View Full Version : PayPal demanding photo ID and proof of residency etc
So the web is alive with this demand by PayPal to provide sensitive personal ID info. I came across this the other day with an in app message from PayPal asking for more info through their resolution centre and until provided my account would be limited. The only limit actually is that I am prevented from closing the account - sneaky or what. Anyway, thinking this might just be me I did a Google and this is something that each and every PayPal user is now required to provide. It seems that if you fail to respond to enough reminders they do eventually suspend/close your account.
The info demanded is
1. photo ID with accompanying name and address such as driving licence or passport
2. Proof of address such as bank statement or utility bill.
So this is just the info anyone would need to steal your identity!
Now this level of info is routine if you open a bank account or even hire a car but the worry is that with the demand now being so public and given the vast numbers of folk who use PayPal (apparently the 5th biggest financial institution in the world) it's bound to become a target for computer hackers. Not those who just nick your login details and scam your account but the big players who will nick the whole database -imagine how much that info would be worth?
I was one of the thousands who had my personal data nicked from the Adobe creative cloud site and it took ages to change all my email and password logins at all the sites I use.
I've not decided what to do about this yet but I'm sorely tempted to let my PayPal account wither on the vine and my eBay account with it. I think I might be stressed out if I submit my passport and bank account info online to PayPal I'd be constantly worrying about my identity being nicked.
£30 on a personal shredder from Staples was one of the best purchases I ever made.
Audioman
07-03-2014, 14:00
Funny haven't received any demands. I can't see them getting photo IDs practical and anyway if you have Bank Account listed as source of funds they already have that info. Sure you are not victim of a scam?
Funny haven't received any demands. I can't see them getting photo IDs practical and anyway if you have Bank Account listed as source of funds they already have that info. Sure you are not victim of a scam?
No guaranteed not scam - do a Google on PayPal photo ID- our American cousins are furious as they are required to give SSN as well.
My PayPal account is already linked to my bank account but makes no odds.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
costerdock
07-03-2014, 14:40
Be careful with Paypal emails that come in - I had one come in saying I needed to re-verify my account - and the actual sender was not paypal - it was some asshole phishing for account info - I do not respond to any paypal emails - I just log into the site directly to check things out.
Stupid Yahoo mail allows the address to come in with the Alias 'Support at Paypal' and displays it that way - where the real address is some prick.
I've not decided what to do about this yet but I'm sorely tempted to let my PayPal account wither on the vine and my eBay account with it. I think I might be stressed out if I submit my passport and bank account info online to PayPal I'd be constantly worrying about my identity being nicked.
£30 on a personal shredder from Staples was one of the best purchases I ever made.
Stephen
I, too, am rapidly coming to the conclusion that it is time to part company with both eBay and PayPal.
Between ludicrous fees, the innate bias against sellers, the application of arbitrary and unpredictable rules to auctions and the sheer pain of uploading stuff to the site, why bother any more? There are other sites and if I end up buying less as a consequence, so much the better I suppose.
Peter
Check that this is not a scam Stephen as PayPal should already have your relevant details in their possession...
As a long-time Paypal user I've never been asked to provide this sort of information (and certainly wouldn't provide it if asked!)
Its always best to go to paypal via their site not emails Far to many w------rs trying to get your money
Paypal has not asked me and I just used it today
They have asked me to register a mobile phone number for password confirmations and update information. I declined, they have my email address already.
Haselsh1
07-03-2014, 17:53
As a long-time Paypal user I've never been asked to provide this sort of information (and certainly wouldn't provide it if asked!)
+1 to that
StanleyB
07-03-2014, 20:39
The thing to take note of that any genuine Paypal email sent to you requesting information etc. is also posted by Paypal in the action to be taken section of your Paypal account. If there is no message in there then be cautious. Double check with Paypal in that case by giving them a call at the number listed in your account. And never double click on the link in a supposed Paypal email.
You are more than likely to get asked for ID registration etc if you are a big spender and buy expensive things from far away places. You can also get asked for an ID check if you use a IP address blocker or a redirecting server to log into Paypal. So if you use the TOR network you are going to get some ID requests from Paypal.
All the above info is from personal experience.
PayPal do get worse and worse. I think it's because they are getting scammed with fraudulent chargebacks and simply don't want to pay for proper investigation so would rather squeeze out customers in other automated ways instead. Have any kind of small problem with Paypal and you're out on your ear and they keep your money for 6 months without justification or even help from FSA (who pretty much refuse to do anything). Been there, done that!
PayPal have a flag system where a long list of activities will flag your account, waiting for an excuse to freeze it. Things like frequent access from different IP addresses (like people DO, at work etc), frequent access from different PCs without consistent cookies for that user (like you would if you used internet cafes, hotdesk at work or clear out cookies often), multiple account access from the same IP or with the same cookies on your computer (like people DO with families using the same PC), infrequent use (when it does then get used they protect themselves from account hijacking by scrutinising the real owner..) all sorts of normal activity they flag up as suspicious use.
