F"ing PayPal

[Huggybearman]

6 hours ago, RobH said:

Thanks, Had a look but no good for the UK

Skype do UK numbers. Cost in the region of £30 per annum. Incoming calls to your number can be redirected to your skype app on your mobile phone. 

[Jollygoodfellow]

5 hours ago, hk blues said:

Thanks - I opened an account but haven't actually needed to use it. My plan was to receive payments into it and use these funds to pay for stuff.  In effect, I wouldn't actually move money in/out from my bank account anyway.  I really wanted to keep the PayPal account isolated from everything else.  

You can do that. You can request money from yourself and it will arrive in your paypal account. I have a Philippines and Australian business account but sure it all works the same. 

Which it does as I tested. 

[RobH]

2 hours ago, Huggybearman said:

Skype do UK numbers. Cost in the region of £30 per annum. Incoming calls to your number can be redirected to your skype app on your mobile phone. 

Yes I looked at this, but am not sure if paypal send the code by sms. my bank send the code by an automated voice, which works fine. I will just give paypal the elbow. I can use a bank transfer in the UK.

 

[Huggybearman]

10 hours ago, RobH said:

Yes I looked at this, but am not sure if paypal send the code by sms. my bank send the code by an automated voice, which works fine. I will just give paypal the elbow. I can use a bank transfer in the UK.

 

I use PayPal quite often and never get a OTP from them. It comes from my bank the card is linked to, not PayPal.

[OnMyWay]

22 hours ago, TimL said:

I use my US PayPal account for FoodPanda purchases here. Have been ordering a couple times a week for over a year and they haven’t said anything. knock on wood I guess. 

 

17 hours ago, Shady said:

That's not against PayPal policy, you can even add a foreign address to your PayPal account.

That is good to know.  I don't think I have tried to use my U.S. Paypal account for an actual Philippines purchase.  I know Paypal takes a cut on the exchange rate, but for small purchases, no big deal.  I might consider the exchange rate for a larger purchase.  Paypal does offer security for purchases, so I will be on the lookout for using Paypal in the Philippines.

When I lived in Germany 2006-2010, I could not use my U.S. Paypal account there and had to open a German / Euro account.  Paypal bought Xoom in 2015, so I think that changed some of their international usage policies.

 

[OnMyWay]

On 8/18/2020 at 2:11 PM, RobH said:

I don't know if this applies to all expats or just the Europeans. I use papal a few times a year just to buy the odd secondhand bit of radio stuff or to buy from Ebay. This used to work just fine, I have a UK bank account ,and use my daughters cellphone number if they need to contact me she sends anything like this via messenger.

Now paypal are insisting on a 2 factor security system, where they send you a code number by sms, that's ok my bank does the same. but the killer is that they won't accept a phone number thats not in the country you are registered in so no Philipine phone number.

I messaged pay pal they told me I could use Philippine paypal, but you need a Philippine bank to use it, there is no way I want a Phil bank and beside its so little used here, sounds like a scammers paradise. Just a heads up. I can use my  bank they send the sms here no problem. Bloody paypal,

Too bad you can't work something out.  Paypal can be a good tool for some transactions,  for free.

For U.S. citizens, the issue you are having is quite common.  U.S. brokerages and sometimes banks frown on U.S. citizen customers living overseas, so we have to hide it.  For 2FA, none of mine will text to an Int'l phone number, so I have a free Google voice U.S. number for that.

[OnMyWay]

Side tracking a bit, while we are on the subject of Paypal.  I have some things I like about Paypal that I will share.

I have some recurring payments in the U.S., and Paypal was offered as a payment option, so I chose it.  Here are some nice things about that and other Paypal stuff.

1.  You get fraud protection from Paypal, similar to fraud protection on credit cards.  It does not apply to all transactions, but most.  If you are paying with a credit card, in a way, you get double coverage.

2.  I have two accounts linked to Paypal; my bank checking and my credit card.  I have the credit card set up for the default payment for Paypal.  So when I make a purchase on Paypal, it immediately goes to my credit card.  So, I earn my "miles" on my credit card with each Paypal purchase or recurring payment.

3.  Using Paypal means I don't have to have my credit card info with more companies.  Seems safer that way.

4.  For the recurring payments, they are very easy to cancel when you have them on Paypal.  I know sometimes it is hard to remember to cancel recurring payments / subscriptions as planned when you sign up.  With Paypal, they are all in one place and easy to cancel.  For instance, here is a screenshot of my Paypal recurring payments and I have clicked on Travelling Mailbox.  That is not the monthly transaction, it is the check deposit I did.  However, if I want to cancel all future billing from TM, I just click the cancel button on the right.  That also might be valuable if you are having a dispute with a vendor.

5.  Using TM example again, they have nice detail on the transaction, as shown below.

That transaction immediately goes on my credit card and I get the miles.

[OnMyWay]

On 8/18/2020 at 2:21 PM, Yeochief said:

I got this email from whom I thought was PayPal:  "Your PayPal account is temporarily restricted."  I went on PayPal and sent them a message asking what was the problem.  I got a reply saying my account was good and said that if PayPal does not address you by your name on file, to delete the email, its not from them.  I checked the email and it was address my email name, delete.

These are called "spoofing" e-mails and some of them are very good.  Unfortunately, many people fall for them and open the door to major fraud.  Legitimate banks and businesses will never send you a mail that says click on a link to login, correct info, etc.

You should report them as spam to your e-mail provider, but before doing  that, I try to report them.  It is easy these days.

Just google "paypal spoof e-mail" or substitute the proper business name.  I just got one from Amazon today.  You will usually quickly find an e-mail address to forward the spoof too.  For example:

Suspicious emails
If you believe you've received a phishing email, follow these steps right away: Forward the entire email to spoof@paypal.com. Do not alter the subject line or forward the message as an attachment. Delete the suspicious email from your inbox.

How to report a suspicious email to PayPal

Forward the spoof to the address given.

For Amazon:

If you wish to report a suspicious email claiming to be from Amazon that you believe is a forgery, you may submit a report. You may also forward phishing emails and other suspected forgeries directly to stop-spoofing@amazon.com.

Suspicious Email Reporting - Amazon Web Services (AWS)