anything going to happen to my account?

 

[bigbootydaddy]

man...this happens too much...get your money and get out of there, paypal sucks. with the x.com credit account people with 3000+ dollars had accounts closed and people who depended on it for direct deposit and what not. the whole company is fubar. with billpoint now, there are other ways.

so i recommend get what you can, fight for your 250...and get out.

 

[Croton]

i have all my $$$ withdrawn from paypal -- my balance is $0.00.

I also took my credit card and bank info off of paypal.

if i do that, can they still charge me for the $250?

bigbootydaddy, u said that there is a service called billpoint? how is that?

 

[Scrapster]

Who gave you the fraudulent payment?

 

[Croton]

i'm at work, so i can't look up who gave me a fraudulent payment.

Anyway, i got an email from paypal saying that they are going to charge me $250.00 because it is a fraudulent payment! I AM SO LIVID!

what next? Do i contest it w/my VISA?


please advise!

 

[Russ]

Paypal is a joke. I finally signed up the other day because I needed to pay for some shareware I tried and liked, and it was the only payment method the author would accept.

They want my checking account number if I'm going to do more then $250 in business? A credit card number isn't good enough?

Do I look stupid? No way in hell I'm passing out my checking account number to some dotcom that may not even be in business next week.

I can see it now. When this outfit goes tits up, and they will sooner or later, there'll be empty bank accounts all over the country. Of course, it will just be a "technical glitch".

Russ, NCNE

 

[bigbootydaddy]

bill point is like payapl, without all the info, a lot use it for egay. like sayi sell you somehting, i give you a link, it asks for name/addy/email and cc number. thats it. its convienant.

 

[Soybomb]

Actually I wish there was a service like bidpay for all transactions. The buyer goes on, enters his credit card info, a money order is then billed to him and mailed to the seller along with an email confirmation of payment. It takes a couple days more to get your cash but lets seem them retract my money order

 

[HomerSapien]

Paypal took $200 out of everyones bank account at home. The online banking had really bad security installed and someone hacked it and sent $200 to paypal from everyone that used the online banking. Luckily the bank caught it quickly and has refunded everyone.

 

[Damon]

Hi Homersapien,

It sounds like you are referring to the Betty Hill email scam. A user would click on a link that would bring them to a web site that looked like PayPal's and do potential password harvesting (users can avoid these issues by making sure the link reads www.paypal.com only). This would be a user input problem and this case is being investigated.

Croton,

The email you received is probably asking for information about the transaction (if you are verified and can provide adequate proof of delivery--you should be ok--please review the terms of use on the Seller Protection Program)

Russ,

As you can see, the reason for wanting information over and above the credit card to verify identity so that a user can spend more than 250.00 can be found in Croton's issue. Someone with a stolen credit card would be able to do more damage if the cap was not in place and it is why we ask for additional identification before being allowed to do more transactions. Credit cards go through a heavy screening process, but fraudsters are fairly intelligent.

Deposits and withdrawals from bank accounts are federally regulated and we would not withdraw money from a user's account without their permission (going in on the site to request the transaction).

 

[Russ]

Paypaldamon,

There are plenty of other ways to verify identity for an on-going financial relationship then requiring that I provide you access to my checking account. This is not a single transaction situation such as an online credit card purchase.

Once you have both my CC information, and my checking account number it becomes very easy to fool the financial institutions involved. The fact is that a checking account is NOT afforded the same protections against fraud as a credit card.

Now, I don't think for a minute that PayPal as an organization would ever engage in such activity, but can you say the same for every single employee? For the creative hacker who might get in to your system?

I know of many merchants that refuse to use your system precisely because of the pitfalls I have outlined above.

Russ, NCNE

 

[Damon]

Hi Russ,

As an FYI...all employees go through an FBI background check and we have the same standards as most financial institutions relative to employment.

There are plenty of other ways to verify identity for an on-going financial relationship then requiring that I provide you access to my checking account. This is not a single transaction situation such as an online credit card purchase.

(The only viable alternative would be a credit check, an item that causes more concerns because most fear giving their social security number via the internet. Address verification works, but it is much too slow for many users and that is why bank account verification is used---generally a 3-5 day process --the logic being that many banks have strict regulations and Id requirements on those that open accounts)

In the rare event that we were hacked... we do provide coverage to $100,000.00 on all accounts through Traveler's for unauthorized access or use.

The information is encrypted and not viewable by all employees ( I can't view full bank account numbers or credit card numbers).

I hope this alleviates some concerns.

Thanks!



Text

 

[Jal]

My CC company won't let me use PayPal.. Aparently the two do not get along.. I might get another CC to use that PayPal likes, but am now weary

 

[Damon]

Hi Jal,

Did you have an issue registering your card? There are no issues specific to any company that I am aware of.

 

[Double Trouble]

I had some of the same concerns with regard to providing access to my checking account to some company out there.... but I needed a service to make payments for purchases on FT/FS, so I simply created another checking account with my bank, and used it to set up Paypal. I keep a zero balance in that account, so there will be no shenanigans with my 'real' checking account.