Sometimes it's just risk managment and you hear stories of sellers doing really well selling loads of stuff and then suddenly PayPal freezes their account and ruins their business "just in case" , PayPal figure the newly popular business could go wrong at any point soon and the fast sales land them with problems and chargebacks. Not worth their risk so they shut the seller down ... and for ever!
Anyway. I don't have a PayPal acount any more but I still buy on ebay using PayPal... If you set up a new ebay account on a new email address, you can pay as guest as you click through to the checkout (is at the bottom of the PayPal payment page). Then PayPal just act as a card processor associated with that email address ID. If you need to lodge a case you can do it by phone instead of logging in to an account. There are some spending limits before they insist you open a PayPal account I think so at some point you might have to open a new ebay account and start again.. Still, I like to pick things up in person where I can and many people are ok with bank transfers if you ask (and you trust them).
So chaps just to show you what's going on and that this is not a scam take a look at the photos.
I always only login from the web page and never open emails purported to come from PayPal.
This is the info demanded when I login. Looking through Google it seems this is very very common now. From what others on this thread have posted I can only assume it needs a "trigger" for PayPal to auto activate this on an individuals account - mine might have been that I recently sold a car (my wife's) on eBay.
Anyway, it is genuine but as others have posted I am damned if I am going to give them this detailed information.
So chaps just to show you what's going on and that this is not a scam take a look at the photos.
I always only login from the web page and never open emails purported to come from PayPal.
This is the info demanded when I login. Looking through Google it seems this is very very common now. From what others on this thread have posted I can only assume it needs a "trigger" for PayPal to auto activate this on an individuals account - mine might have been that I recently sold a car (my wife's) on eBay.
Anyway, it is genuine but as others have posted I am damned if I am going to give them this detailed information.
Stephen,
So if you refuse to comply, they are saying that they will refuse to close your account and give you your money? That is theft - taking ..with the intention permanently to deprive etc. The moral for the rest of us is to keep our credit balances as low as possible, I think.
Perhaps you should threaten them with the police and insist on the police recording your complaint. The police will undoubtedly try to fob you off by claiming it is a civil matter but if you stand your ground they have to take a record of your complaint and do something about it, even if it is to tell you that they don't have the resources to investigate.
Best
P
The Grand Wazoo
08-03-2014, 10:33
Sorry, Peter but I think you are mistaken - this can't be described as theft.
I think you'll probably find that Stephen has signed an agreement with Paypal which allows them to do this. They will argue that they are working in the interests of the security of Stephen and his money, by ensuring that they are dealing with who he says he is when he asks for it.
I don't suppose many of us like it, but I suspect that they are within their rights.
Sorry, Peter but I think you are mistaken - this can't be described as theft.
I think you'll probably find that Stephen has signed an agreement with Paypal which allows them to do this. They will argue that they are working in the interests of the security of Stephen and his money, by ensuring that they are dealing with who he says he is when he asks for it.
I don't suppose many of us like it, but I suspect that they are within their rights.
Chris,
With respect, if they were saying he could not continue to operate the account, I'd agree with you.
But if they will not let him close the account and get his property back, unless he provides additional information, that is completely different. They can decide to do no more business with him but they cannot keep his property.
Peter
The Grand Wazoo
08-03-2014, 10:55
But if they gave a large sum of money to someone who was claiming to be Stephen, he'd be rightfully pissed off, wouldn't he?
But if they gave a large sum of money to someone who was claiming to be Stephen, he'd be rightfully pissed off, wouldn't he?
Chris,
Not really. Any balance would be reimbursed to the linked bank account or credit card, which they have been happily interacting with hitherto. Looking at the permissions page Stephen put up, Stephen (or any impersonator with the right information) can still get his cash out anyway by sending a payment for the balance to another recipient. There is no additional protection for Stephen or PayPal by stopping him from closing his account. It is just heavy handed compliance practice and typical eBay/PayPal f@ck you attitude to their customers.
P
P
Stephen
You might also try this:
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/action/letter-challenging-a-companys-unfair-contract-terms
Best
P
walpurgis
08-03-2014, 11:14
This may not be directly related to the situation, but I recently had an email purporting to be from PayPal, asking me to confirm a payment by responding with various details. It all looked authentic, but I smelled a rat and forwarded the message to the PayPal protection unit, who confirmed that it was a fraudulent 'phishing' attempt!
daytona600
08-03-2014, 11:28
common dodge to hold onto millions for a week a two www.screwpaypal.com
My take on this is that being a US company they have to comply with the new & draconian Patriot Act and they are operating within their contractual rights. I also agree that the end result benefits me and other users by providing another check on individuals identity (you are actually dealing with who they say they are) - so so far so good. I don't even have a problem philosophically with them having the data - I gave similar to the local car hire company when I hired a van. My big big problem is that by providing this level of personal data they want if it were to be stolen then it is ripe for identity theft and I just don't believe they (or any other company) are 100% secure in this regard. Only takes a careless or disgruntled employee to sell on a load of personal data to the bad guys. I was a victim of the Adobe website hack and although there were no financial details they stole email addresses, usernames and passwords. While I always have strong passwords with alphanumeric lower/upper case and punctuation because they are strong I do use the same password for multiple sites so by nicking my passwords a bad guy could gain access to my finance accounts. It took a goodly time to change them all. Moreover, as there seems to be large numbers of folk being asked (demanded) for their info then the bad guys know that the PayPal servers will be chock full of choice and financially valuable data making them a prime target for theft.
