Paypal, you're doing it wrong.
I just got an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to be a representative from Paypal, calling to verify a recent transaction on my account to make sure I authorized it. The caller proceeded to ask me for the email address on my account before he could continue. When I balked at giving out any personally identifying information when I had no idea who he was, he said that it was necessary to identify me before discussing my account and that email addresses are usually not confidential information ("I'm not asking you for your password, etc.")
Let's examine that statement for a moment. You say that the email address I use for my account there is not a piece of confidential information, and yet you're asking for it as confirmation that you're talking to the right person?
I told the guy to send me email and I'd contact the company directly, which I did. It turns out the call was genuine, though the question they had was stupid-it was about a monthly subscription payment I've been making for years. For this, they made a call sounding like a phishing attempt?
I'm genuinely shocked at how clueless this is. If you look to any credit card issuing company, they will call and ask that you contact them. They do NOT ask for personal information or discuss account details unless you contact them. It's not like these protocols are not well understood.
Paypal, when you demonstrate this much incompetence with financial transactions and account security, after all these years, my confidence in you is thoroughly undermined. I already have grave misgivings about your quality of service, but this I think may push me to the point of deleting my account.
Let's examine that statement for a moment. You say that the email address I use for my account there is not a piece of confidential information, and yet you're asking for it as confirmation that you're talking to the right person?
I told the guy to send me email and I'd contact the company directly, which I did. It turns out the call was genuine, though the question they had was stupid-it was about a monthly subscription payment I've been making for years. For this, they made a call sounding like a phishing attempt?
I'm genuinely shocked at how clueless this is. If you look to any credit card issuing company, they will call and ask that you contact them. They do NOT ask for personal information or discuss account details unless you contact them. It's not like these protocols are not well understood.
Paypal, when you demonstrate this much incompetence with financial transactions and account security, after all these years, my confidence in you is thoroughly undermined. I already have grave misgivings about your quality of service, but this I think may push me to the point of deleting my account.