My wife recently received an email 'from Visa' to say that someone had accessed her card in Belize, that her bank and Visa accounts would be frozen if she didn't reply in 7 days - to data match/verify her details, they needed the bank account number to which the card was attached; a utility bill showing current address; home and work phone nos; a gov't issued photo id with signature.

Knowing that banks/financial institutions do not send emails, she ignored it and continued to operate the account without interruption. Given the prevelance of identity theft these days, we never respond to information seeking emails but approach institutions/companies directly (via a business address or known phone no) with any concerns we may have.

The Government is racist. They found out I was an alien but they thought that meant illegal alien - idiots.

What we need is equality for Vulcans   

Through here I will respond to all of you.

The email did come from paypal. In addition, paypal made the decision they claim to freeze my account based on information they have revieved from the federal governemt concerning the name jesus lopez.

Let me make myself prefectly clear, if requested to cooperate with any american governemt agency I will do so with out any protest or conditions.

When a private company acts out against me for no other reason then my name matching a name on a list i will respond to then "screw you and the donkey you rode in on".

Let me make myself prefectly clear,

Likewise....

I'll type a little more slowly...

It is a scam.

It may not be a scam. There would be no harm in finding out from PayPal. Contact them directly and ask. If it is or it isn't a scam, either way it doesn't have anything to do with PayPal, so you are being a crass little baby to honk at them about it.

Obviously, if the email is genuine, they don't have any choice in the matter. In the US the OFAC handles the list and makes it available to financial institutions that have to comply. Before anyone goes off the deep end about Bush, the EU, UK, etc., have the same offices doing the same thing. Freezing assets isn't something that came from the 'war on terror', they were doing it a long time before that.

So, if your name is on the list and you can verify that you are dealing with paypal, just clear up who you are and shut the hell up about it. If you don't like it, address your issues with the government, not the companies that have to comply or face punishment. Businesses like Paypal have created powerful means for criminals and terrorists to transfer money quickly and quietly, so expect this to be the norm.

You would do yourself a big favor if you just let it slide. I have been with PayPal and eBay for years. It is a scam. Anytime you answer one of those emails you are letting the sender know they have a legitimate account. PayPal has phishing statements and the like posted all the time so we don't get upset like this. I will admit they are getting better. They used your name in the address, unless you did that yourself. If not, then that's new.
You can keep safe with PayPal by always manually entering their address into your browser and then ask them directly about a letter. You can also call them. Try to get concerned over things that really matter and don't sweat the small stuff so bad.

I get these constantly, and I don't have and account, but my hubby does. Best thing you can do is to forward any emails of this type to spoof*at* ebay dot com, or spoof*at* paypal dot com. (trying to save them from spambots) I send anything I get there. If you have a feeling they may have gotten your identity, go herehttp://www.ic3.gov/ That is the federal govs. site for scams etc. Hope it helps.

Never reply to mail you don't positively know the source of, and, never put personal details in an e-mail.

I am currently dealing with someone who supplies a service free with my bank account. In order to answer my request by e-mail they want me to send: full name, date of birth, address and bank account number... Yeah, right - like anyone would be stupid enough to put all that in an e-mail.

At the moment they are 'disappointed' in my lack of confidence in their security protocols and are unable to service my request. Sod 'em!

muslin With an 'm', actually, unless they're racist against cotton.

x's 10, seriously ROFLAMO

The email did come from paypal. In addition, paypal made the decision they claim to freeze my account based on information they have revieved from the federal governemt concerning the name jesus lopez.

Let me make MYSELF prefectly clear. If we don't see proof of this, we're going to all assume it is a Phishing Scam, because that is what these always turn out to be.

If Paypal really is turning off the accounts of innocent Americans, then maybe we need to know. In which case, produce some hard evidence (scan the letter, record phone calls to PayPal's HQ about this, etc)..

