Paypal Security

[bainbrig]

When Paypal send my money to you, they tell you my Paypal email address, which is often necessary.

But is there any way of concealing my Paypal address?

And is it a potential security risk having my Paypal email floating around the www?

[hc4361]

Good

[hc4361]

You're comparing two different things, bill. Amazon doesn't provide a payment service and PayPal doesn't sell goods.

[bainbrig]

Understood hc. I suppose what I was comparing was Amazon's ability (and they DO of course handle money transactions between you and the sellers) to keep everything at arm's length, i.e. any queries, refunds, whatever, always go through Amazon. You never get ads or spam from those sellers (well not directly to your Amazon email, which again I keep as a separate account).

Paypal could institute something similar, thus closing one loophole where your Paypal account is exposed to public gaze. Haven't worked out the ins and outs, but they are typically uninterested in the notion, which as I say does worry some.

BillB

[hc4361]

When I buy from Amazon itself or a market place seller I pay using my credit card so the credit card company processes the payment, not Amazon.
Amazon does have a credit card but that is provided by New Day, who also provide credit cards in the Debenham name and others. They don't process the payments themselves.

When I pay for anything using my PayPal account the money often comes directly from money I already have in my account so is processed by PayPal itself, same with their credit account.

[AuntLydia]

//And is it a potential security risk having my Paypal email floating around the www?//

Your email address isn't. floating around www.' The seller has it for marketing purposes they can do no more with it. Easy enough if you get a marketing email from them is to block the sender. Paypal is totally safe, and reliable to fix things if they go wrong. On the other hand I would never give Amazon access to either credit or debit cards. My bank account was hacked through Amazon and the only thing they could offer was to freeze my account. The bank had to step in for everything else.

[bainbrig]

You are of course right, hc, I'm not questioning your analysis.

All I am (still) saying is that I DO get spam and adverts from the people I've bought things from using Paypal, BECAUSE they have access to my email address (and to repeat, it is an exclusive paypal address, but that doesn't help!)

Lydia: my address is 'out there' in www-land. So are yours.

BB

[AuntLydia]

bainbridg My email addresses and yours are not 'out there' . If I gave you my full name you would not be able to find my email addresses and even if you could you wouldn't be able to do any more than send me an email! Can't see any security risk in sending someone an email.

[SparklyKid]

If you are so paranoid about paypal security just do not use them, simples !

[bainbrig]

Simple? Talk to Lydia, Sparky. Simple.