Paypal requesting more info from me?

Question

my paypal account has been locked, I don't know exactly why although I have not used it for some time.

From what I can gather from speaking to them today (@ £1.50 per minute!!!!) is that they require me to fax them a copy of my passport, drivers license and a utility bill???

I was quite cross as I do not have a fax machine at home and cannot believe they ask people to do this! They can verify who I am via my bank surely??

Has anyone else been asked to provide this info to Paypal?

I only want to start selling on eBay again!

THE EMAIL DID COME FROM PAYPAL AND IT WAS THE PAYPAL UK NUMBER I CALLED TO REINSTATE MY ACCOUNT, THEY DID ADDRESS ME BY NAME AND I GET THE SAME MESSAGE WHEN I TRY TO LOG IN TO PAYPALL. IT IS DEFINATELY PAYPAL ASKING ME FOR THIS INFO, I SPOKE ALSO TO THE EBAY PAYPAL HELPLINE FIRST.

Answer 1

The same thing happened to my girlfriend. Someone was trying to hack into her account and Paypal contacted us to verify the real account owner by faxing a copy of her driver's license. We were suspicious at first but we did all the things they say to do to avoid being scammed:

1) close your browser and then open it back up and enter Paypal's site by typing www.paypal.com manually into the address bar

2) call them from the number on that website - not from a number in the email.

We did that and faxed them the info and got the account reinstated. Then she went in and immediately changed the password.

.

Answer 2

Around May last year I had an email from Paypal saying my acount had been suspended and locked for fraudulant activity. I was suspicious of it being a scam email and ignored it as I hadn't used eBay/Paypal for months and only used it for small amounts in the UK.

Then I went online to my bank account and saw that several thousand US dollars had been (or attempted to be) withdrawn - mostly to online gaming sites to buy "gold" (I don't play World of Warcraft or whatever else this is used for) and spent ages on the phone to my bank and paypal reporting these characters for fraud. I still don't know how they got my paypal account details in the first place, but at least paypal noticed it quickly and put a block on my account. Having said that, when I actually went through the claims procedure they had the audacity to pretend that half of them weren't fradulent! Thankfully, my bank got all the charges back for me instead. Dealing with Paypal's hotline was one huge headache.

The only problem is that to re-activate my account they are now demanding the same stuff they are asking of you - my passport, driving licence, bank statement, etc. Bearing in mind that my account was hacked into without my knowledge by person or persons unknown, I am not keen to send them any more of my personal details, because quite frankly, I suspect an inside job somewhere. I have full anti-virus protection and never respond to junk emails. Needless to say, I don't feel safe with paypal anymore and only use sellers who'll take cheques or postal orders.

I suggest opening a new basic account with a different email address. That's what I plan to do - although that is for buying only, not selling. You might have to give them what they want.

Answer 3

Its not a scam. You can call paypal yourself and they will verify it. Your account could be locked for a number of things. You may of locked your account by the number of failed attempts in your account or you may have a unresolved issue. When you log into your account now it should say your account is locked and give you some information. Depends. They need a driver's license or some form of government id and a proof of address. This can be a utility bill, phone bill, credit card statement, bank statement or anything that can PROVE that your address matches your paypal account. This happens quite frequently since paypal does not see customers face to face. They have to fight against fraud some way and this is one of verification methods used.

Answer 4

If they are "spoofers" or "phishers": I sure hope you did not log in to your paypal account from within the email message. They are able to record your log in data.
So, they can have access to your Paypal account.

If it were Paypal then they definitely have a reason to ask for the official documents, but I must admit they've never asked me for passport, drivers license etc...

Sounds weird.

Ask support.

THere's a link Security center at the top right of the homepage. Click on that link and you'll end up on a page where they give information on how to recognize 'phishing'

I know it all sounds like it's coming from them, but you never know. To be able to manage your Paypal account they only need some basic data, such as address and the number + security code of a credit card.

First read the information on the Security center page before changing anything.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Are you sure that it is really PayPal? It is for sure not a fake company? Be very carefull and use an Account specially for PayPal that you fill always only before you use PayPal. And the Account can't be of course not in the creditzone.

I get sometimes emails where they ask me questions like this, but this are Fakers who try criminal things to get to the account.

Anyway, you can create a new PayPal account.
Remember: N E V E R give anybody a password out from you. And have a Firewall on your computer.

Answer 6

There are a lot of Paypal "phishing" e-mails flying about right now - I've had several saying my account has been closed, etc. Make sure that any communication you have had from them addresses you by name, and not "Dear Paypal Customer" (or some such). I've never heard of them ever asking for all this personal stuff, and I would be inclined to be fairly cautious. You say you have spoken to them - I suppose it WAS them? Sorry to be so negative. I may be quite wrong in implying you are not aware of this problem. If so, I apologise.

Answer 7

I recommend clearing your computer cache by going to your TOOLS -> INTERNET OPTIONS (in IE7) and then going directly to the PayPal page. Confont the customer service from that site and not from the email.

NEVER click a link directly from an email asking for personal information.

Please tell me you haven't given them your password or account information.

If it comes down to it, stat another PayPal account with a new email address and possibly new information. Email can't be trusted. I wish *everyone* would realize that. :(

Answer 8

You are being scammed. Pay Pal should have all that info already and therefore, no reason to ask you for it.

I got a call from Qwest yesterday and was asked to verify my account and personal information. I said "You should have all that information so you tell me." The caller hung up.
It was an attempt at a scam.

I am sure this alleged Pay Pal idiot is trying to do the same thing to you.

Answer 9

It sounds like you are being scammed!

NEVER (never never never) reply to an e-mail sent to you from Paypal using the links or contact information provided in the e-mail message. ALWAYS navigate to the PayPal website and contact them through their site.

Look at the message from PayPal. Does it mention you by name? Like "Dear Mary Jones" or does it say "Dear PayPal Customer". If it's a fake ... they don't have your name so they write "Dear PayPal Customer"

DON'T GET BURNED, DON'T SEND THE REQUESTED INFORMATION!

Contact PayPal directly. You go to them, not the other way around. NEVER USE LINKS!

Answer 10

Sounds like a scam, go to ebay and see if those same messages are on your ebay mail account.

I wouldn't send them anything...
I didn't know you had to pay to talk to paypal....sound like a red flag.