Right, because the various law enforcement agencies of the US work so fast that there's absolutely no chance that someone would be able to rake in a few hundred thousand dollars and run with it. Nope, no chance at all.
And then when someone bilks you out of a few hundred dollars, you'll blame PayPal for not checking them out before letting them take your money.
If it was determined to be a scam, you'd get as much of your money back as PayPal can provide you. If the account holder has managed to run off with any of it BEFORE they were shut down, you'll probably not get all of your money, but the paypal account will go negative, and be sent to collections, and if any money is retrieved, you'd get that too. PayPal isn't there to pay you back for your stupidity, so they're not going to pay for your mistakes out of their pockets.
As for 'not selling anything', When you make a payment to someone through PayPal, it asks you what the category of the purchase is. I'm willing to bet most people selected 'Goods - Other', which implies a tangible, shippable item. Generally if you're purchasing goods from someone, you'll want it shipped, right?
Here's how it looks to the automated system that limited Lowtax's account:
New or hardly used PayPal account starts receiving $3500 an hour.
PayPal limits the account automatically so the money can't go anywhere, but allows it to continue receiving funds. The account holder is asked to provide some information to identify themselves and release the funds.
Someone pays twice, or overpays. While they're doing this, they list the category of the purchase as 'Goods - other', which implies a tangible, shippable item, rather than 'Service'. Being the idiots they are, they file a chargeback or buyer complaint, rather than ask Lowtax to refund part or all of their payment.
Now theres unresolved buyer complaints or chargebacks on an account that's already set off alarms for receiving an unusually large amount of money in a short time. Now it's restricted, and can't send or receive money.
What PayPal wants from Lowtax is information to prove that he's legit, including statements from any credit cards or bank accounts he's used on his PayPal account, showing that he has access to that information and didn't just type in stolen account numbers, and a drivers license, showing that he's the account holder listed on the account. Once this is provided, everythings great, and the money can start moving freely again.
Here's a (not so) hypothetical situation for you: Someone opens a PayPal account, and advertises it as a relief fund. It receives tons of money, but, PayPal doesn't limit it, check out the account holder, or do anything to stop the flow of that money, because that's a 'PR nightmare' and 'will just piss people off'.
Next, this person takes all of this money and runs off with it. Now you've got a bunch of people who are whining and bitching at PayPal because they let someone steal all their money. 'PayPal should check people out before letting them accept that kind of money!' They go and file chargebacks, which leaves PayPal out that money.
There's no way to tell the bad guys from the good guys until checks like these are done. Instead of being a bunch of sensationlist whiners about it, try cooperating with the company that you're entrusting $20,000 to.
In short, grab a clue, please.
Aside from a PayPal logo on the front, the PayPal Visa card has nothing to do with PayPal. It's issued by Providian, and they manage the card according to their own rules.
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Right, because the various law enforcement agencies of the US work so fast that there's absolutely no chance that someone would be able to rake in a few hundred thousand dollars and run with it. Nope, no chance at all.
And then when someone bilks you out of a few hundred dollars, you'll blame PayPal for not checking them out before letting them take your money.
If it was determined to be a scam, you'd get as much of your money back as PayPal can provide you. If the account holder has managed to run off with any of it BEFORE they were shut down, you'll probably not get all of your money, but the paypal account will go negative, and be sent to collections, and if any money is retrieved, you'd get that too. PayPal isn't there to pay you back for your stupidity, so they're not going to pay for your mistakes out of their pockets.
As for 'not selling anything', When you make a payment to someone through PayPal, it asks you what the category of the purchase is. I'm willing to bet most people selected 'Goods - Other', which implies a tangible, shippable item. Generally if you're purchasing goods from someone, you'll want it shipped, right?
Here's how it looks to the automated system that limited Lowtax's account: New or hardly used PayPal account starts receiving $3500 an hour. PayPal limits the account automatically so the money can't go anywhere, but allows it to continue receiving funds. The account holder is asked to provide some information to identify themselves and release the funds. Someone pays twice, or overpays. While they're doing this, they list the category of the purchase as 'Goods - other', which implies a tangible, shippable item, rather than 'Service'. Being the idiots they are, they file a chargeback or buyer complaint, rather than ask Lowtax to refund part or all of their payment. Now theres unresolved buyer complaints or chargebacks on an account that's already set off alarms for receiving an unusually large amount of money in a short time. Now it's restricted, and can't send or receive money. What PayPal wants from Lowtax is information to prove that he's legit, including statements from any credit cards or bank accounts he's used on his PayPal account, showing that he has access to that information and didn't just type in stolen account numbers, and a drivers license, showing that he's the account holder listed on the account. Once this is provided, everythings great, and the money can start moving freely again. Here's a (not so) hypothetical situation for you: Someone opens a PayPal account, and advertises it as a relief fund. It receives tons of money, but, PayPal doesn't limit it, check out the account holder, or do anything to stop the flow of that money, because that's a 'PR nightmare' and 'will just piss people off'. Next, this person takes all of this money and runs off with it. Now you've got a bunch of people who are whining and bitching at PayPal because they let someone steal all their money. 'PayPal should check people out before letting them accept that kind of money!' They go and file chargebacks, which leaves PayPal out that money. There's no way to tell the bad guys from the good guys until checks like these are done. Instead of being a bunch of sensationlist whiners about it, try cooperating with the company that you're entrusting $20,000 to. In short, grab a clue, please.
What do you think you're doing, bringing logic and common sense into this? Nobody wants to hear that.
Isn't it obvious? PayPal stole it and used it to throw an office party.
Aside from a PayPal logo on the front, the PayPal Visa card has nothing to do with PayPal. It's issued by Providian, and they manage the card according to their own rules.