paypal expiration dates

[ganfax]

Does my paypal account have an expiration date?  The reason I'm asking is I received an email saying my paypal account was about to expire.  Could that email have been from paypal of is it a fraudulent email and needs to be reported to paypal?

[sandypurins]

It sounds like a spoof/phishing email... what was the exact text of the email you received?

[PayPal_Jason · Accepted solution]

Hi ganfax-

If a PayPal account sits dormant for an extended period of time, PayPal must either confirm the account is still active with the account holder or turn the funds over to the account holder's state of residence.  This process is called escheatment.  A user would be notified that to retain their balance, they'd have to log in. 

However, PayPal accounts do not "expire."  Does this email refer to you by the first and last name on your PayPal account?  If it refers to you along the lines of "Account Holder" or "PayPal Customer" it is most certainly not from us, as we communicate with our customers by the first and last name on the PayPal account.  You can also forward this email to spoof@paypal.com to see if the message is legitimate or not.

Also, feel free to check out our Phishing Guide, which points out some of the red flags in emails from bad guys, how you can avoid responding to them and what PayPal does to help protect you.  That info can be found in a three part document here: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/securitycenter/general/UnderstandPhishing

There is a wealth of other information in our Security Center in the Online Safety Essentials link for protecting yourself while online, and some of the information is helpful even for those that don't have a PayPal account, so feel free to share!

Thanks,

Jason