Security
Security matters.
Especially security matters for people who wish to live a real life and solve real problems. We all used to be scanned and then searched in airports, simultaneously answering stupid challenges like "Prove this is not a bomb" or "Prove that this electronic device really works" (what if it doesn't ???). We used to be searched on entry to any public event and be subject to confiscating the most dangerous items in the world - 25cl cans of Schweppes or cola. What I would like to tell about is what I have yet to be used to.
Story 1. Recently I traveled to Taiwan. After passing all the formalities I found an ATM at the airport and withdrew some cash to pay for taxi and probably for hotel. I have just picked the money, put it into my porte-monnaie as my phone rung. I answered the call.
- Hello, Alexander?
- Yeah, that's me.
- This is your bank. Can you imagine, somebody has just tried to withdrew money from your card! The request came from Taiwan. But don't worry, we already blocked your card and returned your money.
- ...
- Er?
- Can you imagine, you're squandering money, I mean MY money. This is because I am staying nearby an ATM machine in Taipei, Taiwan where I have just withdrawn some cash and am in roaming, paying alot for airtime!
- Really?..
- Really.
This occurrence made me laughing as I didn't know yet that times has changed...
Story 2. From Taiwan I went to China. I promised to my friend (he is a surgeon) to buy some medical equipment there, so I felt this is a good time to do this (on my previous stay in China I decided to postpone this purchase for I didn't know where and for how long I will go further). I also planned to buy a present to another friend and something for myself. So I went to eBay and made the necessary purchases. I hoped that everything will, as used to, be as easy as find the items, "Buy it now", pay and receive nice parcels filleted with a large bowknot :) Not so much. When I went to PayPal website, I had to see a couple of similar messages reading:
May 9, 2010: We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party. Because protecting the security of your account is our primary concern, we have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. We understand that this may be an inconvenience but please understand that this temporary limitation is for your protection.
(Your case ID for this reason is PP-000-XXX-XXX-XXX.)
Needless to say that there were no reasons to believe in what they believed (different people have different beliefs, this is a feature of human nature to believe - in green humanoids, in witches, in higher justice, or whatever) but the only fact that my IP address this time was from an unusual range.
Then steps to resolve this issue were listed: I was expected to provide a proof of my identity and update my account information (password and security questions). I immediately sent them a scan of my passport and followed the other requirements. As there was no progress for a significant time, I filed a support request telling them that I followed everything and am awaiting a resolution.
I have got a reply:
Hello Alexander Bezrukov,
We're sorry, but we cannot restore full access to your account until we receive additional information.
- Please change your security questions and password from a secure location such as your home computer. Remember that the safest location is your own personal computer from where only you have access to your account.
** If you are abroad, please let us know the duration and location of your stay. **
Case Number: PP-000-XXX-XXX-XXX
Sincerely,
PayPal
I fulfilled the new set of requirements, filed another request and relaxed waiting for a resolution. Time passed and I became less and less relaxed being not sure that this story ends happily. Besides all, I realized that this lock-out is strictly against rules their Legal Agreement
Excessive violations of PayPal Legal Agreements for PayPal Services
PP-000-XXX-XXX-XXX PP-000-YYY-YYY-YYY
Hello,
today my PayPal account has got restricted. Explanation on the firt page I see after a login tells: "We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party". Then a set of
steps to resolve the problem was suggested, which I immediately followed.
I wish to report two severe violations of the PayPal Legal Agreements. I also need your help in order to resolve this dispute.
1. No event listed in the "Closing Accounts and Limiting Account Access" section has occurred. My account has been limited for reasons known only for PayPal (and I believe that the said reasons is a bullshit, and the only reason is that I simply accessed my account from another (a Permitted one!) country). I already has filed a customer support request asking to explain which reasons PayPal has but PayPal has refused to (PayPal Email ID PPZZZ). Thus my account has been restricted arbitrary, based on no policy or agreement.
2. Legal Agreement under "Closing Accounts and Limiting Account Access" reads: "PayPal will investigate the matter promptly". I promptly followed the required steps and sent you a copy of my
passport, changed my password and security questions. Then (in 5 hours!) I got another request, not outlined in any policy, which I also followed immediately: I updated my account information from my home PC (what if I had no access to it, provided that I am right now on a lenghty trip), told you my location and my plans to the best of my knowlege. Now more than 11 hours has passed, and I see no progress, no resolution. Inability to make the payments on time affects my reputation.
