# PayPal thinks I'm a security risk; freezes account. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 17, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835 "2011-06-17T14:45:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/21 "2011-06-17T23:46:02Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > Serious question - is there anywhere on the web (besides eBay) where you can’t just pay by credit card? I never use Paypal anymore, since I haven’t used eBay in five years. Little place called [The SDMB](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=501002) Paypal acts as a payment processor. Any way that anyone is able to accept a credit card goes through some such service. When you swipe your card in a machine at a physical store the little machine calls up a payment processor and authorizes the payment. That is what Paypal offers for web based transactions. You can accurately say “Yes, we accept credit cards and our payment processor is Paypal” and a lot of people do only accept credit card payments through Paypal. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/22 "2011-06-17T23:54:24Z")
When I set up a non-profit technical organization a few years back, I used PayPal to get memberships, since I sure as hell didn’t want to set up credit card processing myself for the small number of members we were going to get. It took forever to get PayPal to acknowledge that we were legitimate. They make communicating with them as difficult as possible. I got it working, but it took a while. And they were a hell of a lot cheaper and easier than anything the bank offered. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/23 "2011-06-18T00:04:11Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Because, shithead, there is no other choice. It means eBay is off limits because it’s against the rules to pay with anything else. Google Checkout, the only competitor, is a joke, and no website uses it. You can’t just call a website and have them take an alternate form of payment. The real world doesn’t work that way, despite what you apparently learned in Econ 101. > > Stop lib-trolling. Actually the world does work that way. You don’t have to use eBay. And most websites that only accept Paypal are probably some little independent shops that will gladly accept a check. Oh, what’s that? You hate Paypal, but mailing a check is just _so inconvenient_, and you _need_ to use Paypal because you need your widget now? Maybe Paypal isn’t so bad after all. Regarding eBay - so eBay requires all sellers to accept Paypal? Don’t list your shit on eBay. Use Craigslist. Post it on forums. Stop using eBay if you don’t like it. If enough people do the same, maybe they will change their policy. People like you, that complain about all these god-awful companies and yet put up with their bullshit and continue to give them money, keep them in business. You’re the shithead. I don’t have cable TV because Comcast is the only local option, and they suck. I don’t use eBay because it’s festering shithole, and I don’t use Paypal because of numerous horror stories like the OP’s. I took all my money out of Bank of America after they started charging me $35 for wire transfers. Put your money where your mouth is and stop doing business with companies you don’t like. Send a letter to them explaining why you’re doing so. Otherwise, you’re just part of the problem. Companies want your money. That’s it. If you don’t think the service they provide is worth the money, don’t fucking use them. The fact that all of you are still using Paypal despite your whining suggests that, for all its faults, it’s still the best option out there for certain kinds of transactions. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/24 "2011-06-18T00:11:51Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Little place called [The SDMB](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=501002) > > Paypal acts as a payment processor. Any way that anyone is able to accept a credit card goes through some such service. When you swipe your card in a machine at a physical store the little machine calls up a payment processor and authorizes the payment. That is what Paypal offers for web based transactions. > > You can accurately say “Yes, we accept credit cards and our payment processor is Paypal” and a lot of people do only accept credit card payments through Paypal. Well, yeah, but you don’t need to have an account with PayPal or give them any bank info to do that (at least with the SDMB). Two or three times now I’ve re-upped and PayPal doesn’t have a lick of info on me besides what’s necessary for them to run their card and pay the Reader. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/25 "2011-06-18T00:20:52Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Well, yeah, but you don’t need to have an account with PayPal or give them any bank info to do that (at least with the SDMB). Two or three times now I’ve re-upped and PayPal doesn’t have a lick of info on me besides what’s necessary for them to run their card and pay the Reader. Absolutely. You only need a Paypal account to accept payments through Paypal, or make payments that are directly funded from a Paypal account balance. All I was pointing out is that a lot of merchants, other than ebay sellers, have elected to use Paypal as their only online payment processor. It isn’t any more important to the transaction than what company the little machine at a physical store dials to process your payment. It is like a customer at the video store saying “I see a Verisign sticker on that little machine you want me to swipe my card through. I don’t trust Verisign for whatever personal reasons, and you need to find another way of accepting my credit card”. They probably won’t. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/26 "2011-06-18T01:09:52Z")
