Paypal service

Hi,

I hope to not be OT in this forum.

I am interested by Paypal service which allow me to send money to other paypal accounts and to receive too.
Is anyone has an experience with Paypal and know if Paypal is secure ?
I know when you log in the website the connection is encrypted in AES 256 bits which is a very strong algorithm, but how credit card number are stored ?
Have you ever heard of a credit card numbers steal ?

Besides that, what do you think of a website having a paypal button to make donation for people willing to do so ?
Do you think it's "okay, why not" or do you think the website has turned into a money purpose site and don't you never again put a foot on it ?

Thanks you for answers

regards,

gkweb.

 

Hi,

I reluctantly signed up with Paypal myself a month or two ago simply because it's the only payment service that some perfectly reputable online vendors etc. ever heard of. I know they had (and haven't yet escaped) a bad reputation for security concerns and customer service generally, but I think they've made a serious attempt to clean up in both areas.

Probably the biggest threat to watch for doesn't come from them, but from outside -- like CitiBank, they and their customers are prime targets for look-alike identify-theft operations, usually via email. They've posted a warning on their site that any legitimate email from them will address you by full name and not as "Dear Paypal customer" or the like.

So it probably boils down to whether you trust the vendor to have a legitimate link to them.

Best,
Mike

 

The Paypal Warning website lists a number of problems - and their Wall of Shame has some recent postings too which may be worth considering.

I have noticed also that Paypal do appear to be competing with DoubleClick in tracking web activity - and via https links that are much harder to counter with web-filtering software (see my post on The dangers of HTTPS for more details).

 

I have personally have had nothing but trouble with paypal and will never use it again. Others have used it with no problems. But I personally believe that you are taking a chance with your personal info every time you use it.

 

By using it on a website, the worst that can happen is that I simply don't receive the money ?

I have friends testing it currently, few have sent money to the other, for some the money has been succesfully transferred, but for the last they are still waiting.

Thanks for the links paranoïd I will take a look at them.

regards,

gkweb.

 

Thanks you to share your experience dvk01

I would like to use Paypal in the same way you use it, and it's good to know it works well like that.
I need too to send money to friends living in anothers countries, and the first problem we had while planning to do so, was indeed the bank tax or fees between different money/countries :-/

The troubles related to Paypal I have read was mostly regarding to someone selling something, and the receiver claiming to not have received it, or using a stolen credit card number.
Other trouble is the phishing used to fool Paypal users.

 

Yes I live in Europe (France).

Thanks you very much for these details dvk01

regards,

gkweb.

 

I use PayPal for a number of different things including making it available in my business transactions. My personal experience has been good and I've been very careful to monitor their policies and activities.

IMO they do a good job. They are very large, and as stated above, make international business much less expensive for the small enterprise, non-profit, etc. because of it. They are not perfect and some folks have had serious issues in the past. But overall they are good and quite safe. In some respects more so than most banks folks have no issue using online.

And for the most part they are monitoring their sites for security reasons, to protect the users and their information, not to track for questionable reasons. I've not been exposed to spam, or solitications from them, or third parties, as a result of being a customer.

IMO they are perfectly safe and a good method for the individual and small enterprise to increase business and grow. Its a perfect solution for donation environments.

I consider myself old fashioned, conservative and security conscience. IMO there is little to worry about with PayPal.

Have a great day!