Please help to resolve the issues, find the PayPal violators and take the measures that this will never happen again.
Sincerely,
Alexander Bezrukov
Interesting, what will be the outcome.
UPDATE 1.
Your PayPal Account Access Has Been Restored
Hello Alexander Bezrukov,
Our review is complete and we have restored your account.
We appreciate your patience and thank you for your help in making PayPal
the safest and most trusted online payment solution.
Thanks,
PayPal
Dear Alexander Bezrukov,
Thank you for contacting PayPal. I am sorry to hear about the difficulties
you are encountering and I appreciate the opportunity to help you resolve
the limitation on your account.
Mr. Bezrukov, I have reviewed your PayPal account and lifted the limitation
on your account. I apologise for this misunderstanding here - the second
limitation shouldn't have taken place. The next time you log into your
PayPal account, you will have full access.
Please note that our internal security system has placed a limitation on
your account as PayPal is a country specific system and this may happen,
when the user is logging in from another country than the one that is
linked to their PayPal account.
We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter, and
wish you continued success on PayPal.
Yours sincerely,
Ania
PayPal
UPDATE 2. This did not help either :) They have a bug in their scripts on the server side which produces an error when I am trying to pay. I reported this
Hello,
I won an item on eBay. The auction link is: . Now I am trying to pay for this item with PayPal. I proceed to checkout, specify the shipping address, proceed to PayPal website, log in. Then I get redirected to
and see the following error on this page:
! Please enter the correct information for the following fields:
* Sorry, this page is not available at this time.
* Buyer and seller PayPal accounts are the same.
The latter statement is of course false.
Please fix this bug. Also what in your opinion is the right course of action in this case?
Sincerely,
Alexander
UPDATE 3. I seem to realize what their bug is. I am not disclosing it as it may have security implications and security definetely is not a strong side of PayPal.
Especially security matters for people who wish to live a real life and solve real problems. We all used to be scanned and then searched in airports, simultaneously answering stupid challenges like "Prove this is not a bomb" or "Prove that this electronic device really works" (what if it doesn't ???). We used to be searched on entry to any public event and be subject to confiscating the most dangerous items in the world - 25cl cans of Schweppes or cola. What I would like to tell about is what I have yet to be used to.
Story 1. Recently I traveled to Taiwan. After passing all the formalities I found an ATM at the airport and withdrew some cash to pay for taxi and probably for hotel. I have just picked the money, put it into my porte-monnaie as my phone rung. I answered the call.
- Hello, Alexander?
- Yeah, that's me.
- This is your bank. Can you imagine, somebody has just tried to withdrew money from your card! The request came from Taiwan. But don't worry, we already blocked your card and returned your money.
- ...
- Er?
- Can you imagine, you're squandering money, I mean MY money. This is because I am staying nearby an ATM machine in Taipei, Taiwan where I have just withdrawn some cash and am in roaming, paying alot for airtime!
- Really?..
- Really.
This occurrence made me laughing as I didn't know yet that times has changed...
Story 2. From Taiwan I went to China. I promised to my friend (he is a surgeon) to buy some medical equipment there, so I felt this is a good time to do this (on my previous stay in China I decided to postpone this purchase for I didn't know where and for how long I will go further). I also planned to buy a present to another friend and something for myself. So I went to eBay and made the necessary purchases. I hoped that everything will, as used to, be as easy as find the items, "Buy it now", pay and receive nice parcels filleted with a large bowknot :) Not so much. When I went to PayPal website, I had to see a couple of similar messages reading:
May 9, 2010: We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party. Because protecting the security of your account is our primary concern, we have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. We understand that this may be an inconvenience but please understand that this temporary limitation is for your protection.
(Your case ID for this reason is PP-000-XXX-XXX-XXX.)
Needless to say that there were no reasons to believe in what they believed (different people have different beliefs, this is a feature of human nature to believe - in green humanoids, in witches, in higher justice, or whatever) but the only fact that my IP address this time was from an unusual range.
