OT Pay Pal verify bank

[Mikej]

Work guy said he had a random 50 cent deposit and withdrawal from Pay Pal and didnt give out the info. What are they doing?

[Ozz]

Does he have a Pay Pal Acct? If yes, check activity to see what is going on...

If no, then maybe someone is setting up a PayPal account linked to his bank account?

[unterhausen]

It's a test. He should probably do something about it.

[JedB]

sounds almost identical to credit card fraud.

They usually test the card # with a small transaction and then if it works, they go big.

[tuscanyswe]

I remember something like that when setting up the account. I think they charged my card a small amount and then put it back. And as i remember it i was told to give them back the numer assosiated with that payment on my bankstatement or similar. Believe it was away to assure that i was the owner of the bank account / credit card i was setting up.

Could be something else complete ofc.

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by tuscanyswe

I remember something like that when setting up the account. I think they charged my card a small amount and then put it back. And as i remember it i was told to give them back the numer assosiated with that payment on my bankstatement or similar. Believe it was away to assure that i was the owner of the bank account / credit card i was setting up.

Could be something else complete ofc.

Yeah I had the same thing when starting my account. If he's starting the Paypal account or adding a new bank account to it it sounds normal.

The process was they'd deposit funds of a random amount twice (like 0.01 and 0.25) into your account and then you'd tell them amounts. That would verify you own the account.

If he has no idea why this is happening - i.e. its an old Paypal account and it's been connected to his cards or bank account for years - I would change passwords as a precaution, then get into contact with Paypal to understand whats going on.

[slowpoke]

Bank account verification works in two ways these days:

- through Plaid (instantaneous), where you literally give your bank username and password to the third-party Plaid, that then tells whatever service you own this bank account

- traditional ACH deposits (3-4 days), where you give them your routing and account info and they deposit two small amounts, and you tell them what those amounts are

If you're already using Mint.com, using Plaid is probably fine since your transactions history is already being sold by Intuit. However, for the paranoid, it's "safer" to go the traditional route for two deposits.

Going back to the original issue, it seems like someone is trying to link to your coworker's account. If the stranger does access to the bank account, then they would be able to verify the two deposits, and make withdrawals with PayPal. It's possible another customer of the bank fat-fingered their account number and ended up with your coworker's account number.

However to be safe, you coworker should change up their password and set up alerts for any withdrawals over $50.

[Mikej]

He only had a CC (not a debit) card on the account. PP got back to him and told him to call, most likely an accident. But I can see being worried. Im n o spring chicken, but he is a bit older than me and technology is a bit tough for him. Good idea on the alerts -

[Bentley]

Originally Posted by Mikej

Work guy said he had a random 50 cent deposit and withdrawal from Pay Pal and didnt give out the info. What are they doing?

PayPal and others do a micro transaction to verify bank accounts... you can see who made it so if it’s not someone you are using... report it to your bank

Ray