John Tuttle wrote in MMD 021101:

> If you don't get the point, it's plainly obvious that PayPal sells
> a list of their users for a price!  So much for protecting your
> privacy.

That is incorrect.  The e-mail that John received is a scam and the
sender is fraudulently using PayPal's name as part of their scam.
PayPal does not sell addresses or information to third parties.  The
following is from the PayPal web site "Privacy" page:

> Disclosure to Third Parties Other Than PayPal Customers
>
> PayPal will not sell or rent any of your personally identifiable
> information to third parties. PayPal will not share any of your
> personally identifiable information with third parties except in the
> limited circumstances described below, [subpoenas, legal cases of fraud,
> etc.] or with your express permission (and to other PayPal customers as
> described above). These third parties are limited by law or by contract
> from using the information for secondary purposes beyond the purposes
> for which the information is shared.

I've been a member of PayPal for two years and five months, according
to my account information.  I too was a skeptic at first, but have
since become a firm believer.  In my opinion, they have an efficient
bookkeeping system which enables me to get transactions processed
quickly and track them easily.

I have also had a PayPal debit card for more than a year.  I received
it from them during their promotional period without applying for the
card.  I refused to use it at first thinking it was just another credit
card.  When I finally tried it, I discovered that it was a convenient
way to access funds.

The next step for the debit card was finding out if it would work in
another country.  Yes, it does.  I returned from Europe a few weeks
ago, but shortly before I left on my trip, I transferred a modest
amount of funds from my bank account to my PayPal account.  I didn't
want to transfer too much in case the card didn't work in Europe.

The first time I tried to use the debit card in Paris, the transaction
was rejected.  I later learned that the funds transfer I had requested
had not yet been completed so the transaction was declined.  However,
the next few times I used the debit card, it worked!  I got cash from
an ATM cash machine in Vienna and made purchases in Germany and France.
And PayPal calculated the exchange rate for me.

An advantage to using the PayPal debit card is that the ATM cash
machine fee is less than what my bank charges for using an ATM that is
not theirs.  Those kind of fees can pile up fast when you're traveling.
There was no charge for purchases with the debit card.

I do not recommend the PayPal credit card, however.  This is different
from the debit card.  Their credit card has a low limit and a high
interest rate.  There are much better deals available out there.

Joyce Brite - (still recovering from my trip)
Player Piano and Mechanical Music Exchange
http://mmd.foxtail.com/Exchange/