Warning - PayPal.me exposes your real name, cannot delete

[TerraHertz]

So, I was checking my paypal account, and noticed their recent addition of a 'paypal.me' service.

The purpose is to allow people to send money to you via a URL, of the form https://www.paypal.me/some_name

Seems like a fine idea, but it's a trap.
While setting it up attached to your existing paypal account, it asks you for a name to use as some_name in the URL.
Fine, it lets you choose anything that isn't taken, so of course I chose TerraHertz, which I use in many places.
It does warn you that once chosen, this CAN NEVER BE CHANGED, and you can only have one. Also bearable...
But then, once setup is finished, you get to see the web page that will be visible to everyone who goes to that URL.

Guess what? It has your FULL REAL NAME there, not the 'some_name' you chose for the URL.
So this bloody thing exposes your real name as attached to whatever online nic you selected.
AND YOU CANNOT CHANGE OR DELETE IT! They actually insist it is forever.
You can 'turn the page off', and I have. But you can't expunge the bloody thing and start again. And they don't seem to warn you about this name exposure during the setup. That's outrageous and totally unacceptable. More of this fascist 'you must reveal your real name online' bullcrap.

The http://backgroundchecks.org/justdeleteme/ entry for Paypal shows as hard but possible to remove an account.
However if you want to keep your paypal account and only delete the paypal.me disaster, it's impossible.

Has anyone else walked into this trap?
Had any luck getting out of it?

[ZeTeX]

Somebody should contact PayPal and tell them about this shit, and hopefully they will fix it.

[TerraHertz]

Somebody should contact PayPal and tell them about this shit, and hopefully they will fix it.

I can't tell whether you are being ironic, sarcastic, or naive. 
Paypal, _respond_? And do you imagine the way they structured it, wasn't the result of careful crafting to achieve the precise degree of bastardry-factor they wanted?

I did leave a feedback comment much the same as above, while trying to find a way to delete the settings. I'll let you know if they respond. Aaaaany moment now, I'm sure.

(Need a skeleton with cobwebs emoticon.)

[saturation]

Thanks.

If you search keywords: Paypal, fraud, attorney general etc., you'll find they've habitually crossed paths with US law because of business practice, the latest is Venmo app.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal#Litigation

I avoid using paypal or any of its related service unless I'm forced too, which are for me, nearly always eBay vendors who wish to be paid via Paypal; I use single use virtual credit cards as a routine.

When small business owners ask, I steer them to Amazon pay.  Since inception reputable, reliable, full disclosure, and so far, no problems with US law.

[rrinker]

 Another polarizing issue. I've used PayPal since the beginning and have NEVER had any issues, buying or selling things. Through eBay and with other vendors. I use PayPal as much as possible to avoid having to use my credit card on multiple sits, all of which keep the number somewhere in their backend for absolutely no reason whatsoever - Encrypted or not, there is no reason to store credit card numbers once a transaction has been processed, but look at nearly any POS software and you will find it stores the numbers, independent of any option offered tot eh shopper to save the card for future purchases (and I REALLY hope no one clicks OK to that, EVER).

[rstofer]

I don't know anything about PayPal's current policies but a few years back I was only allowed to spend $10k before I had to get 'verified'.  That is, give them access to my checking account.  Thus ended our relationship.

How stupid is it to do $10k worth of transactions without a single glitch and then blow your customer off?  What, my next $1k was going south?  What was magical about $10k?

Anyway, these days I will use PayPal for credit card transactions that don't require an account.  There's no chance I will ever go back to the way things were when I could actually spend money.  As a side issue, I very rarely go to eBay because I don't want to deal with PayPal.

I almost always use PayPal for credit card transactions for overseas vendors.  My bank upchucks when they see a payment in a foreign country.  Best to keep it local.

I've only used Amazon Payments once and it worked very well.  I hope more vendors will take a look at that service.

[rdl]

Hehe, Paypal and their shenanigans. Some years ago I had a Paypal credit card. I don't remember how or why I got it, maybe as part of getting "verified". I never used it.

One day I made a small ebay purchase and it went on that credit card. Maybe I did something to cause that, maybe not, but I was completely unaware that it had happened. The monthly envelope with the bill came and I threw it away as usual. Never use it, no point in wasting time opening it. Only that one had an amount due.

I got a late notice and the late charge for $9.95 was close to 50 bucks. Fine. I paid it and cancelled the card. Shortly after that I bought something and paid with my Paypal balance. A couple of days later I got an email from Paypal:

We wanted to let you know that you're just $461.09 USD away from hitting your initial PayPal sending limit of $500.00 USD. This is the maximum amount of money you can send or use for purchases before you need to become Verified.

Note that they are saying "sending" not "spending".

I guess somehow cancelling the credit card magically "un-verified" me after 10 years? And set a immediate $500 limit? I had probably already spent thousands. I don't know. Whatever. That was back in 2014 and I've continued to buy and sell on ebay and use my Paypal account and have never heard another peep about any kind of "sending" limit. I guess they'll let me spend as much as I want.