Now as far as acconts getting locked, that can happen for a variety of reasons. Myself, my Paypal Debit card quit working one day out of the blue. I called them up, and it turns out the fraud department was concerned about recent activity. I explained to them that I was using the card almost exclusively to earn the 1.5% cashback bonus (now 1% but my account is grandfathered to the higher rate). The rep verified some of the actual purchases I made, read off what the amount was and I told her that those were indeed charges I'd made. How did she identify me as ME? Caller ID, as I was calling from the phone associated with the account, and asking LAST 4 digits of my social. Foolproof? No.. But no system really is currently.

I doubt seriously that the kind of information you "claim" is required to be sent is true. I thought as everyone else that perhaps you were falling victim for a phishing scam. NOW I believe that you are simply intentionaly perpetuating this kind of urban legend yourself for some gain (vendette against paypal)?

I don't see any reason to be an a**hole, lotherius. I was sharper than I should have been above, myself. The Denied Persons list is a fact, both in the US, Canada, the EU, and elsewhere. Paypal does indeed have to hold to it, and they have to freeze accounts if you find yourself on it.

Another example. Someone above said that PayPal is in California, but they neglected to find out that the operating center is still in Omaha. The corp headquarters is in California. The phone number traces to Global Crossing, a corporate communications and network company, which would make sense for a fax number, I guess. The P.O. Box is the one on other paypal stuff I find around the Internet.

So, while as I say above this could be a political thing to annoy people, or a scam, there's no reason to be sh**ty to the poster. No one is asking to mail money to Nigeria, and the letter isn't asking for information to be emailed anywhere, nor is it asking for a password, etc., etc.

This has become a feeding frenzy for people to make themselves feel smart, I think. On second thought, don't shut the hell up, and I was wrong to tell you to. Just make sure you get mad at the right people, if there is really anything to be mad about at all.

The Government is racist. They found out I was an alien but they thought that meant illegal alien - idiots. What we need is equality for Vulcans

hehehe   

Internet Porn and Child Porn Site ARE the reason for it. Assuming the email is genuine and not an attempt to gain your identity.

I posted an article awhile back that Paypal are joining forces with the banks and policing authorities to prevent child porn on the net being accessed by accounts such as paypal and others. Refer to the last couple paragraph in the article.

see WWW Link">Link

Your name (being a fairly common name) is probably in the list of certain disgusting characters that partake on websites that display porn - it does not even have to be child porn just porn - reason enough to lose the facility.


[link="https://forums.joeuser.com/?forumid=2&aid=132782"]WWW Link

Baker...I still say it's bullshit.

I'll bet my left testicle a mouse-over of the email link will show some quaint obscure redirection just as all those emails from YOUR BANK do.

All this just propagates hysteria and supposition on BOTH sides....those who think it's bullshit..and those who think Ebay is getting a leg over the KKK.

I'll still be betting on 'scam'....

I dunno, I'm trying to figure out how they'd really gain access to your identity though, Jafo. If that's paypal's address, and that's paypal's fax number, then I'd have a hard time getting my head around how it is a scam.

This page seems to relate the same kind of statement down at the bottom. I found a complaint on Ebay's forums from someone in Germany who got the same treatment because they were on the Bank of England's list.

It seems like if it were a scam we'd be finding it a lot more, too. What would be the profit in emailing just a few people when you could mass-mail it to a million a day? It just doesn't have the same smell as a scam, imho.

Not sure about the fax # but the PO Box is correct.

From here:

What is PayPal's customer service support for Business and Premier Accounts?

Business and Premier account holders have access to premium customer service from our Business and Premier account specialists. Our team is specifically trained to accommodate the needs of premium account members. There are a number of ways to contact specialists:

* Click the Help link at the top right of the page, then click Contact Us, and click Customer Service Center in the Help by Phone section

* Log in to your account and access the online contact form


* By postal service to: PayPal, P.O. Box 45950, Omaha, NE 68145

I do suggest contacting Paypal directly, and confirming the email and fax