Image Credits: Jan Baby via Pixabay

For the majority of online workers, having a PayPal account is a crucial thing for a reason that most online sites pay their members through this online payment platform.  These online sites would choose PayPal over all other payment processors because of its known integrity and reliability when it comes to transferring funds. Thus, having a PayPal account is a must-have if you are serious about your online career. Moreover, Paypal is implementing strict security measures in order to safeguard the accounts of their clients. If you are just starting with your online career, you can use this guide in order to open a PayPal account. 

Video Credits: ESET via YouTube

PayPal is accepted all throughout the world and is being used by most online shops, businesses, and working sites including Bitlanders. The site has grown to be the most trusted online money processor that has millions of members from different countries.

When I was just starting to explore online opportunities, this is the first thing that I have given focus and time. I opened my PayPal account and learned everything on my own in order to verify it. My PayPal is already more than 6 years and still part of my online activities. Although I also have other payment processors which I am using with some of my sites, still I PayPal is still my most trusted processor. 

Common Problems We Might Encounter

Knowing the importance of having this payment processor for my online work, I made it a point to learn every little detail I need in order to secure my PayPal account and to prevent myself from encountering any problem. I would take note of the issues encountered by other members which they usually share on social media. As the popular saying goes,

"Learn from the mistakes of others, you can never live long enough to make them all yourself"

by: Groucho Marx via Goodreads

 

Here are some of the most common issues we might encounter if we are not careful in dealing with our account:

>Your PayPal Account Might Be Hacked

Because of its popularity, PayPal has been a favorite target of criminals and hackers ever since. Some of my online friends have been victims of this illegal activities. 

A year ago, a friend of mine who was just starting her career as an online freelance worker. told me one day that her account has been compromised due to some unauthorized transactions causing her balance to go on a negative state. She said, when she logged in to her account one day, she discovered that her PayPal account is on a negative status when in fact she hadn't made any attempt to withdraw because she was saving the money before she transfers the amount to her bank. I asked her if she received an email before she encountered such problem. She told me that she received an email informing her that she has a problem with her account.  I instructed her to call PayPal to clear this issue. But did not heard from her since then. 

>Your PayPal Account Might Get Limited

 

Image Credits: Hacker Noon

Your account might be frozen or get limited under certain circumstances such as receiving an abnormally large amount of money in your PayPal account that is way beyond your regular transactions, somebody has filed a complaint to PayPal against you and your business or a fraudulent activity has been detected in your account. Other reasons that may cause for your account to get limited are, violation of Paypal's policy and someone has logged in to your PayPal account from a strange location.

>You Might Encounter Problems During Transfer of Fund to Your Bank

 

Image Credits: Pinterest

There are instances when members encountered problems when transferring fund from PayPal to their bank accounts. The reason may be because the details on your bank account and that of PayPal does not match. 

Things to Do in Order to Avoid Issues on Your PayPal Account 

 

Image Credits: Technogratis

Our PayPal account is a very important part of our online work, therefore, we need to take all precautionary measures in order to safeguard our accounts. Don't make it easy for these criminals to get hold of our accounts. Here are some of the measures that we can adopt in order to secure our accounts:

• Never click those links sent to your email inbox by an alleged representative from PayPal requiring you to update your account by logging in to the given link. This may be some form of a Phishing email which is being sent out by hackers in order to get your username and password. Once they get hold of your username and password, they will drain your PayPal account. To be sure, always login use the browser to log in to your account. 

Phishing emails are those misleading messages we received in our inbox which compel us to perform a certain action which requires that we log in to our account, specifically, our PayPal account. If we are unaware of this modus, we might fall victim to their deceptive actions. Unknowingly, we clicked the link in our email inbox and we landed on a page where we enter our username and passwords, thinking that we are on the PayPal login page. Once these criminals get hold of our username and passwords, they will drain your PayPal account.

Here is an example of a phishing email:

Image Credits: facebook.com

 

 

• As much as possible don't transact with people with an unverified account.  

Although I haven't encountered any instance from friends that would say that their accounts have been compromised due to transacting with unverified accounts, I believed that it would be very risky to have a transaction with an unverified account. Even big sites won't accept new member if their account is not verified. 

• Don't log in to your PayPal Account using public internet shop

Image Credits: Thablo Doblo via YouTube

 

Don't log in to your PayPal account from computer cafe/shops or public wifi. These are unsecured lines and our personal identity including usernames and passwords might be stolen by these individuals. Always log in from your home connection. 

• Provide advance information

Inform the PayPal management team when you are expecting a large amount to be deposited to your account to prevent any suspicions and to avoid  your account from being frozen 

• Make sure your bank details match your PayPal account details

Use genuine and truthful details when creating an account.  A slight difference in your bank account name and details with that of your PayPal account might compromise your account.

•  Use strong password in order to prevent your account from being hacked

Having a secured account can give us a give a peace of mind. Choose a password with a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. A longer password can be better. Read more about securing PayPal account here:

Here is another video tutorial on securing PayPal account:

Image Credits: AtwHelp via YouTube

On the final thought:

We should take care of our PayPal account like we are taking care of our bank account. This is our online bank which should be protected in order to get the most efficient service from PayPal.

Thank you, my friends, for reading!

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Written for Bitlanders:

by: Sharon Lopez

Thank you for reading. 

Please visit my blogs for more articles. 

Sharon Lopez is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Commerce Major in Banking and Finance and currently working in the government handling programs on Business Friendly and Competitive LGUs.
You may visit me on Facebook. 
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are that of the author and does not in any way represent the agency or department she currently belongs.