Paypal can find out who you are even in Stealth

[slapped]

Originally Posted by Neo

Ok to clarify the facts.

".......I checked my credit file as I do every so often.

I noted that within a two week period Paypal had searched my credit file 6 times. The details were shown of the 6 different searches".......

I Know that things work a Little differently in the UK, So as I Try to Understand your Situation in the Hope of Comming up with a Potential Workaround, Please Forgive any Ignorance that I Might Display in understanding this Situation.

The First thing I Would Like to Know is What Led Paypal to Search YOUR Credit file?

Originally Posted by Neo

"........."The one problem there is no way to get around is the fact that any bank account you take out will always lead back to your credit file. I did think of applying for an account and switching round a digit in my NI number in the hope that this might keep a new account out"..........

So are you saying here that all Paypal Needs to do is request some type of "Credit Rating" on the Owner of a Bank Account attached to a Paypal account and the awnser will lead Paypal directly to YOUR Credit File, Because of course you had to open the Bank account initially?

Originally Posted by Neo

".....Basically they have searched me based on my bank accounts and would not have used any real details to go with this search as there were none there"......

Also are you Saying that the 6 different Inquires into your Credit file made by Paypal Originated from 6 Different stealth accounts?

[pod]

Originally Posted by Neo

within a two week period Paypal had searched my credit file 6 times.

All of these accounts are stealth - different name - different address.

.

So unless we are missing something important here, paypal with nothing more than bank account number found out who you are?

From my understanding on any paypal account, real or stealth, paypal cant just get your info from the bank...

So with basically just one piece of info that mattered, your account number, they were able to do a credit report that returned information on who you are??

All of the bank account numbers were different, correct? And all 6 completely separate bank accounts all lead back to your real credit report?

And to repeat - ALL they needed was a bank account number? Nothing more? How can that be enough?

This is bat **** scary

.

[doughboykilla]

I think its illegal in america for banks to give out any personl info to paypal or anyone. Even if paypal was to get info only thing they could get is your name which they cant link just by that. theres no way they could get your ssn legaly any ways.

[jbluntz]

I think he's saying they did a credit check on his real info account and found accounts that were attatched to stealth accounts.

[pod]

Originally Posted by jbuntz

I think he's saying they did a credit check on his real info account and found accounts that were attatched to stealth accounts.

So you are thinking his downfall was put in motion by having a REAL account amongst the rest? Had all 6 been stealth we would not be having this conversation?
But I still cant understand how they can run a credit check, with a bank account number and bogus names. Credit check should not have shown who he is by account number alone, no?

[jbluntz]

If you have a real info paypal account and they run a credit check and they see the other bank accounts you have in your real details then they can search their database to see if those other accounts are being used with other paypal accounts. Naturally if they run a credit check on a stealth account nothing will show up. I think they only do that on business accounts with lot's of volume.

[MadSam]

Neo,

I'm a financial expert and trade on the CityIndex, so listen to me. This is not possible or legal.

Firstly, any company needs your consent to register a search on your credit files. Was this Experian, Equifax or CallCredit you were looking at? I recommend you contact them to investigate and have the searches removed then contact the Financial Ombudsman Service about this - PayPal as they are not a member of the FSA have to pay $500 just to represent any case you bring to them, so it is easier for them and more likely that they will just give in. I can tell you these companies and the laws they follow are not any different to that in the US.

Second, if you look closely at your credit accounts on your credit file, if and where it shows your account number (it doesn't always) under the Data Protection Act you will never see the whole account number, only see the last four digits of the account number if that, e.g. XXXX5344

If that's not enough, credit reports cannot be searched by account number, only by personal or business identity.

If your theory is that they have run these account numbers of yours through a CRA and arrived at your identity on your credit reports then you are incorrect. You have been linked by another method. Had PayPal achieved this, they would have breached 3 Acts under civil law and be liable to be fined many millions.

Okay, that's all from me.

[jeffweico]

Originally Posted by pod

So you are thinking his downfall was put in motion by having a REAL account amongst the rest? Had all 6 been stealth we would not be having this conversation?
But I still cant understand how they can run a credit check, with a bank account number and bogus names. Credit check should not have shown who he is by account number alone, no?

Account numbers are not even a criteria that the credit bureaus accept for input (when running a credit report). Name, address, SSN, DOB - that's it.

The UK, however, may be different.

