Bitcoin Forum

Accounts being closed en masse.

http://www.ijunkey.com/2011/07/26/paypal-in-trouble/

One can only hope.

Not much proof in your link though.

Here you go: http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23OpPayPal (http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23OpPayPal)

Very cool! Thanks.

I just said goodbye to paypal :-)

Should be easy for many people here.

thx for the heads up on #opPayPal and an excuse to tweet my url and bitcoin.org

Death to Paypal!!!

that's quite a disgrace to gay people.

unlike paypal, i do think gay people don't f*ck others as they wish, randomly.

how do you know? U're Gay? ;-)

pointless. this "operation" won't hurt paypal at all.

If Paypal is using users money for other things, than yes ... it can become a bubble.
anyway, there is another possibility ... are they going to release a database of accounts?

my wife would like to have a talk with you.  :)

you're right, I was using Gay in the sophomoric slang sense of a generic insult.  I have no problem with homosexuals, especially if they like bitcoin.  To compare homosexuals to paypal would be an insult to homosexuals.  Sorry to any offended homosexuals out there.

Uh oh... political correctness has even permeated the bitcoin forums.   ::)

I cringe every time i hear people say "gay" as a synonym for "bad". It is insensitive at best, reinforcing hate at worst.

Not long ago, people would say things like:

It appalls me that (yet another) word has evolved to have two opposite meanings.. like inflammable.

if it's getting big, and if the media writes that it was hacked, it'll be a really great thing pushing Bitcoin!
but we shoult twitter that you can use bitcoin instead of paypal
and everyone shoukld delete his paypal acc

Post

wishful thinking...

but not gonna have any effect.

anonymousIRC said , now they've over 20k deleted accounts... and i's not finished yet! Americans get up right now

Inflammable doesn't mean non-combustable.

Nice in theory but since I don't have an alternative to paypal I'm not closing my account.

Not many people taking bitcoins on ebay, ya know.  or other places I generally use my paypal account.  Closing my paypal account would effectively prevent me from selling things on ebay and from buying from many places.

How did they come up with that number? Wouldn't it somehow require background access to paypal to keep track of how many accounts where deleted?

Fuck ebay, too. You are the same. Use Amazon if you have to use a major etailer. At least they are against taxation.

Let's see how things went:

1. PayPal cuts off Wikileaks
2. Anonymous rallies people to target PayPal with LOIC DDoS
3. ...
4. People start getting arrested
5. Anonymous calls for people to cancel their Paypal accounts

How it should've been done:

1. PayPal cuts off Wikileaks
2. Anonymous calls for people to cancel their Paypal accounts

Major difference!

This is a great opportunity to promote the use of bitcoins.  #oppaypal has currently reduced EBAY's market cap by a billion USD, and likewise could have a huge positive effect on Bitcoin.

lol look at the ebay charts^^
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=EBAY&t=5d&l=on&z=l&q=l&c= (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=EBAY&t=5d&l=on&z=l&q=l&c=)

Stock price is at 3 year high? Hmmm. Its not working. .....Yet.

I know, its kinda funny.

Honestly, I don't see why everyone hates paypal.
Sure, most the the things they do are just to make sure they can cover their asses.

You know how much political pressure and repercussions they would have if they allowed USD <--> BTC ? You could easily argue that paypal should screw that and jump on board but it would be selfish to ask them of that.

Once they see the profit in Bitcoin and that we are not en enemy, they will come around. I guarantee it

Not enough, it is already starting to fall 1 whole USD allready -2.80%

Also, some DDoS might be involved.This is a prediction not a threat.

You don't get it. It's not about those 20k or whatever number it is hurting PayPal. It's people showing their displeasure and willingness to inconvenience themselves in-order to stick it to them. When a viable alternative comes along (eg bitcoin being mature enough) their house of cards will collapse faster than you can say #oppaypal

The writing is on the wall.

