I, along with about everyone else, know people who have had problems with Paypal fraud. Paypal is evil. No question about it. At the same time, I'm lazy and sometimes cheap. I buy a number of things off of ebay and sell things now and then. With that, I just about have to deal with Paypal.
Here is how I have dealt with it so far: 1. Open an a free account at a different bank to link to Paypal. Just put in the $5 minimum or whatever it is to open the account. This gets you verified, but keeps your real bank account safe. 2. Use credit cards with one time use numbers and limits to pay for auctions. Citibank (yes, evil, but the virtual stuff works well) and Discover, at a min offer this. I'm sure many others do as well. 3. If you do much in the way of selling, make sure to transfer your money from Paypay to the free bank account and then empty out the account (write a check to yourself and deposit in your normal bank).
It's not quite as easy as linking to your bank account, etc., but I have been able to pay my mortgage every month, etc. (Had a friend who had an issue with Paypal fraud. They put a hold on a couple of grand in his bank account causing issues with paying the mortgage).
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There actually are at least some exceptions. IBM is one of them: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/company/mana gement/policies/politics.shtml
disclaimer: I work for IBM, but this comment is my own and not that of my employer.
I, along with about everyone else, know people who have had problems with Paypal fraud. Paypal is evil. No question about it. At the same time, I'm lazy and sometimes cheap. I buy a number of things off of ebay and sell things now and then. With that, I just about have to deal with Paypal.
Here is how I have dealt with it so far:
1. Open an a free account at a different bank to link to Paypal. Just put in the $5 minimum or whatever it is to open the account. This gets you verified, but keeps your real bank account safe.
2. Use credit cards with one time use numbers and limits to pay for auctions. Citibank (yes, evil, but the virtual stuff works well) and Discover, at a min offer this. I'm sure many others do as well.
3. If you do much in the way of selling, make sure to transfer your money from Paypay to the free bank account and then empty out the account (write a check to yourself and deposit in your normal bank).
It's not quite as easy as linking to your bank account, etc., but I have been able to pay my mortgage every month, etc. (Had a friend who had an issue with Paypal fraud. They put a hold on a couple of grand in his bank account causing issues with paying the mortgage).
http://regionalweb.texoma.net/CR/
Darn cut and paste. One more try: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/12/technology/12CYB ERLAW.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/12/technology/12CYB ERLAW.html