paypal and VPN problem

[pyjimmy]

I am trying to increase security and always use a VPN when using Paypal. I just tried to donate funds via Paypal and I was locked out of my account until I changed my password. Then it was almost impossible to contact Paypal to find out to keep using a VPN and not alarm Paypal ( which is doing a good job). Is there a way to work with Paypal and keep using a VPN?

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi @pyjimmy,

Welcome to the forum! I'm sorry to hear that you had difficulty making a donation.

The use of a VPN, or any sort of proxy, is not permitted when using PayPal. For more information about restricted activities, please take a look at the PayPal User Agreement, which can be found by clicking Legal at the bottom of any PayPal page.

I hope this helps.

Olivia

[pyjimmy]

Thank you for your reply. I hope you can boot this up the security chain and find a better solution. We all know or should know that as we move around and try to do business, a VPN is much more secure than not using one. Hackers have gone into the most secure sites and companies in our nation and the world. Every one of us needs to do our best to secure our accounts and credit card info that is accessable via Paypal once a hacker gets in. I do not see a smart way around avoiding the use of a VPN when it is the wise way to go. Please see what Paypal can do to help us protect our accounts better than not using a VPN.

Thank you,

jim

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi @pyjimmy,

I can definitely understand the reasons why a customer would legitimately desire to use a VPN, and I appreciate the feedback. PayPal does have a lot of rules that ultimately increase the security of the payment environment, even when they may seem inconvenient or even counter-intuitive. With regard to the prohibition against proxies, PayPal requires transparency where transactions are concerned, in order to have visibility into who and where money is coming from and going to, and in order to comply with all the regulations to which we're held. I regret the frustration you're experiencing as a result.

Olivia

[JTB92]

If allowing VPN's is a definite no-no, we should at least be warned that we are using an unauthorized VPN connection so we don't get locked out of our own accounts just because we forgot to turn off the VPN before logging in!

[doctorowl]

Hey JTB92- I had the same issue as you, but figured out the problem. I hadn't realized IP spoofing or masking (for example with VPN or proxy services) was against their TOS. It makes sense why the security system thinks it's weird if you suddenly log into your account from 300 miles away, or so your IP would indicate. 

I still think there should be a workaround. I had to verify my identity via SMS, which I did properly, but it still said "nope, not you!" and make me change my password, twice in a row, before locking my account down anyway! I had to jump through hoops to fix it and only afterward figured out what the issue was. It turned a 2 minute transaction into a 2 hour ordeal.

I use paypal because it's fast and secure, so I would appreciate having more control over my own security-if I'm verified with 2 factor authentication, I should be able to tell it to ignore my IP. What's the point of the 2 factor setup if it doesn't work? Why allow the "bad guy" logging in to change my password for me either? That's not secure at all. 

In the modern day when the common person is more and more likely to use a VPN - not just hackers and fraudulent scammers - this is going to be a persistent problem they will have to figure out one day. Steam's company Valve also has this issue, where gamers will be banned if they use a VPN to purchase games; in an attempt to prevent scams and region-locked loopholes, they're punishing innocent customers who wish to be safe. We should be able to use VPNs to appear anonymous to online trackers and hackers, so businesses like paypal will have to keep up.

However, to be fair, they DID tell us. It's in the user agreement. It's not secret or hidden, we just didn't read the fine print. 😉

[VPNuser]

Does anybody know a good alternative fot PayPal? I want to keep using a VPN - that’s my own security policy.

[TheGorgon]

I had an almost identical story happen to me in the UK. Only difference is that I had driven 50 miles to purchase an item only to find my account was not recognising me, asking for more proof of my identity, new passwords, but still no access to my money and an empty-handed return home. I was furious and had no idea what was causing the problem, I did soon guess at what the problem "probably" was. I may well have read the terms and conditions ten years ago when I first joined PayPal and no-one was talking about VPN'S back then , but since then I have had very few problems with PayPal's services. Also when I was able to talk to PayPal about VPN'S I received very little in the way of a definite answer, I wonder if this is the result of the"Suing culture" we have,, no-one wants to give out "Definitive" answers for fear of it being judged as a guarantee, so anyway I even rang PayPal to ask for advice on VPN'S, they had no advice apart from to say that "a VPN could cause me the problem. Is there no way that a pop up message could somehow be introduced to inform service users like myself and "newbies" that suspect activity is being noticed ?? Or something, I'm not savvy with all the implications. So,, is the only answer to turn off VPN'S when dealing with ebay and PayPal ?

[Meesbest]

NObody "normal" reads the finprint...

[Rbecca]

I Absolutely Agree with this idea ! It’s not fair to put honest and innocent users in such an inconvenient position at no fault of their own. It could be a complete accident that we would log into our account while still connected to our VPN and then WE are stuck dealing with a frozen account as a consequence! I think a warning would be a Fair solution. It’s the Least they could do.