I have withdrawn all my funds from PayPal so if they do lock it down then I am not out of pocket but it will make eBay an no go. Perhaps that's no bad thing :)
archiesdad
08-03-2014, 13:42
I've had problems with those paypal twats in the past so I leave no money in the account after I sell, just in case, it would be great lose to have them close my account since I won't be parting with the information required above if asked, in fact I could end up better off and less clutter about the house.
if they are requesting this info as someone says for US legislation why is it when they contact me the mail is always finished with a Luxembourg address?
I also empty my PayPal account after every reasonable value payment
They can't take what I haven't got in there
So the web is alive with this demand by PayPal to provide sensitive personal ID info...
The web is alive? Lol - that's the first I've heard about it!
Anyway, Stephen, thanks for letting us know. I'll keep an eye out, but I've not received any communication from Paypal for ages.
Marco.
The web is alive? Lol - that's the first I've heard about it!
Anyway, Stephen, thanks for letting us know. I'll keep an eye out, but I've not received any communication from Paypal for ages.
Marco.
Teeming with creatures ready to catch and eat you metaphorically speaking!
I keep getting "Avoid account closure" supposed PayPal emails on email addresses that I've never used with PayPal. I've probably signed up to too many freebes on the internet and people have my name and email address...
I've had problems with those paypal twats in the past so I leave no money in the account after I sell, just in case,
Sadly and stupidly a Catch 22 because that's a sign of someone who's dodgy apparently too, so that's a flag! People who tread a dodgy line because they're been banned before and found a way round PayPal, recommend waiting a little while to withdraw and not all of it, perhaps spend some here and there (according to the odd forum posts around the web).
My take on this is that being a US company they have to comply with the new & draconian Patriot Act and they are operating within their contractual rights. I also agree that the end result benefits me and other users by providing another check on individuals identity (you are actually dealing with who they say they are) - so so far so good.
My take is it's all heavy handed risk managment in their favour and to customer's detriment with the added benefit that temporarily forzen funds earn them probably $millions in interest..
They use the excuse of money laundering regulation under EU law BUT the reside in Luxembourg which makes it hard to apply UK law and regulation via FSO/FCA/FSA whatever the hell they are called these days!
Stephen
You might also try this:
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/action/letter-challenging-a-companys-unfair-contract-terms
Best
P
I would seem to be unfair contract terms but they hide behind money laundering regulation which is the financial equivalent of arguing that you're preventing child pornography, i.e. everyone in officialdom's brain switches off and they say "Hmm, yes very good point!"
Although there has been precident set in UK courts of unfair treatment under money laundering regulations by the odd millionaire against banks, PayPal does it to regular folk who don't know where to turn, can't find any help from authorities (who dismiss it as falling under EU regulation anyway) and then find it's easier to wait 6 months for their money to be returned than go to say small claims courts where PayPal do actually send lawyers over from Ireland to contest small amounts etc.. i.e. intimidation which again ups the stakes so it seems not worth the effort.
Although I do remember reading that someone had ended up sending bayliffs to PayPal's offices because they failed to pay up after a small claims judgement they didn't attend went against them..
it will make eBay an no go. Perhaps that's no bad thing :)
But you can still use ebay! If selling just have to state that it's collection only (for which you're advised not to accept PayPal by PayPal themselves) or find some way to make sure the buyer doesn't pay straight away via PayPal. Used to be you could enter any old email address into the PayPal address box.. that would make an attempted payment fail.
And you can buy on ebay by paying as a guest or collecting or asking if you can pay by another method.
I have withdrawn all my funds from PayPal so if they do lock it down then I am not out of pocket but it will make eBay an no go. Perhaps that's no bad thing :)
Steve, I've emailed you separately with a forwarded email I received this am. It seems to be a scam as the site for send the 'form' to is a dot org one and yet the UK PayPal itself is a dot com address. I logged in totally separately with absolutely no log-on issues at all..
archiesdad
09-03-2014, 15:11
Sadly and stupidly a Catch 22 because that's a sign of someone who's dodgy apparently too, so that's a flag! People who tread a dodgy line because they're been banned before and found a way round PayPal, recommend waiting a little while to withdraw and not all of it, perhaps spend some here and there (according to the odd forum posts around the web).
So because I've had an issue due to paypal's mistake in the past I'm a dodgy ebay user, jings I'd better not mention my career in car sales then, that'll put me on a par with estate agents.
:lol:
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