Then steps to resolve this issue were listed: I was expected to provide a proof of my identity and update my account information (password and security questions). I immediately sent them a scan of my passport and followed the other requirements. As there was no progress for a significant time, I filed a support request telling them that I followed everything and am awaiting a resolution.
I have got a reply:
Hello Alexander Bezrukov,
We're sorry, but we cannot restore full access to your account until we receive additional information.
- Please change your security questions and password from a secure location such as your home computer. Remember that the safest location is your own personal computer from where only you have access to your account.
** If you are abroad, please let us know the duration and location of your stay. **
Case Number: PP-000-XXX-XXX-XXX
Sincerely,
PayPal
I fulfilled the new set of requirements, filed another request and relaxed waiting for a resolution. Time passed and I became less and less relaxed being not sure that this story ends happily. Besides all, I realized that this lock-out is strictly against rules their Legal Agreement
Excessive violations of PayPal Legal Agreements for PayPal Services
PP-000-XXX-XXX-XXX PP-000-YYY-YYY-YYY
Hello,
today my PayPal account has got restricted. Explanation on the firt page I see after a login tells: "We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party". Then a set of
steps to resolve the problem was suggested, which I immediately followed.
I wish to report two severe violations of the PayPal Legal Agreements. I also need your help in order to resolve this dispute.
1. No event listed in the "Closing Accounts and Limiting Account Access" section has occurred. My account has been limited for reasons known only for PayPal (and I believe that the said reasons is a bullshit, and the only reason is that I simply accessed my account from another (a Permitted one!) country). I already has filed a customer support request asking to explain which reasons PayPal has but PayPal has refused to (PayPal Email ID PPZZZ). Thus my account has been restricted arbitrary, based on no policy or agreement.
2. Legal Agreement under "Closing Accounts and Limiting Account Access" reads: "PayPal will investigate the matter promptly". I promptly followed the required steps and sent you a copy of my
passport, changed my password and security questions. Then (in 5 hours!) I got another request, not outlined in any policy, which I also followed immediately: I updated my account information from my home PC (what if I had no access to it, provided that I am right now on a lenghty trip), told you my location and my plans to the best of my knowlege. Now more than 11 hours has passed, and I see no progress, no resolution. Inability to make the payments on time affects my reputation.
Please help to resolve the issues, find the PayPal violators and take the measures that this will never happen again.
Sincerely,
Alexander Bezrukov
Interesting, what will be the outcome.
UPDATE 1.
Your PayPal Account Access Has Been Restored
Hello Alexander Bezrukov,
Our review is complete and we have restored your account.
We appreciate your patience and thank you for your help in making PayPal
the safest and most trusted online payment solution.
Thanks,
PayPal
Dear Alexander Bezrukov,
Thank you for contacting PayPal. I am sorry to hear about the difficulties
you are encountering and I appreciate the opportunity to help you resolve
the limitation on your account.
Mr. Bezrukov, I have reviewed your PayPal account and lifted the limitation
on your account. I apologise for this misunderstanding here - the second
limitation shouldn't have taken place. The next time you log into your
PayPal account, you will have full access.
Please note that our internal security system has placed a limitation on
your account as PayPal is a country specific system and this may happen,
when the user is logging in from another country than the one that is
linked to their PayPal account.
We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter, and
wish you continued success on PayPal.
Yours sincerely,
Ania
PayPal
UPDATE 2. This did not help either :) They have a bug in their scripts on the server side which produces an error when I am trying to pay. I reported this
Hello,
I won an item on eBay. The auction link is: . Now I am trying to pay for this item with PayPal. I proceed to checkout, specify the shipping address, proceed to PayPal website, log in. Then I get redirected to
and see the following error on this page:
! Please enter the correct information for the following fields:
* Sorry, this page is not available at this time.
* Buyer and seller PayPal accounts are the same.
The latter statement is of course false.
Please fix this bug. Also what in your opinion is the right course of action in this case?
Sincerely,
Alexander
UPDATE 3. I seem to realize what their bug is. I am not disclosing it as it may have security implications and security definetely is not a strong side of PayPal.