Seemingly endless security challenge Captcha loop is maddening!!

[SuperKru]

What is going on with the Security Challenge (captcha) feature in PayPal? It puts me in a seemingly endless loop of identifying buses, cars, fire hydrants and cross walks, then on to pineapples and lady bugs, before I can get in my account. (If I ever do.) This happens virtually every time. Many times I get a message after everything that there was a problem and I have to log in again, then it finally goes into my account. This has not always happened. (I just noticed it over the last month or so.) I've seen other reports of this and the common reply/solution is to clear history/cache. I did this (on Chrome 107.0.5304.106) and it doesn't change anything. 

There are enough reports of this that I would think PayPal would change something about their log-in process. Even if it is a browser-interaction issue, shouldn't PayPal be able to institute some changes to keep it from happening? I say this because I don't have this problem logging in on ANY other site. (Banking, eBay, credit cards, etc.) Yes, of course I want my account to be safe on PayPal, but those other sites are just as important (or more) and they don't have a problem playing nice with Chrome.

I don't have time to wait 3 seconds for each image to refresh, click, refresh, another challenge, click, refresh, and on and on... It's crazy! Please institute some new log-in code PayPal. Figure this out please. Please! This only happens on your site. Sure, it may be related to the browser I use. But every other site seems to have figured out a way to make their code play nice with the most popular browser in the world...

[maggtreasurer]

I agree! It's maddening and I'm super sick of it. Those grainy photos are impossible to decipher and no other financial website presents so many hoops to jump through. ENOUGH OF THE CAPTCHAS PayPal!

Even posting here requires a darn captcha! ARGH!

[SuperKru]

I've noticed it happens more often if I have hit the 'Log out' link (in the drop-down under my name), which is usually what I do when I'm done. (And good practice, in theory.) So now I just let the session expire...

To get back into my account at a later time/date, I have a Bookmark to paypal.com/login that I click on. (Even if PayPal is still on the screen/tab.) That has eliminated most of the  occurrences, which seems to indicate their issue is something related to logging out. (There you go PayPal. Something to work on...)

[maggtreasurer]

Interestingly, it happens for me after I'm automatically logged out. I usually forget to log out manually. I'll try loading a fresh log in each time to see if that makes any difference. Glad your issue has resolved itself!

Here's the message I got back from Customer Service. NOT helpful at all.

"At this time, we would not have the option to change the log in process.

Our internal security is working to keep this PayPal account safe.

Thank you for your time today."

[SuperKru]

We might still have something in common. I was clicking the Login button that was still on the page after I had logged out. If you were too, instead of clicking that button to log back in (whether you logged out manually or let them log you out), store a bookmark to the url I referenced and click on it instead. See if that helps you too. 

Goofy that we should even have to figure out a workaround, since I don't have to figure out login workarounds on any other site. (Many of which I consider MORE important or sensitive than PayPal.) But PayPal doesn't seem to want to admit it's something they're doing that no one else is...

[djjackson13]

The five tile dice thing is ridiculous. 

[SuperKru]

Using my Bookmark for paypal.com/login every time I want to go to PayPal seems to have solved the most aggravating part of the problem. I still get a 'Security Challenge' nearly every time, where I have to click a 'Start Puzzle' button (or something like that), after which I'm presented with six squares and instructions to match the snail, or the apple, or the banana, or some such item. But at least it lets me right into my account after that... Instead of having me go through the maddening, continually looping, failing-in-the-end, slow-refreshing, grainy 9-tile match exercise for crosswalks, buses, bikes, mountains, hydrants, traffic signals, etc, which was happening nearly every time before...

PayPal. People do not like that 9-tile captcha process. And there IS a problem with it. Yes, we want financial sites to be secure. But we don't have this problem with any other financial sites. (Nearly all of which are MORE important and have MORE of our money at risk than PayPal.) And they have security processes too. So it can be done. Fix the bugs with this 9-tile captcha process! Or, better yet, get rid of it altogether. The 6-tile 'puzzle' is relatively quick and easy. Why not just stick with it?

[Snarp]

I agree that The 6-tile 'puzzle' is relatively quick and easy. Why not just stick with it?

[SuperKru]

This is INSANE. It just took me through about 10 security challenges. I thought I had a work-around but it didn't work this time... Figure this out PayPal!! It's me trying to get into the account. It's always me from this computer. It's always me from this browser. NO OTHER SITE HAS THIS PROBLEM. 

[maggtreasurer]

Totally ridiculous! Yet I can log into the app on my phone with a quick Face ID.