No mobile phone number. What do I do?

tamale0
New Community Member

Paypal is now forcing me to add a mobile phone number.  I've been using google voice for years, and I don't have a true mobile phone number.  What are my options?  I've become pretty reiliant on paypal, for eBay shopping, banking, and sending money to friends.

 

I am a U.S. citizen and resident, but I spend most of my time abroad working for the U.S. Government.  I don't want to have to get a U.S. phone plan that sits idle 11 months of the year.  I think I'd rather close my paypal account, if that's my only option to maintain it.

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PayPal_JonK
Moderator
Moderator

Hello @livid, @kernowlass, @classactions, @Dorothy21, @Aklsdjaflkadsjf, and everyone else,

 

Thank you for visiting our Community Forum! Thank you Kernowlass for helping our users so far on this topic, we appreciate all the expertise you lend. I understand there is some concern with PayPal requesting a mobile phone number number to create or continue using your account. PayPal is always looking to create a safer, more secure payment platform for our buyers and sellers. By asking to add and confirm a mobile phone on your account, this allows PayPal to help you service your account, send / receive payments (instead of just with an email address), and prevent / alert you of potentially fraudulent activity. I do understand there is a concern of privacy and personal security. Here are links to our Privacy PoliciesFull Privacy Statement, and what information we request when Opening an Account. Also, here's a link to our User Agreement regarding our Buyer Protection

Our Customer Support teams are more than happy to address any issues with adding and confirming your mobile number should you run into any technical issues. You can reach them by clicking "Contact" at the bottom of any PayPal page, and where available, by Twitter direct message or Facebook instant message. 

 

Thank you for your time and have a wonderful day,

 

 - Jon K

 


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livid
Contributor
Contributor

As stated, I would rather not give Paypal my number.

If my number was going to be required in order to access my account, why did they not give me ADVANCE NOTICE,

so I could close out my account?

How do I close out my account?  

Every number that I call asks for my phone number?

If Paypal wants to pass a hard and fast rule, then don't harass your long-time customers

who do not wish to provide you with a phone number.

 

 

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kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@livid 

 

They did give you advance notice, there has been a notice on paypal accounts for months telling you to add or update and make sure your mobile phone is correct on your paypal account, guess you didn't read that either? 


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livid
Contributor
Contributor

Kernowlass, please stop attacking me.

Paypal gave no warning that they would remove access to an account

that did not supply them with a pone number.

 

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-mouse-
Contributor
Contributor

But you already have my email address, my home address, my bank information, my other email address, my debit card information, my other bank information, my literal social security number, my literal passport, my home phone number, a copy of my driver license, mother's maiden name, grandmother's maiden name, name of first school, name of first pet, name of hospital I was born in, nickname of oldest child, father's middle name, name of favorite childhood toy, name of first room mate, and all of the other past or future security questions.

 

At this point, you know more about me than I do.

 

If you can't figure out who I am with all of that information, then what could a mobile number ever possibly do? In what way could supplying a mobile phone number possibly improve the experience for me?

 

You can cut the bs. This move isn't for the benefit of me or any other end user. Paypal is benefiting from it. That's why it's mandatory. It has nothing to do with making anything better for the end user.

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kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@-mouse- 

 

Even my online banking is asking for a mobile number for secure log ins so again either add a mobile phone for paypals LEGAL secure requirements or close your account, not rocket science, you don't have to use paypal if you don't agree with the policy.


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-mouse-
Contributor
Contributor

There you go mentioning the legality of it without quoting any actual laws again. I'm still waiting on what law makes this information mandatory. If it is a law then I should inform my bank because they have NEVER asked for any phone number. Sorry about your bank selling your personal info to Russia though.

 

In the meantime, this news may come as a shock to you, but moves like this are not "take it or leave it" situations. The end user has both the ability and the responsibility to voice objection. Tolerance to businesses steamrolling end users without even allowing so much as a mutter gives agency to the undermining of their own user base, and thus the business itself.

 

I know I'm coming off as the nerd here because I'm expressing way more thought than your blind shilling and bootlicking ever did, but if you really care about the future of Paypal, then you wouldn't stand in the way of feedback. Understanding market demand is crucial for any business, significantly more so when that market is the general public, and silencing that leaves them in the dark.

 

If you're not ready to hear feedback, then you shouldn't be here.

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Aracnarua
New Community Member

Instead of asking for our phone numbers, Paypal should use a two factor authentication that is based on randomly generated numbers. This would make it less likely that if/when PayPal has a successful security breach at least their is one less bit of information that will be gathered about us. Also with all the recent SMS scams and phone scams not to mention the email scams, ( I say scams to cover Spam, phishing, social hacking and all that) surely a 2FA model that is based on some randomised identifiers is the way to go and it removes the likelihood of users feeling that PayPal is likely to sell more of our data out there.

I am currently looking for alternatives to Paypal. I am likely to go back to using my bank which does use randomised 2FA.

 

I imagine that this will simply get lost in in digital wasteland but at least I gave my 2 cents worth 🙂 

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Khajiitdova
Contributor
Contributor
I actually try to give them my mobile number (my only phone number) but my phone type is not supported even though I can use the app on it. Honestly with how inflexible and restrictive PayPal has become as soon as I figure out how to move my funds to an alternative I will wash my hands of PayPal forever and anticipate them going the way of the dinosaur. This service is sub-trash.
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trag
Contributor
Contributor

replying to

Moderator

 

Your reply is mostly useless.   You completely ignored the concerns of people who do not own a cell phone.  How are those of us with no cell phone supposed to use your service?  And why are you putting us through this ridiculous assumption that everyone has a cell phone.

 
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