Paypal- Closed my account? think i'm a terrorists!

[mpooley]

Hi
I Ordered The digital angle finder that was mentioned in one of the threads and have now had my Paypal account suspended because i'm on the US treasury list "SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS AND BLOCKED PERSONS"
They are asking that i fax copies of my Passport, Birth cert, utility bills etc to prove who i am!
You can check this list yourself online and there was no name that began with POO (which unfortunately mine does!)
I am blimmin annoyed about this! i think they have a damn cheek

Has anyone else ever had this problem?

Mike Pooley :? :evil:

 

[Scrit]

You're obviously a very naughty man, aren't you? [-X Either that or PayPal is being it's usual useless, incompetent, idiotic self. I've had sufficient problems with PayPal (not least among them that they appear to operate as a bank but refuse to register as one in Europe and be bound by the rules). So overall, not really a surprise.

BTW I wouldn't fax them anything - you're giving whoever is at the other end of the fax a lot of ID info that they probably don't have any right to or need of - and what safeguards are they putting in place for your security? Well you're not an American citizen are you, so probably NONE!

Scrit

 

[Terry Smart]

Mike

How was this information given to you? If it was an email sent to you then check that it is genuine. My account has been suspended dozens of times according to emails I get, I just ignore them.

You may have already tried this, but if not, go to http://www.paypal.comand sign in independantly of any emails you may have had and see what happens.

Not sure if this will help but good luck!

 

[Roger]

If that was from an email - IGNORE it! Don't fax or send anything to anybody. Log into PayPal and check the account - and not from a Bookmark or favourite. Call PayPal directly if you have any doubt.

It sounds like the average 'phishing' scam

 

[beech1948]

Mike,
Its probably a malicious email. I get about 5 per day about my Barclays, lloyds, HSBC, etc etc accounts and they are all cons.

I have had several about Paypal. I have once called PP to ask why I am suspended and they replied...ahhh you got an email did'nt you....your OK its just a con.

Send them no info at all or the recipients will take advantage of you.

regards
Alan

 

[mailee]

You havent' got a beard or a good tan have you? :roll: They havent seen your wife wearing a head scarf have they? Talk about being careful or what! :roll: I agree don't reply to anything they send, go to paypal yourself and check. Better to be safe than sorry. :wink:

 

[Chris Knight]

Definitely a scam!

 

[RogerM]

Has anyone else ever had this problem?

Mike Pooley :? :evil:

Mike - I bet the email was addressed "Dear PayPal user" or something similar. This is definitely a scam. Under no account send the info requested thru an email - it's an attempt at identity theft. Check your paypal account from the PayPal website. Also check the PayPal tips and fraud prevention site and follow the instructions for forwarding the suspect email to them.

My guess is you haven't a PayPal problem, although if the email addresses you by name you may have a firewall security problem! Good luck.

 

[Barry Burgess]

Don't bother forwarding suspect email to PayPal as they do not reply. I have had a number saying please confirm you want to pay X $y and it is all bogus
All they want is your PayPal details. You can send them details showing you are Saddam or any other person you like - this usually stops them trying again
Barry

 

[mpooley]

Well it seems it's NOT a scam! That was my first thought but my account is definitely suspended!
As for sending them any of my documents. Well they can stick their paypal account up where the sun don't shine!
I can't believe the cheek of it!
I just hope i'm still going to get my angle finder ;-)

All i have done is sent them an email asking them to point out the name which is SOO similar to mine that they consider me as a danger to humanity, (maybe they think i'm going to use the angle finder in a homemade cruise missile?)
The nearest name to mine on the list as far as i can remember was Ali Pogwani mustafi *** or someyhing like that.
It would be funny if it werent so bloody annoying!!

Mike

 

[Pecker]

ssshhh, they're watching us, "dont tell them your name Pike..."

oh, and that woden box you're making.. don't forget to hide the stuff inside that large knot... :twisted:

mark - or is it?

 

[andrewm]

I don't have Paypal and don't intend to. Too many scare stories for my liking and they seem to be a law unto themselves. However I have noticed recently (particularly on eBay[1]) that a lot of sellers are only accepting Paypal. Seems particularly stupid on eBay because even if I didn't win thae auction my bid could serve to push up the price for the eventual winner. Do eBay offer cheaper listing if a seller only accepts Paypal? Still, their loss. I guess it's a bit like saying 'I accept cheques but only from Lloyds bank'

Andrew

[1] I know eBay own Paypal.

 

[mpooley]

I have just recieved an email back from paypal which says that this is a scam?
If it is why have they permanently locked my account i wonder?
and as i sent my reply back to the original sender they are more or less admitting they sent me a scam email?????

so to clarify
i hit reply and sent my letter back to the original sender and then they reply saying its a scam - is this a double scam?
or am i confused? :roll:

Mike

 

[Roger]

Mike - any email you get like that, as I said, ignore it. If you're in any doubt then contact PayPal direct from the genuine PayPal site to check your account status - or call them at the genuine phone number.

Never ever ever reply to a a questionable phishing email. You're inviting further 'scams', spam and anything ele around at the moment. PayPal and all genuine financial institutions never contact you by email. They post this fact all over their sites.

 

[Roger]

It also could well be that these bozos who sent the original scam message, couldn't be bothered to create a normal looking site to back up their scam, so they used the correct links - but changed the number for you to fax the details :roll:

That would mean that the last email is genuine from the PayPal Service contact. Call them direct if you want - it'll clear it up in your mind anyway

 

[Jake]

Check the url of the supposed suspended account very carefully - if you followed a link from the scammer's email it will look like paypal site but the url will be 1paypal.com or paypol.com or some other tiny variant on paypal's real url. If that's the case then the scammers have just pointed that fake url to a page that looks like paypal on the surface and says "your account is suspended".

 

[mpooley]

It was a nightmare - round and round press then press that - got nowhere.
I never click a link in an email like this. went to the real Paypal website and my account is closed.
Had anothr reply saying that it was a real email but they are looking into it?
I dont know what is going on. wont risk clicking on links in email as still not 100% stis is not a scam?

Mike

 

[beech1948]

Mike,
Forgive me if I try to teach you to suck eggs here...

I can see that you have tried to resolve this via emails. Unfortunately that is a sure way to raise blood pressure, cause venting of volcanic rage and possibly cause a rift in the space time continum.

Instead of email please try ( if you hav'nt yet) to telephone Paypal customer support. I have had to do this a couple of times because of scams.

They are very nice, a bit abrupt but with some humour and very helpful about resolving the issues. In my case they got me to forward to them my problem email whilst on the line, recognised it as a new threat and sent it of into the bowels of Paypal for analysis.

I heard nothing back. They did however, release my account from suspension hell the very same day.

Hope this helps.

regards
Alan