[bitseeker]

Thanks for the warning, TerraHertz. Fortunately, the only paypal.me I have is for my business, so no personal name exposed. I won't set one up for my personal account.

[helius]

How stupid is it to do $10k worth of transactions without a single glitch and then blow your customer off?  What, my next $1k was going south?  What was magical about $10k?

It is a magical number that activates KYC and AML regulatory requirements.

[timb]

So, I was checking my paypal account, and noticed their recent addition of a 'paypal.me' service.

The purpose is to allow people to send money to you via a URL, of the form https://www.paypal.me/some_name

Seems like a fine idea, but it's a trap.
While setting it up attached to your existing paypal account, it asks you for a name to use as some_name in the URL.
Fine, it lets you choose anything that isn't taken, so of course I chose TerraHertz, which I use in many places.
It does warn you that once chosen, this CAN NEVER BE CHANGED, and you can only have one. Also bearable...
But then, once setup is finished, you get to see the web page that will be visible to everyone who goes to that URL.

Guess what? It has your FULL REAL NAME there, not the 'some_name' you chose for the URL.
So this bloody thing exposes your real name as attached to whatever online nic you selected.
AND YOU CANNOT CHANGE OR DELETE IT! They actually insist it is forever.
You can 'turn the page off', and I have. But you can't expunge the bloody thing and start again. And they don't seem to warn you about this name exposure during the setup. That's outrageous and totally unacceptable. More of this fascist 'you must reveal your real name online' bullcrap.

The http://backgroundchecks.org/justdeleteme/ entry for Paypal shows as hard but possible to remove an account.
However if you want to keep your paypal account and only delete the paypal.me disaster, it's impossible.

Has anyone else walked into this trap?
Had any luck getting out of it?

You do realize that, if you give someone your email address and they send you a PayPal, your real name is exposed to that person, right?

If I send you a PayPal, I can see your real name in my transaction history... So, I don't see the big deal about your real name being shown on this page? It's not like they're publishing your SSN for all the world to see.

More to the point, if I'm going to send someone money, I damn well want to have their real name, so I can track them down if they try to screw me over!

In fact, knowing your email or even a username (like TerraHertz) that you use in multiple places on the Web, I bet it wouldn't take me more than 10 minutes to find your real name, possibly even a phone number and home address! Any amateur internet detective could do it.

This isn't a big deal.

[Alex Eisenhut]

Err, have you tried looking at that page with a private browser tab? Maybe it's showing that to *you* because of a cookie, cuz I don't see nothing at https://www.paypal.me/TerraHertz

except

"Your friend has grabbed their PayPal.Me link, but isn’t sharing it with the world just yet. Check back soon.
Is it your link?"

[KE5FX]

How stupid is it...

Generally, when a question begins with those words, the answer will involve the government somehow.

[Jeff_Birt]

If I am doing a financial transaction with someone I want to know their name and always provide my name. I also use my real name on forums. Why try to hide who you are? Seems a bit dodgy to me to expect someone to send money to an alias.

[sleemanj]

In fact, knowing your email or even a username (like TerraHertz) that you use in multiple places on the Web, I bet it wouldn't take me more than 10 minutes to find your real name

Took 1 minute to find *a* name, if it's TerraHertz' real one I don't know, but it's a real name for somebody in his locale matched with his username and associated with some other sites that seem aligned with similar interests.

Did TerraHertz' just took a leaf out of Ms Streisand's book :-)

[AntiProtonBoy]

Another polarizing issue. I've used PayPal since the beginning and have NEVER had any issues, buying or selling things. Through eBay and with other vendors. I use PayPal as much as possible to avoid having to use my credit card on multiple sits, all of which keep the number somewhere in their backend for absolutely no reason whatsoever - Encrypted or not, there is no reason to store credit card numbers once a transaction has been processed, but look at nearly any POS software and you will find it stores the numbers, independent of any option offered tot eh shopper to save the card for future purchases (and I REALLY hope no one clicks OK to that, EVER).

I never had any issues with them either. But then I never use it to make purchases that involves a lot of money. Just small junk here n there.

[Jeff_Birt]

Another polarizing issue. I've used PayPal since the beginning and have NEVER had any issues, buying or selling things. Through eBay and with other vendors. I use PayPal as much as possible to avoid having to use my credit card on multiple sits, all of which keep the number somewhere in their backend for absolutely no reason whatsoever - Encrypted or not, there is no reason to store credit card numbers once a transaction has been processed, but look at nearly any POS software and you will find it stores the numbers, independent of any option offered tot eh shopper to save the card for future purchases (and I REALLY hope no one clicks OK to that, EVER).

I never had any issues with them either. But then I never use it to make purchases that involves a lot of money. Just small junk here n there.

I have done business through PayPal for years, several hundred thousand dollars, without one issue. Individual sales can run from $20 to $5K, no worries. I have had 4 disputes over all of these years and PayPal was fair in all of them. I challenge anyone complaining about PayPal based on the fact that they have had lawsuits brought against them to name one large company who has not. I have even used PayPal to make purchases from Chinese companies for $1K plus, much safer than a wire transfer as you have a chance at filing a dispute. Wen you wire money it is just gone.

