So-called "unusual activity" forcing password change

[DragonDrums]

Every 3-4 weeks, when I login, I get a screen that says "We noticed some unusual activity on your account. Please help us keep your information safe" and then I'm forced to change my password.  Every inquiry I've made, both by phone and the message center, has resulted in them telling me that there is NO unusual activity, but they can't explain why I'm given this message.  Has anyone else been getting this?  I understand the need for security, but making customers think their account has been hacked is not very professional!

[K4l44l3q]

it is so annoying. why do they even force the effin password change every 2-3 days when i login to paypal from the same desktop from the same ip. and it only becomes "unusual activity" is when i use money from my account. does paypal try so hard to keep the money? im so effin annoyed

[SimpleScorpio]

I keep having this issue! I use the same devices all the time. I have uninstalled/reinstalled….cleared caches…keep changing passwords…keep calling PayPal and they are clueless! I am SICK OF IT! The app needs updating to fix this or the need to beef up security or something maybe someone is trying to steal crypto or something but this is crazy!

[JAB99]

They did nothing but give my money to a thief when a scammer using hijacked UPS labels provided fake information but when I use the 2 factor authentication I still have to change my password. I’m just going to stop using PayPal. It used to be very convenient but now it’s just a pediment to e-commerce.

[Cait13]

I received the same message today. The lack of authentication needed to change the password is a problem. Anyone could have been trying to login as me and gained access to my account.

[MacMind]

For what it's worth, I just got this alarming alert message when attempting to login, and was forced to change my password.

In my case, I think what triggered it was having my standard laptop that I typically use, at a different location, with a different IP address, as I was not at my home office, with it's static never changing IP address, at that time I logged into PayPal.

So, perhaps the changed IP address triggered it, as that was indeed unusual for me.

So, if you find you're having this problem often, perhaps you can find out from your Internet Service provider if you can get a static never changing IP address, to avoid these sorts of triggers.

Just a guess...

Oh, also 2 other thoughts: 

- If you're web browser has ad-blockers, or has 'prevent cross-site tracking' (in my Safari web browser) or frequently cleared cookies/cache, perhaps that also can be a trigger. To avoid this, I've found it very easy to use Google Chrome, make a separate 'profile', that never has cookies/cache cleared, nor has any blockers of any kind, and that is nice and stable, and works great with financial type web sites that are hyper-security conscious. That might help.

- For dealing with passwords, EVERYONE in this day and age should use a good high quality trusted 'password management utility' such as BitWarden (free, or $10/yr if you want extra features like having a built in authentication app). Not only does it make your life easier, you can also use VERY strong randomized and unique passwords, and it's also super easy to change them as frequently as you want, and then you can have it sync'd to all of your devices so you ALWAYS have all your sensitive information both safe, and available easily to you, as well as super easy to change the passwords anywhere, anytime.

[dist0rt3d]

While I generally don't have any issue with additional security if "suspicious" activity is detected, I also use 2FA for my PayPal account.  Why not just ask for my 2FA code?  Instead I have to try resetting through this specific webpage that it links me to and most of the time fails to the point where I have to actually use the "reset my password" link.  When I use that link and reset my password, the first thing it does, is prompt me for my 2FA code.

It's becoming frustrating to the point where the convenience of using PayPal isn't convenient anymore.

[bulgie]

Here we are years after the original posting in this thread, and PP still acts like they have no idea why their own system is doing this.

I used the 'contact us' form and asked them to explain, got an auto-reply telling me to expect an answer within, (I forget) I think they said hours, or days, but it's been a week with no answer.  Clearly I'm never getting one.

I suspect they're just flat-out lying (there was never any suspicious activity), and they know it, but of course they can't say that!  So they just say nothing.  Pretend no one is asking, we'll eventually go away.

Can't they see how unprofessional this is?  I'll come right out and say it — it's a bit off-putting!  There' I've said it, yes I'm slightly less enamored with Paypal, believe it or not.

[Quantumpanda]

I'm also having the same repeated issue. It happens every time I try to use PayPal from one specific device. None of my other devices have any problems with it. There is no evidence of unusual activity. It apparently has decided that this device itself constitutes "unusual activity". Such BS.