tes21966

I received an email from Paypal this morning that said: "We noticed an issue with your account". I logged into my Paypal account (Not From The Link) from my desktop to be sure I was getting Paypal. Once I saw the information they were requesting, I was surprised. I figured I would call and speak to a live person for what I hoped would be a better explanation. Once I received my one time access code and went through the prompts I got a pleasant lady on the phone who did a very good job of explaining what they were asking for or my account would become "limited" to the dollar amount of monthly transactions and the ability to take money from Paypal Balance and "other things"

Here you go:
1- A copy of a photo ID such as your state issued Drivers License
2- A copy of your social security card or a pay stub showing your social security number
3- A copy of a bill such as a power bill that shows your address

I don't know about you but I would not even provide this much info to my preacher, especially over the World Wide Web.

I told the young lady I was speaking that this would prob;y force me to close my account because I do not feel comfortable providing all that information. She then informed me that I CAN NOT EVEN CLOSE MY ACCOUNT ONCE IT BECOMES LIMITED! When I questioned her to verify I understood her correctly she actually laughed and said she would not either and that she does NOT have a Paypal account herself any longer.

Am I alone in not feeling comfortable providing so much info?

porcia83

My Feedback: (8)

Overall, no. Other than the power bill they already have the information, chances are they are seeking it from you to verify your identity. This isn't something they are asking for from every member, and they noted something on your account triggered this. Closing the account would be cutting off your nose to spite your face, imo. sure plenty of people don't use PP, but it it can be a hassle.

tes21966

From what I understand it is going to apply to everyone. The lady I spoke with said it was due to new government guidelines when I asked if it was something on just my account. I have had my account since 2003 and use it a lot but I am not going to send them my SS number or a copy of my paystub account or not. I do not want to close the account because I do use it so much because like you said, it is convenient but just would not feel comfortable providing this type info. I hope this is something that PP will backoff on.

Here is the email I received.

We need your help resolving an issue with your PayPal account.

What's the problem?

Before we can offer you certain products and services, federal regulations
require that we collect specific information to verify your identity. This
information includes your name, address, date of birth, and National Tax ID
or Social Security Number. We haven't been able to verify your identity
using the information you provided, so we need some additional
documentation from you.

Until this issue is resolved, you'll be able to log in to your PayPal
account but you might not be able to add money to it or use some of your
account features.

How can you help?

It's usually pretty easy to take care of things like this. Most of the
time, we just need a little more information about your account or latest
transactions.

Please log in to your account and go to the Resolution Center to find out
what you need to do.

Case ID Number: PP-003-xxx-xxx-xxx

Sincerely,
PayPal

Hemikiller

My Feedback: (125)

You need to show some of those items to open a bank account, why not for a money transfer service that you use to buy and sell items online?

#1 is to prove you are a real human
#2 is to for tax purposes, so they can issue you tax documents in case you pass a certain tansaction & dollar amount threshold
#3 is to prove you live where you say you do, as many people never update their driver's license.


FWIW, Paypal has had my SS# for years, whoop-de-do

init4fun

About Ebay and paypal ,

I had an Ebay account and paypal account back when I was more actively buying hobby stuff . Got to a point where I truly couldn't fit another model plane in the RC dedicated room I store them all in . Really . I'd have needed a big hammer or tree shredder to fit any more in there (Ok may not quite that bad , but close ) ....

And so I stopped buying stuff . I never sold a thing , and wouldn't for the fact of how easy it is for sellers to end up with no product or money for their trouble . Just a bunch of low buck buys , and then idle for a few years . Kinda forgot about the account actually , when I got an Email from Ebay thanking me for my recent for sale listing ! Yeppers , some slimeball had hijacked my account and was going to sell some non existent product with my name as seller and his own entered in bank info for the payment to be sent to . So of course i called Ebay and spoke with a nice young lady , I calmly explained my situation , and she took care of it right there over the phone , on her computer , while I waited . When she had eliminated the fraudulent listing I asked her how much trouble it would be to close my account . She of course asked why I'd close it since the account hijack was fixed and I told her that since I don't plan on anymore on line purchases of hobby stuff , which is all I ever bought in the first place , and because if hacked once , could be hacked again and I don't need the account enough to want to babysit it waiting for the next hacked listing . She understood and began the process of closing my account , which isn't an instant thing , it takes 24 hours to go into effect she told me . Anyway , after Ebay was confirmed closed I went and closed paypal too , figure since I need noting from Ebay and don't buy anything else requiring paypal , why leave open an account that was tied to a hacked account ? Lastly , just for good measure , I went to my bank and had them reissue my account all new numbers and cards , which ain't a bad idea to do every few years anyway . Cards get beat up and numbers used for years without change are more likely to have been passed around between a hacker or few , so said the gent at the bank .

PLANE JIM

My Feedback: (109)

Sounds like a scam

tes21966

I was actually not a scam. It was infact from Paypal. I have had several large purchases in the past 90 days. According to paypal, this sometimes sends up red flags when accounts have over a certain amount of transactions. So happens, I was one of the ones that was flagged. I have purchased all the components needed for a 100cc plane, a 30cc plane, and 2 50cc planes in the past few months as well as sold a good bit of stuff and the dollar amount sent up the flags. I did not have to provide the info after all because the lion's share of the purchases were to verified paypal accounts such as chief aircraft, horizon hobby, tower hobbies, and desert aircraft. I am guessing that if they had mainly been to individuals the results would have probably been different.

I guess that all in all this is a good thing but just caught off guard with the request. I received an email yesterday from PP returning my account to verified and I am satisfied with the results.