Hi everyone,
I wanted to pop into this thread because there's been a lot of different information over the past few years. Our knowledge has been updated and clarification is needed.
PayPal uses a couple of different short SMS numbers for communication. However, as any number can be spoofed, it would be wise not to rely on the appearance of a specific number to confirm that a text message is legitimate. Since phone numbers are not permitted in the community for a variety of reasons, the SMS numbers have been removed from this thread. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
If you receive an SMS asking you to reply with a 1 or 2 to confirm the legitimacy of the payment, it is likely from PayPal. However, responding is completely optional. If the transaction is not authorized, you can also go to your PayPal account and report unauthorized activity there. If you ever have any doubts, it's always safer to log in to your account from a fresh browser window at PayPal.com and get the lay of the land from there.
If a transaction is in fact legitimately authorized, it is not necessary to respond to confirm it for the transaction to go through. However, confirming the transaction is helpful to the system to recognize what authorized activity in your account looks like.
I hope this information helps.
Olivia
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