Blocked from PayPal
October 24, 2012 9:00 AM   Subscribe

How can I open a new PayPal account when mine was blocked because someone else tried to hack into it?

Earlier this year I went to use PayPal and was blocked. After some sleuthing, I learned that PayPal had detected that someone was trying to hack into my account, so they closed it. Many emails and phone calls later, I was told that I would NEVER be able to open a new account, even with a new credit card and bank account attached to it, even though they assured me that *I* was not the one who caused the problem. So what can I do? There are occasionally things I want to do and PayPal is the only way to do them (and not just as a guest).
posted by wisekaren to Computers & Internet (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
My father had a similar problem, though I have no solution to offer. He hasn't been able to use Paypal for the last four years and now despises it...He uses mine now when he needs to -- is there a spouse or relative that you can have set up an account? Best of luck.
posted by masters2010 at 9:03 AM on October 24, 2012


I was told that I would NEVER be able to open a new account, even with a new credit card and bank account attached to it

Not sure how would they know you were the same person if you used a different email address, credit card, and bank account? Of course there's always the off chance they might spot that somehow somewhere down the line but as long as you're not keeping money hanging around in the account that's probably not an issue.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 9:06 AM on October 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


Have you tried to open a new account? Paypal, at least in the past, has been incredibly lax about people having multiple accounts, and as long as you don't tie your SSN to it, you should be fine.
posted by Slinga at 9:56 AM on October 24, 2012


I was told that I would NEVER be able to open a new account, even with a new credit card and bank account attached to it

That's wrong.
1. Use a different address that your original.

2. Use a different phone number that your original.

3. Use a different credit card that your original. That different credit account MUST have a different address on it than you used in the original paypal account

4. Use a different bank account that your original (for instance your savings account rather than your checking account).

6. Add a different middle initial to your name in your new paypal account

5. Do not tie any ebay account with your original information to the new paypal account

6. Never ever use any of the original information in your new paypal account - ever.

7. If by some chance you have a static IP account instead of a dynamic one never, ever log in from that IP address. If you do not know what a static IP account is then don't worry about it as you probably don't have one.

8. Wait 4-6 months before doing any of the above.

The above works . Been there done that. Skip on any of the above steps and expect your account to be flagged and shut down within 1-6 months.
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 11:37 AM on October 24, 2012


This is bizarre, honestly. When you called Paypal, did you ever escalate to a higher up? I've called them a few times over billing stuff and account identity stuff and they are pretty good about these kinda of things.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 1:11 PM on October 24, 2012


Response by poster: I did try to open a new account, I don't feel comfortable using phony info, and I did speak to a higher-up and was told, very curtly, that nothing could be done. :(
posted by wisekaren at 5:41 AM on October 25, 2012


It seems that what you are actually asking is if there is some way that you can compel Paypal to reverse their decision. Perhaps if you somehow were able to spend tens of thousands of dollars to get your story out and generate enough bad press for them that might be possible but short of that rather infeasible scenario, no there is nothing that you can do save for what I have mentioned above. Paypal and eBay have a known history of not being responsive to consumers in situations like this so there is nothing practical that you can do short of creating a different account per the parameters above.

You could I suppose try an Executive carpet bomb approach but I wouldn't hold my breath about it's success
posted by Podkayne of Pasadena at 2:52 PM on October 26, 2012


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