Paypal is Declaring a War on Identity Theft
How Paypal Is Helping Prevent Identity Theft
Some consumers have been afraid of using Paypal services due to identity theft concerns. Fewer customers means less money for Paypal, and the company fully understands that. That's probably one of the reasons Paypal has waged war on phishing and identity theft. Here are just a few of the things Paypal is doing to help prevent identity theft occurrences.
A Dedicated Email Addresses
Phishing is commonly used by criminals to target Paypal users for purposes of identity theft, and Paypal knows this. Because of this, Paypal has set up a dedicated email account to handle phishing emails.
If you receive an email that is supposed to be from Paypal, you simply forward the email to spoof@paypal.com and Paypal will verify whether the email is legitimate or if it is phishing used for identity theft.
Free Equifax Credit Alerts
All Paypal members can get free Equifax credit alerts. The service offers automatic email notification if someone opens a new account in your name or if there is a significant balance change to one of your existing accounts. They also offer a free hot line that can help you if you suspect you may have been a victim of identity theft.
Equifax does offer this service to people without Paypal accounts, but if you are a Paypal member, you get this service for free.
There's More
In addition to the anti-phishing email service and the free Equifax credit alerts, Paypal also offers the "fight phishing" challenge, an identity theft guide, online safety essentials and more.
It's really a breath of fresh air. With so many companies sweeping identity theft issues under the rug or refusing to take action until something actually happens, Paypal is taking a proactive approach and is helping customers avoid becoming the next identity theft victims.