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PayPal Freezes Cryptome's Account

Posted by kdawson on from the gov-com-business-model dept.

grimwell sends in the news that after Cryptome's little run-in with Microsoft and NetSol, the activist site has now had its funds frozen by PayPal. Cryptome founder John Young notes, "Google lists thousands of instances of this asymmetrical high-handedness." "We have reviewed your PayPal Account, and due to the excessive risk involved, we would like to begin parting ways in a manner that is least disruptive to your business."

4 of 253 comments (clear)

  1. What's a Paypal? by symbolic · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have, and will continue to, refuse to conduct business with online entities that do not support a non-Paypal option. I have never used Paypal, and I don't anticipate that this will change.

  2. Paypal and fraud... by hadesan · · Score: 5, Interesting
    With heightened visibility comes more scrutiny. Paypal and their more shady customers probably don't want anymore light shown on their activities. Better for paypal to dump cryptome to protect their "more lucrative" albeit more less forthright customers...

    Here is a lovely site for some light reading... http://www.paypalsucks.com/

    Also an interesting story on a new scam in Boston on a scam using facebook, twitter, and Paypal http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/03/6000_fall_prey.html

  3. Strategic Attack On Banks? by DustoneGT · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There was also a recent story about a blogger who had his Citi account closed because he was controversial. Could this be a new trend? Could there be a back story here? I mean law firms of the big players might threaten to sue the bank of an enemy to make life difficult. Let's call this BLAPP, Banking Lawsuit Against Public Participation.

  4. Re:When? by pla · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When will someone come out with a viable competitor for PayPal so that we will finally have a choice?

    A viable alternative already exists - Just use your bank as a CC payment processor.

    My father runs a small business (under half a million gross per year), and about two years ago discovered that his bank would handle everything for a quite reasonable fee - About the same as he previously paid just to take Visa, and, as a bonus, he can accept the dreaded American Express (as well as just about any major CC) that so many small businesses refuse to touch (meaning he can accept corporate and government business, which tend to use AmEx almost exclusively).

    If you expect mostly a lot of very small transactions (such as a typical web site "tip" jar), that model might not work so well. But if you sell anything best measured in "dollars" rather than "cents", it seems like a no-brainer.