I think people need to learn to just deal with whatever other people say and move on.  This whole political correctness garbage is just that - garbage.  People seem to look for reasons to get offended so they can talk about it on the nightly news and get their face plastered on TV.  Not saying that that is you philip. But, I cringe every time I hear people say they're offended by this or that.  Just buck up and deal with it!

Yay for Gay people... They use PayPal... and get scammed!

(nb... please note, that strait people also use paypal, and get scammed!)

I'm with you Sarge. It should have been obvious to people that its been taken way way too far when legislation started showing up prosecuting internet "hate speech".

If you are so fragile that you are unable to deal with another person's speech, perhaps its better to let nature take its course.

i think you need to RMA your sarcasm detector.

or something like that, lol.

i'm not even trying to be remotely PC.

Sarcasm detector RMA'd.  Maybe I'll do better next time.   8)

 :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

That's the reply of all anti-protesters, everywhere. "Whatever you do, it won't make a dent". I believe they call it learned helplessness. If enough people believe that, there will never be any dissent :)

In practice you only need a certain critical mass, network effects and mouth-to-mouth will take care of the rest.

http://scienceblog.com/46622/minority-rules-scientists-discover-tipping-point-for-the-spread-of-ideas/

I'm one of the most chronic complainers on the Internet.



But I've got to admit, paypal does not cross the line.

1) They provide a service. They deserve to make money.
2) The Internet is a fraudulent place. They deserve to protect themselves.
3) The only people complaining are the dishonest Internet scammers who have not been wronged in any way, shape, or form yet have an objective of staging a paypal protest against what? Nothing.

I do a lot of online work for people I have never met.  I dislike Paypal, but I can't drop them until I have a similar replacement.   :-\

No offense, but paypals policies are there for a REASON.

They didn't start out being so strict. The policies piled on after people exploited any leeway they could find in the system.




Furthermore, any replacement will have the same policies because they have to.

I read fine-print. I can't use Paypal because even if I agreed to their terms of service, I can't fund my paypal account because I don't use credit cards or online banking..

Basically, if I try to pay somebody via Paypal, I have no assurance that both our accounts won't be frozen.

yes.  i read that last night.  very interesting: analogous to margaret mead's small group of dedicated people.  mead would appear to have grasped the concept intuitively.

So they blocked Wikileaks because they had to? Don't joke.

+1

And why not do the right thing, just for the hell of it, without any attachment to the outcome.

well, no.

Bitcoin is a replacement for paypal, and none of paypal's policies in re chargebacks, fees, account cancellation or anything else, exist (or could even be implemented) in Bitcoin.  we'll get there.

+1

And look at the spin-off press we're getting as a result!
http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2011/07/5-alternatives-to-paypal-as-anonymous-organises-boycott-oppaypal.html (http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2011/07/5-alternatives-to-paypal-as-anonymous-organises-boycott-oppaypal.html)

Last on the list, but we're on the list ;)

I am personally experienced with the crap that PayPal pulls. Yeah, for the every-day user, they're fine. But when it comes to merchant services, they're completely terrible. All in all, the least pleasurable experience with any company that I've had, ever. So, I won't participate for or against since PayPal is disused in my life anyway, but I'd recommend being wary of their reputation if you're a merchant.

[emphasis mine]

paypal (and ebay) are seemingly dedicated to the idea that the customer is always wrong.

they make their money exclusively from sellers (i.e., the receivers of transaction benefits) - and since that is the case, their customers are sellers.  and yet they will always side with third parties from whom they don't make a dime (buyers).

it's the strangest relationship i've ever seen.  i don't understand how it has lasted as long as it has.

The only people that PayPal protects are the buyers that send you back their broken item that they replaced with yours. And of course, they get their money back too, leaving the seller screwed.

Every. Single. Time.