By the way, the 'extra' account doesn't cost me anything because I use my company credit union.

 

[Jal]

One company, I can not register (Being an international user)..

I have made many phone calls, and sent many faxes, and told, no can do, with this company, and an International account.

I would like to use PayPal, due to the convenience, but for now I do my biz with WesternUnion. The people sending me the cash pays the service fees, and I just pick up the cheque with my Drivers License.

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

<< $250 last October >>

Coming back to haunt you nearly 4 months later is too much... too bad I liked using PayPal too

 

[Damon]

Hi,

Just to clarify a little on a charge back--

These can take months to come in because the person that was defrauded may take some time to contact the issuing card to advise of the issue. Generally they have 60 days to report the issue to their card company (who has the final say in issuance) and then the appropriate information is forwarded to the merchant to tackle.

The best way to protect yourselves from charge backs-
1. Verified membership
2. Do not ship internationally ( you can, but the Seller Protection Program offers no protection to the charge backs related to overseas transactions)
3. Do not accept multiple payments for the same item (this is a fraud indicator).
4. Keep record of shipping.

Items 1 and 4 are the primary reasons that a user would lose a charge back (because they did not meet the criteria).

Avoid high risk countries--we do not supply service to Indonesia, Russia, Malaysia, etc. These countries have high fraud rates and our service is not allowed there at this time---I would use extreme caution when someone mentions buying these items for overseas shipping.

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

Damon, re: #1 do you mean be a verified member yourself, or only sell to verified paypal members?

 

[BuckMaster]

Sorry Paypaldamon,
But PayPal = Suck!!! They started charging % of money to the sellers and its already went up and we all know its will just keep going up after time. I really dont care for an axcuse its just BS. There making more then enough money just having money in thier accounts. The worse part is it just keeps getting worse! STOP his madness damit! Its so convenient and other reasons you/they have people by the balls! You have to Verify that you Verifed a Verifying Verifyed account! :| I believe in protection and security but crap. I could go on but dont feel the need to.

 

[Damon]

Hi,

The seller that wants to be protected from charge backs needs to be verified-


Be a Verified Premier or Verified Business Account (U.S.)
Verification is a positive signal to your buyer and to the PayPal community. By using the Verification System, PayPal reduces the risk that a Seller is not legitimate. Dishonest Sellers damage both the PayPal community and the online community in general.

Ship to the buyer's Verified Shipping Address
PayPal prompts buyers to provide sellers with a Verified Shipping Address when making a purchase. The Verified Shipping Address is checked against the buyer's credit card billing address maintained by their credit card company. Shipping to this address minimizes the risk of being paid by a fraudulent buyer.

Retain reasonable proof-of-shipment that can be tracked online
Always keep proof that you did indeed honor the payment and made the shipment to the Verified Shipping Address. Most U.S. carrier companies offer this service, including the U.S. Postal Service. You will be required to provide a copy of this shipment record in cases of disputes. The tracking documentation must show that you shipped to the Verified Shipping Address.

Ship tangible goods
Since comparable widely-accepted proof-of-shipment methods are not currently available for intangible goods and services, we are currently unable to offer Seller Protection for digital goods and other electronically-delivered items.

Only accept single payments from single PayPal accounts
Payments by a buyer from multiple accounts for a single item are a fraud indicator. Under no circumstances should you accept these payments. Acceptance of these payments will result in loss of protection under this Policy and possible termination of your account.

Ship to domestic (U.S.) buyers at U.S. addresses
We do not currently extend Seller Protection for international payments and shipments.

 

[Croton]

damon
i have been a verified member of paypal for a long time now.
however, when i recieved the email in the morning regarding a possible chargeback, i got so pissed that i took my credit card and bank account info off the site.

this made my account unverified instantly.

i also had shipped the transaction in question to canada. and since it was in october, i do not have the shipping/tracking info (i clean out my reciepts every 2 months).

so later this afternoon, paypal sends me an email saying that i am liable for the $250.00 that SOMEONE else committed fraud for!

now i have a $250.00 charge on my account.

so please advise me what to do now -- I am just stating it clear that there is no way in HELL that i am going to pay that money. *I* did not commit any illegal acts, so why should i pay?

 

[Jal]

I just got an Email today from PayPal.. They now accept Bank Accounts in Canada.

I'm still weary.. My CreditCard company and PayPal don't like each other, yet the convenience of PayPal is good. Maybe I should open a 2nd bank account for PayPal transactions only. Or maybe I should heed my CC warning...

UGH,, I dunno.

 

[Damon]

Hi,

I am sorry to hear of the issues, but the program does not protect against international transactions (even to Canada at this time). I did post information about what is covered and some additional information can be found on the web site in the Terms of Use.

 

[Cheapster]

Poor Paypaldamon will be an elite member by the end of the week if he answers everybody's paypal questions.

Let me ask you Paypaldamon, can I go on their and delete my checking account numbers/routing and replace it with a credit card?