What's the risk of connecting bank account to Paypal?

[omega3]

I have 2 questions regarding Paypal:

1. I read there could potentially be a risk by adding your bank account details to Paypal, but why could that be a risk? I mean, if you connect a bank account then you can transfer money from that account to Paypal (with pc banking) but not the other way around, so even if somebody hacked your Paypal and has your bank account number, he can't do anything to it (except giving me money which would be nice )

2. I don't have a Paypal account yet but if my brother opens an account, can I then transfer money from my bank account directly to his Paypal account if I want, or do I absolutely need to open a Paypal account myself for that (which i don't really want or need).

 

[nickbits]

1- once the bank account is linked, transfers can go both ways (debit/credit)
2- there isn't a way to do a one-off transfer, it would be permanently linked to his account, which would be bad. i'm not sure it is possible anyway since the owner's names are different. if you want to send money to your brother's account, you'd need to link it to yours first. and you can send it w/o any fees if you send it as a "living expense" or similar.

3- if your account is in bad standing (negative/fraud) paypal can pull money from your bank account without your authorization

 

[ch33zw1z]

If you're worried about security, this is how I handle it. I opened a checking account called "internet", it has it's own debit card. I put money in it as needed using online banking. If the card or account is compromised, then there's not much in the account at one time for hackers to get at. Yes, this is the one I've added to my paypal account.

The credit/debit card has been compromised a few times, but nothing was able to be purchased because there was about $10 left on it.

look into it and see if it will work for you. I bank at a small local bank who doesn't charge me for "inactive" checking accounts. so even if i don't use it for a month or two, it doesn't create additional fees.

 

[NutBucket]

Yeah, that's what I do as well.

 

[skyking]

Me too. We just closed accounts over at the old bank and that was the last little detail I needed to do, link paypal. I keep $200 in there and move it in as needed.

 

[Shlong]

I turned on two-step authentication at paypal. Have to enter the # that is texted to my phone everytime you login.

 

[Rakehellion]

3- if your account is in bad standing (negative/fraud) paypal can pull money from your bank account without your authorization

They can't do this.

 

[omega3]

I turned on two-step authentication at paypal. Have to enter the # that is texted to my phone everytime you login.

If somebody hacked your account they could simply turn 2 step auth off (or change phone nr) and also change the email adress, so 2 step doesn't really provide additional security i think.

 

[cabri]

If somebody hacked your account they could simply turn 2 step auth off (or change phone nr) and also change the email adress, so 2 step doesn't really provide additional security i think.

One has to get into the account and bypass the two step in order to disable it.

 

[TwiceOver]

There's really no downside other than that if your account gets hacked someone could transfer money from your bank account to paypal and then withdraw it or send it somewhere else.

After so much $$$ in transactions PayPal will force you to link a bank account. And "no" Paypal can't take money from your bank account without your authorization (say, negative balance or charge back scenario).

 

[omega3]

There's really no downside other than that if your account gets hacked someone could transfer money from your bank account to paypal and then withdraw it or send it somewhere else.

After so much $$$ in transactions PayPal will force you to link a bank account. And "no" Paypal can't take money from your bank account without your authorization (say, negative balance or charge back scenario).

But from what i understand if you connect a bank account, you allow PP to take money from your bank account for you when you do an online payment, so this is where hackers could take advantage of, right?

 

[smackababy]

They can't do this.

Yes, they can. They can replenish balances through a connected bank account.

 

[omega3]

deleted

 

[omega3]

Yes, they can. They can replenish balances through a connected bank account.

But if you only connect a bank account when you need to add money to your account and then immediately delete it, would that be 100% safe or does deleting it still leave it on PP servers so a hacker could still retrieve it somehow?

 

[Kaido]

If you're worried about security, this is how I handle it. I opened a checking account called "internet", it has it's own debit card. I put money in it as needed using online banking. If the card or account is compromised, then there's not much in the account at one time for hackers to get at. Yes, this is the one I've added to my paypal account.

The credit/debit card has been compromised a few times, but nothing was able to be purchased because there was about $10 left on it.

look into it and see if it will work for you. I bank at a small local bank who doesn't charge me for "inactive" checking accounts. so even if i don't use it for a month or two, it doesn't create additional fees.

This + 2FA for Paypal login. If you want something that will float from bank to bank, just get an online checking account like from Capital One 360:

https://home.capitalone360.com/online-checking-account?external_id=360b_CHK_SS_BAU_Z_T

Then have Paypal text you a code for every login. That way both your Paypal account & your primary bank account are protected.

 

[smackababy]

I am not familiar with how to unlink a bank account. But, in theory, PayPal would keep a record of that account and disallow it to be added to any other PayPal accounts (for privacy concerns, I guess). It is likely they wouldn't store the actual information, so them getting hacked shouldn't pose a risk.

If you use PayPal and receive money or do foreign transactions, there is little reason to not link your bank account. If you only purchase through places willing to take credit cards, that is your best bet. Unfortunately, most forum users won't do CC orders through PayPal, so that requires a bank account as well.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Yes, they can. They can replenish balances through a connected bank account.

Pretty sure they would need a court order to garnish from my bank account. If you're past due on a credit card, they can't just go and take it from your bank account.

 

[smackababy]

Pretty sure they would need a court order to garnish from my bank account. If you're past due on a credit card, they can't just go and take it from your bank account.

If for some reason, your Paypal has a negative balance (meaning you owe PayPal money), they will attempt to collect the funds from your primary funding source (bank account) automatically. If that fails, they notify you and will attempt again.

I know people who (through ebay scammers) ended up owing a refund on items and PayPal automatically withdrew the funds from their bank account. They don't need a court order. You agree to this when you sign up and add a bank account.

 

[Kaido]

Pretty sure they would need a court order to garnish from my bank account. If you're past due on a credit card, they can't just go and take it from your bank account.

Re: This is why everybody hates Paypal

 

[GrumpyMan]

Had to sign up with Paypal to buy something for my daughter, I only linked a CC. They kept sending me emails that I needed to "complete" my registration by linking a bank account. No way. Still works fine without it.

 

[olds]

I have three accounts at my bank. Checking, Savings, PayPal Savings.
PayPal is linked to the PayPal Savings account. I keep no money in that account. Ever.
If I want to pay with PayPal, I transfer money into that savings account.
If I take a payment, I transfer it into the other account as soon as it clears.

 

[Shlong]

If somebody hacked your account they could simply turn 2 step auth off (or change phone nr) and also change the email adress, so 2 step doesn't really provide additional security i think.

They would need to bypass the 2 step to change the number, email or disable 2 step authentication. So even if they have the account password they cannot access the account without putting in the "security code" sent to the saved phone #.

 

[mazhar]

1. As a matter of fact, everything has some level of risk. I was using Paypal from many years but never had any issues related to fraud or account hack or money loss. You will only enter bank account details in Paypal. But if you add credit card, you need to enter your secret pin also along with card number, which potentially a risk. Like any vendor you have to trust Paypal if you want to use it with credit card. And with debit card the risk is very less almost impossible. I never came across any hacking queries related to debit card usage on Paypal. While paying money online we use bank account number, ifsc code mainly, but using paypal it needs only email of beneficiary, since other details are already added in the Paypal account.

2. You better create a paypal account to send or receive money to anyone.