Apparently the boycott is serious enough that PayPal suspended online account cancellations. Now you have to call the and beg them to close it.

every paypal account i have ever had was always locked, for no reason, so i never used them to begin with because it simply stupid policies.

http://twitpic.com/5ws6gs lol

I have successfully closed my account.

Just because I can, with indeed no attachment to the outcome.
I am done and the next time my purchase requires a paypal payment, well they will accept bitcoins or cash or abstinence but I will not be a slave to paypal anymore.


Edit:
I closed online, with no phone call.
"
Dear bitdragon,

We are sorry that you have decided to close your PayPal account. With millions of members in dozens of countries and regions across the globe, PayPal is continually improving and expanding its award-winning services.

PayPal is the world's leading online money transaction service for individuals, businesses and merchants. From customized shopping carts and ATM debit cards to one-click purchases, PayPal offers individual and business solutions that are time-saving, secure, cost-effective and easy-to-use.

Should you decide you want to have a PayPal account again in the future, visit https://www.paypal.com/ch and follow the few easy steps to open a new account.
"

Can't close my accounts, apparently
Well I've done something like 2 transactions in the last 6 months, last one more than a month old, on steam.
Everything is fine, yet they won't let me close my account.

I can't even remove my credit card:
In the FAQ, if I check the "How do I close my account", the text has been removed. It's now -nothing- followed by the print option.

What kind of lowlife assholes try to close the gates when people are fleeing?

ebay is down around .95 and 2.73% right now for the past day

ignorance -the state or fact of being ignorant;  lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.


1) You must not know that people have more than a month to file a dispute.
2) You must not know that if you leave before that dispute is filed, paypal can't reclaim their funds from you.

It means PayPal made you hostage

To myself: calm down, simply send an e-mail requesting they manually close the account.
Go to "contact us".

Select the "closing account" as the subject... can't write the mail! They removed the space to do it!

RAAAAAAGE!

https://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23oppaypal
https://www.google.com//finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chfdeh=0&chdet=1311796800000&chddm=391&chls=IntervalBasedLine&q=NASDAQ:EBAY&ntsp=0

its getting so close to loosing a dollar today.

I hope this hits paypal to the point where they start appreciating their customers instead of treating them like cattle to the slaughter house.

No they don't. Bank transfers don't involve nearly as many draconian and arbitrary restrictions as Paypal.  They also get abused for fraud and other criminal activity, but banks don't police their costumers like paypal does.  Banks leave that job to, you know, the police, and cooperate with the police if and only if required to do so.  

What world do you live in?

my dream world

You love it... until your lifesavings is stolen from you. Then all of a sudden it's not a dream anymore.

the same thing is far more likely to happen, except through inflation with usd, unless you hold your life savings in gold/silver or some other goods.

using proper security like having an offline backup of you wallet is always good, and once we get the supported method of exporting private keys, we could keep them safe from EMPs and longer periods of time. if your key is really important you could laser embed it inside a gemstone, then it would be safe against fires and such.

PayPal account closed. Haven't used it since I discovered bitcoin anyway, though for some reason I do still have the little authenticator keyfob on my keychain...

Closing an account you don't use is going to hurt them good. It's intelligent to keep your options limited. :)

This is why sarcasm font is needed.

Look at this thread:

http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=32467.0

it's brand new and like paypal for bitcoins (without the paypal nazi component of course)

Where I live banking secrecy is still regarded as something of a human right even though it has been eroded in recent years.   I'm not saying that banks are angels, but I'm not going to have my bank account frozen for legally buying some cuban cigars, that's for sure.   A bank would need very good reasons (such a a court order) to do the kinds of things paypal does almost as a matter of routine.

Really? Where do you live, if you don't mind answering? Switzerland? Some small island?

And, how bad has such right eroded in recent years? If, just hypothetically, you receive a good amount of undeclared money in your bank account, say, for selling some digital good that appreciated considerably and not paying taxes on it, will the bank be required to transmit such info to the government mafia or will they remain quiet unless some scumbag judge requires the data?

