Paypal started in 1998. I started using it in 2000. eBay started a similar program (I forget what they called it) but it failed. Could not compete with Paypal. So, eBay bought Paypal in 2002.
There have been a lot of changes and improvements over the years. I run into people who say that Paypal ripped them off and they lost all the money they had in their Paypal account or that someone was buying product with their Paypal account, etc. But the truth is. Most likely in every case the account holder replied to one of the many official looking phishing, fraudulent emails proclaiming some dire message to get you DOING in a panic, rather than THINKING it through. And the Paypal account owner actually gave all of their security information to crooks of their own free will.
The first thing you want to do when you get one of these dire message emails is RELAX! Calm down. Take some deep breaths and think it through.
If a stranger comes up to you in the Walmart parking lot and asks to see your credit card. Do you hand it over to them? NO! It's a No Brainer! But, that is exactly what you are doing when you click on the link in an email saying 'Your Account Has Been Suspended', or 'There has been some suspicious activity in your account recently', or 'You recently purchased the London Bridge. If this was not you please click here to cancel the order.' DON'T DO IT!
ALWAYS log into your account directly by going to the secure web site and signing in. If there are any issues with your account (highly unlikely) then they will be prominently displayed. And you will avoid giving away the farm.
Here is an example of what I am talking about that I just received today. Fake as a wooden nickle. But it looks good, doesn't it? Fake is no good if it's obvious. Probably Chinese. But whatever, the English is not too good. But better than many.