[XOIIO]

Legally change your name, problem solved.

[Monkeh]

Legally change your name, problem solved.

Mr. Tin F. Hat.

[TerraHertz]

Err, have you tried looking at that page with a private browser tab? Maybe it's showing that to *you* because of a cookie, cuz I don't see nothing at https://www.paypal.me/TerraHertz

except

"Your friend has grabbed their PayPal.Me link, but isn’t sharing it with the world just yet. Check back soon.
Is it your link?"

That's because after seeing what it looks like when enabled, I 'turned it off'. Paypal.me can be enabled/disabled whenever you like. But not changed or deleted. Yes, I did check from another browser.

I'm aware of paypal's long history of suspect behaviors, including freezing people's accounts if they suddenly receive a lot of money (thus making that money available for paypal's use for many months of 'resolution' process.) Also a tendency to freeze accounts for political reasons, with a specific bias.

Personally I've never had any problems with paypal, apart from that if you spend money via paypal it rapidly extracts from your bank account, but if you receive money and transfer it to your bank account, it typically takes a week to show up. More funds in their short term investment chest no doubt.

But there are plenty of other places to discuss paypal's general obnoxiousness. Please let's keep this thread about the paypal.me identity exposure and inflexibility.

Yes, I did know that when you make a papal payment you can see the recipient's identity. This is not so bad, since you're committing to a transaction. The point with paypal.me is it exposes your identity to anyone who looks at the page. It's an incremental thing, a step too far imo.

It's ironic that ebay takes such pains to block ebay users being able to even contact each other outside the anonymizing ebay messaging system.  (To discourage off-ebay deals.) While paypal does the opposite.

Took 1 minute to find *a* name, if it's TerraHertz' real one I don't know, but it's a real name for somebody in his locale matched with his username and associated with some other sites that seem aligned with similar interests.

Yeah, I don't try hard to hide it, and it can be found on my website. Other places too, probably.
Purpose of this thread is just to warn people, that setting up a paypal.me account makes your real name totally exposed, in conjunction with whatever nic you used for the account. And that isn't made clear when you begin the process, and you can't back out once you have created it and discover what it does.
There should be a warning right at the start: "Your real name and your chosen paypal.me name will be displayed together for all to see."

Did TerraHertz' just took a leaf out of Ms Streisand's book :-)

Ha, my 15mSec of infamy.

[Red Squirrel]

Funny we were having a conversation similar to this today at work.  Our hospital ER installed a phone before you go into the triage room, so when they call your number you have to pickup the phone, and then they start asking you questions such as why you're there.  So you're basically talking about your medical issues, in front of everybody, on this phone.   Seems like a privacy issue to me.

Do organizations just blatantly completely not care about privacy anymore?  It's actually getting quite ridiculous in general.

[SeanB]

Thing is you are not yet in the ER, just in the waiting room, which is full of all the walk in's, and not actually in earshot of any medical people.

Best would be for them to go find an old telephone booth ( remember those) which is padded with acoustic lining, which will attenuate the conversation and improve the intelligibility of the call on both sides. That would be a good compromise between having a private phone booth and no booth at all, providing both a place for the phone and a shelf to place paperwork on to complete it during the call.

[EEVblog]

Damn, that sounds bad 

[ade]

It's a feature, not a bug.

PayPal.me is supposed to show your real name (or for a business, the actual business name) plus your real picture if any.  That's how your friends know they're sending money to the right account.

I mean, right on the paypal.me homepage shows how profiles will be displayed:



From the FAQ: https://www.paypal.me/pages/faqs

Will any of my information be shared?

The only information available publicly through your PayPal.Me link will be your Profile photo (if you have one), the name associated with the account, and your city and province/country. This information is shared to reassure your friends and family that they are paying right person.

Don't complain that PayPal is "exposing" your real name when you sign up for a service that's supposed to do just that!

[timb]

Yes, I did know that when you make a papal payment you can see the recipient's identity. This is not so bad, since you're committing to a transaction. The point with paypal.me is it exposes your identity to anyone who looks at the page. It's an incremental thing, a step too far imo.

Actually, you can see the recipient's name *before* committing to send the money. Once you enter their email and amount, the person (or business) name associated with the account will show up on the confirmation page.

The whole point of PayPal.me is the ability to give a handy link out to people so they can easily pay you. You'd *want* them to be able to verify they're paying the right person.

I just don't see how them displaying your name, on *your* page is any sort of problem. They even *explicitly* tell you what will be on the page, before you enable it.

[EEVblog]

It's a feature, not a bug.
PayPal.me is supposed to show your real name (or for a business, the actual business name) plus your real picture if any.  That's how your friends know they're sending money to the right account.

But is it possible to remain anonymous if you so desire? i.e. have a displayed handle that doesn't identify you, and have your private real name in the back end of the system for legal reason etc?

Public figures such as myself have to be careful with this not to have any system reveal my home address for example, but the home address is a legal requirement to sign up for the system.