Thank you, and sorry everyone else for the off-topic.

Good riddance, I friggin HATE paypal.  They tell me the buyers' accounts "could" have been hacked and they refund all the money to the (bitcoin) purchaser.  Wouldn't it be Paypal's responsibility to not get hacked?  or the account holder?  What about proof of account intrusion from an unfamiliar IP? Nope, screw over the eBay sellers.

From his profile page:
:D

Most countries have anti money-laundering policies for their banks but the difference is that with Paypal you are solely at the mercy of a private company, often even outside the jurisdiction of your own country (if you don't happen to live in the US). That's why they can get away with freezing accounts more or less at will.

It's true that Paypal has to be very careful with their transactions because it's just too easy for them to get into trouble. That's why they often act on suspicion and show preemptive obedience. The whole thing becomes a problem when a good part of your personal life is controlled by private companies which don't have to care about such dated principles like "innocent until proven guilty". Being denied a service from a private company is often something you can't do anything about and which said company doesn't even have to state a good reason for.
It's difficult enough already to identify the actual interest groups behind politicians - when politics is outsourced to private companies it's next to impossible.

Banks/payment processors, social networks, search engines, ISPs,... Who's next?

You still can call them. Or would that be too much social interaction?  ;)

#oppaypal is top in Twitter's trendlist in Germany. [EDIT: And second in Australia] This is big!

Now post #oppaypal and links to the best articles you can find about bitcoin with #oppaypal and #bitcoin on Twitter, Facebook ... whereever you can. Let's push this a little ;-)

http://pastebin.com/p5V76W8s

if you compare the Ebay chart with google, nasdaq, yahoo or dow jones, you can see, that they are quite similar... so i think the operation paypal has (nearly) no influence to the ebay value. right?

Never had a problem with PayPal myself  8) I only speak for myself but if you use it properly, they don't mess with Johnny  8)

Looks like it's working

https://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:EBAY

Done!
Made a link to the "Security now Episode 287 Bitcoin CryptoCurrency" video on Youtube.
This guy explains it so well.

See you later SchmayPal!

:)

This is what I'm saying.  It would be a big deal if you are giving them thousands of dollars a month in fees.  If you only use paypal once of twice a month it's not a big deal at all. 

When was the last time doomsaying changed something in the world? :)

I don't think you realize how Anonymous works, or that the people involved in step 5 are most likely not the same people as those in step 2.

I totally knew that they, the gov and police, had  busted anonymous. This is just bullshit for the masses. Since anonymous was busted this new anonymous now will be known as Larry.

Other than that I see that Bitcoin is indeed getting a lot of mention in OpPayPal, I am just retweeting everything I find of quality. It is very important to RT. :p

Has anybody actually tested these?

Best idea EVER

Account closed.

those are salted and hashed passwords and need to be cracked, and have probably already been changed

http://twitter.com/#!/barryhackamac/status/96709349875007488 (http://twitter.com/#!/barryhackamac/status/96709349875007488)

Done, at last!

woohoo, just closed my account.

should have done that earlier, it felt great.

The internet has a sarcasm font... it's comic sans ;)

This may be off topic, but I just switched my primary PayPal currency from USD to CAD.  I received a 1:1 exchange rate.  This is insulting, since the Canadian dollar is above the USD almost 5%.   That's a lot of "service fees" to pay for a simple one time exchange.  :(

Why do you still have it open?

This just in: Rapper Dr Dre closes Paypal acc and urges sale of Ebay stock in support of #oppaypal

In related news: Twitter censors Dr Dre followers from retweeting.

GideonGono Editorial: fuck Twitter

https://i.imgur.com/zVK0Z.jpg

either that image was photoshopped, or twitter has deleted those last 2 tweets:

http://twitter.com/#!/drdre

edit: actually, it can be seen on http://www.drdre.com/#!all