The one thing I could think of is:

If credit reports in the UK show bank account information (I have NEVER seen this in the US, and I have read THOUSANDS of credit reports over the last 13 years) then when he opened the account, the bank would report his account number to the credit bureau. If PayPal ran a credit report and found that he banks at Barclays and his checking account number is 123456789, then PayPal could look at THEIR OWN data and match the account number and bank name to the bogus account. But this is a longshot.

I was told by a Trans-Union rep a couple of years ago that they were trying to get legislation passed that would allow the bureaus to list bank account information to help businesses comply with the Patriot Act, but I don't think anything ever came of it. Since a checking account is, by definition, not an extension of credit it could only be reported as a writeoff if it was in default.

My theory above is just a THEORY. I know that UK banking law is stricter than US law, so maybe they have this?

[NZT]

When you view your credit report the information that you have regarding what information a company like Paypal had to search your credit file is very slim.

All you see is that they did in fact search the credit file.

The 6 searches have been performed and I am saying that I created more than 6 totally independant stealth accounts with different names and addresses,

I have found out from callin them and the emails I have received that they have linked all these accounts which are now limited plus I am on ternderhooks thinking when the others are going to fall.

To perform so many searches they would have access to all my bank account and credit card details. Not the full numbers but the last 4 digits.

I thought it was odd that they could search based on the bank account and credit card number, but they have no real address to use for the basis of a search only the stealth addresses.

[jbluntz]

I'm a financial expert and trade on the CityIndex, so listen to me.

That statement right there says it all lol, you could live an entire life off of that statement alone lol.

[NZT]

Have separate user accounts - usually change IP when using each ebay - and paypal account.

Stealth details are totally different including name.

On what other basis could they perform so many searches?

[GreenBean]

ffs, do me a favour and answer the questions in my 1st post in the thread. You're being slippery.

'Just' means what...4 days ago, 4 weeks ago OR longer.

Originally Posted by Neo

usually change IP when using each ebay - and paypal account.

But not always?

On what other basis could they perform so many searches?

Typematic rate, voiceprinting (if you've talked to them on the phone), spies, snitches, exif tags, syntax analysis... ad nauseum.

[oompaloompa]

to clarify a few questions - what prompted this search was a delinquent paypal account in real details from years back. As we know all bank accounts and cards are taken out in our own real details, so what OP is saying is therefore if you input a real name/dob etc, you will come up with a list of bank accs and card, just last few digits but thats all you need to link it all up.
Paypal probably wont do a search like this unless you run away from substantial fees..money thats the bottom line

[MadSam]

Right, so you've had 6 searches on your credit report by paypal. Banks and other financial institutions that know what they're doing search and register correctly, not least because they are regulated to do so. To put it bluntly, idiot companies like paypal have idiots working for them who don't so much know what they're doing and make mistakes like this because they don't know how to search and register properly and efficiently. I'll bet some of these searches were in a very short space of time, some even perhaps on the same day. This is the result of untrained idiots at paypal who don't know what they're doing.

You're now thinking that they've pulled your credit reports 6 times and cross referenced with the last 4 digits of the accounts? This is nonsense, the number of accounts with the same last 4 digits outnumbers just yours by a long way, they would quickly run out of unique account numbers to link and everybody who entered an account would be linked. They couldn't even do it if they had the entire account number, without the routing number the number of accounts still outnumber, and credit reports do not reveal the routing number.

In the US credit reports are searched by SSN, in the UK it's by electoral register.

I've spoken to fraud investigators and heads of fraud departments at all the major banks alike time and time again to glean some first rate information. You don't even need to mention paypal to them, there is rarely a day that goes by for any of them where there is not some fraud with paypal involved. Nearly always, paypal will be out of pocket on this. Due to this, as we've all experienced paypal's fraud screening gets ever more stringent, and with that in mind I'm sure paypal has some elaborate and convoluted methods of linking accounts that have not been mentioned or possibly even thought about by anyone on these forums. This is probably what linked your accounts

As I say follow the steps I outlined before, request an investigation by Equifax, Experian or CallCredit, whichever CRA it was, then take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. They take their time because they're buried with work, and favour some scenarios over others, but they HATE paypal, and like I said before paypal will usually give in right away to them. It costs you nothing, and it's unlikely that without a court order paypal would choose or be forced to reveal the commercial basis behind the workings of their decision to link your accounts, but it'll resolve your problems.