16ga.com ~ View topic - PayPal

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1914 Location: Central ND

Recently I sent in money through PayPal for 16ga.com, just like I do every year. I do not use my PayPal account for anything else. Yesterday I received an email from some hacker supposedly in Alaska that stated I had purchased some crypto currency for $370.86.

Thankfully, it was just a hacker that did not have any real information and the money was never sent from my bank account. However this isn't the first time I have had an issue with PayPal.

I was wondering if there is a better, more secure way to help out s_long each year with the donation to 16ga.com, than to use PayPal? I realize that credit cards are going to charge a fee and that probably isn't a good alternative. I certainly wouldn't have a problem sending a check or money order. Maybe Zelle or Venmo?

Ideas?

I do realize that this wasn't PayPal's fault but.....how did the hacker get my email?

MSM2019,

Had the same problem with PayPal, I canceled pay pay right away and notified my bank not to accept anything that ever came from PaPal. Not a safe business to use any more.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Member Joined: 30 Nov 2011 Posts: 1714 Location: Minnesota

If you PM S_long, he'll give you an address to mail a check.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1914 Location: Central ND

Thanks Savage

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 709

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1457 Location: Denver, Colorado

Mr. Cook is likely right.

PayPal has always had rather sophisticated defenses against being "hacked" and accordingly, I've never had a problem with them in that regard. Like them, don't like them, that's all fine but... make sure you understand the nature of the attack against your own systems first.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1914 Location: Central ND

It was an invoice with my email on it only. Obviously BS but...I have had PayPal hacked twice, never lost money but enough is enough. I deleted my account once about 3 years ago. I only do business with what I consider legit folks, which means companies not individuals. I have two emails, and the one I used to set up the PayPal account was the one that the email was sent to. I would imagine that the hackers did not have all the bank info to process the invoice and needed it from me. I obviously didn't send a return email or call the phone number on the invoice. Since the PayPal phone line is all AI, I got nowhere with that so I called my bank to make sure that nothing from PayPal is legit and not to honor it. In the mean time I cancelled my PayPal account.

This year when I sent money to s_long I opened up PayPal under a new email and using a password with letters, caps, numbers and punctuation. That was the only time I used it. I don't fault s_long but I do think that PayPal isn't much of a Pal. Maybe it is just phishing and maybe not, but it doesn't feel comfortable.

Joined: 30 Sep 2019 Posts: 168 Location: Colorado

…and they are definitely not firearm friendly.

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2390 Location: West MI

We get several fishing PP emails a week and just delete them.

FWIW; being a recent victim of check fraud we're moving away from mailed checks. USPS seems to be the culprit. The one vendor said a batch of their checks were found in an ~$250k stolen check stash (back pack) of a gent stopped at airport security I think in WI. My business banker admits to tending to a couple check fraud issues a week these days and incidences are increasing.

Our check was "washed" and the recipient name and address changed with the amount kept the same. That's how we missed it, our accounting was clean until the vendor called and asked if we ever sent payment, a closer look at the actual check scanned by the bank showed the fraud. Only recourse was to negate that account and start anew. WooHoo...

Hoping this site continues to use PP or the like for donations.

Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 979 Location: Minnesota