> [@Little\_Bird](#): > > I had a PayPal account for about 10 years, and since then I’ve changed email addresses, moved, gotten married, and changed bank accounts. When I tried to change from my maiden name it said it needed all this stupid proof and would take days… Whatever. So I waited until I got new credit/debit cards and just canceled the old account and started a new one. Took 5 minutes. Of course while I was canceling it wanted to know why I didn’t just use it’s “handy” name change service… Um, maybe because it would literally take over 100x the time and effort to do so? And this is why my Paypal account is still under my mother’s name, 10 years later. I’m not entirely sure why my mother allowed her 14 year old daughter free access to her credit card, but hey! Obviously all the associated financials have been updated to my accounts now. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/27 "2011-06-20T15:54:16Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Because, shithead, there is no other choice. Damn, **BigT** , what happened to make you grow a backbone while I was gone? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/28 "2011-07-19T17:11:25Z")
Great. Now somebody’s got hold of my Discover card number but only managed to rack up $177.94 (plus about another $30 that was still pending) before I noticed anything. I wonder if this is related. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/29 "2011-07-19T19:29:41Z")
You’re not making me fee reassured, **Lute** - I just got a message from PayPal recently that my account was limited for whatever Godforsaken reason they invented, so after clearing it with them to make sure it was a legitimate email, I had to go in and give them every piece of personal contact information you can think of to get it cleared off. Guess I’ll keep an even closer eye on my VISA account in the next little while. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/30 "2011-07-19T20:54:46Z")
**Cat** , I was another one of the randomly selected “frozen for your pleasure, fucked hard for ours” folks, and it’s turned out fine, once I figured out how to get past the completely bugged section of the reverification process. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/31 "2011-07-20T07:32:53Z")
They cancelled my account under the “cancel it forward” policy just in case I ever opened one, which I hadn’t, haven’t, and won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/32 "2011-07-20T19:00:48Z")
That’s quite the, uh, business model they’ve got there. ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/33 "2011-07-22T13:30:39Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Because, shithead, there is no other choice. It means eBay is off limits because it’s against the rules to pay with anything else. Google Checkout, the only competitor, is a joke, and no website uses it. You can’t just call a website and have them take an alternate form of payment. The real world doesn’t work that way, despite what you apparently learned in Econ 101. > > Stop lib-trolling. I don’t understand “lib-trolling” in this context. What’s the connection? Aside from that, I closed my PayPal account years ago. Somehow, I’ve survived. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/34 "2011-07-22T13:50:50Z")
I keep my Paypal account open, but I keep a zero balance at all times, and if I’m not looking for anything on ebay, I usually delete my credit card information (it can always be put in again). The only security risk in any of these scenarios is with the possibility of Paypal being hacked. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/35 "2011-07-22T15:08:42Z")
> [@groo](#): > > I don’t understand “lib-trolling” in this context. What’s the connection? I’d assume it’s meant as lib[ertarian] trolling: suggesting that _the magical hand of the free market will solve all woes!!!_ and _there’s always an alternative service provider, so just vote with your wallet!!!_ ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/36 "2011-07-22T15:17:49Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Actually the world does work that way. You don’t have to use eBay. And most websites that only accept Paypal are probably some little independent shops that will gladly accept a check. Oh, what’s that? You hate Paypal, but mailing a check is just _so inconvenient_, and you _need_ to use Paypal because you need your widget now? Maybe Paypal isn’t so bad after all. :dubious: Did you eat stupid food for breakfast? Websites that use Paypal only do it for privacy reasons or currency or in case of disputations. Why would they want a check? Newsflash, even brick and mortar stores don’t usually want the hassle of dealing with checks, why would you think an online store would be any more interested. Enough of your smug errancy. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/37 "2011-07-22T15:22:08Z")
Yeah. Certainly any small business owner on the Internet will be more than happy to accept a check sent through the mail in lieu of someone using their online payment checkout system. Waiting for a check to arrive, physically depositing it in a bank account, and tracking it separately from all their other transactions will certainly be worth their while for the $20 purchase you are attempting to make. Checks: The solution to all of life’s problems. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/38 "2011-07-22T15:59:32Z")
My favorite thing about zombie threads is when a whole fresh crowd come in to remind an idiot that he’s an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/39 "2011-07-22T17:44:22Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > My favorite thing about zombie threads is when a whole fresh crowd come in to remind an idiot that he’s an idiot. Hey, Someone has to do it. Otherwise the idiots would forget! ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paypal-thinks-im-a-security-risk-freezes-account/585835/40 "2011-07-23T19:01:25Z")
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