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Attn: Canadians. Paypal Account Limitation?? Attempted Access from Cuba

Started by eccomic,

32 posts in this topic

eccomic

eccomic

Posted
Posted

Anybody else experience a Paypal limitation where they essentially suspend Paypal privileges??

 

I was on holiday in Cuba. (I am a Canadian) and attempted to log into my Paypal account when I got a message saying that I could not access the account due to the fact that I was in a sanctioned country.

 

Upon my return from holiday, I received an email advising that my Paypal account would be limited until I furnished them with proof of address, Drivers License, etc,

 

I complied by furnishing them with the above requested particulars.

 

Then shortly after I recieved this message from Paypal:

 

"As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the

PayPal system. During a recent screening, we noticed an issue regarding

your account.

 

The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) administers and enforces

economic sanctions programs against countries, businesses or groups of

individuals, using the blocking of assets and trade restrictions to

accomplish foreign policy and national security goals. PayPal has adopted

an OFAC program to control the risk associated with transacting with

countries, businesses, organizations, or individuals where OFAC sanctions

apply.

 

To ensure transactions within PayPal fully comply with current laws and

regulations we are requesting you provide the following information:

 

1. Explanation as to why the attempted access from Cuba was made and by

whom.

2. Substantiation that your account is not held for the benefit of a person

or organization in Cuba."

 

So, I faxed over at their request an affidavit attesting to the fact that I only tried to access my Paypal account for the sole purpose of checking my account balance, and that my Paypal account is NOT held for the benefit of a person or organization in Cuba.

 

My account is currently being reviewed.

 

Has any other Canadians experienced this? (shrug)

 

 

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DiceX

DiceX

Posted
Posted

Let me think of two things that would be a worse idea than accessing online bank info from a foreign country...

1) Hiking along the Iraqi border.

2)

 

Nevermind. One is all I can come up with.

 

 

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brendanb438

brendanb438

Posted
Posted

Also had this happen to me when I was abroad. Made the mistake of accessing my account in Ireland. They must have thought I was moving funds for the IRA or something.

 

Honestly you would have been better off just telling them oh thank you for stopping someone from hacking my account. Now let me reset my passwords and move along instead of telling them the truth. F PayPal.

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comicwiz

comicwiz

Posted
Posted

I'm surprised you were able to access the PayPal site. Most U.S. commercial sites are blocked, and the last time I was in Cuba, I wasn't able to visit the eBay site. I would have thought it was a Cuba issue, but hearing that's it happened when people have visited other parts of the world, it's a good thing to bring to people's attention especially if they are thinking of moving some PP funds into their bank account for extra spending money.

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brendanb438

brendanb438

Posted
Posted
I'm surprised you were able to access the PayPal site. Most U.S. commercial sites are blocked, and the last time I was in Cuba, I wasn't able to visit the eBay site. I would have thought it was a Cuba issue, but hearing that's it happened when people have visited other parts of the world, it's a good thing to bring to people's attention especially if they are thinking of moving some PP funds into their bank account for extra spending money.

 

Paypal used to lock accounts if they were accessed across the border in any country from all the complaints I used to read about it. They prefer to error on the side of caution just by locking you out and having you talk to them over the phone before releasing the account.

 

Never heard anyone have to jump through the hoops the OP is being put through. I guess the only thing worse would have been if you accessed the account say in Iran.

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brendanb438

brendanb438

Posted
Posted
I am worried that Paypal will close my account. They have no reason to do so. Should I be concerned?

 

 

I wish I could tell you that you have no reason to be concerned but have you ever heard stories of PayPal and payments being made for firearm related stuff? They will person_without_enough_empathy slap you and close your account instantly because they are ran by a bunch of nevermind.... You get the idea.

 

 

Anyway I would call them, demand a supervisor and explain to them that first off you are not an American banned from going to Cuba but a Canadian (I am assuming your government doesn't have a silly ban on you going to Cuba in the first place right?). Explain again that you were on vacation and that you have fulfilled every request made to them and that you would like access to your account now. Also request for them to point out exactly where in the user's agreement you violated some policy by trying to access your account in a foreign country.

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comicwiz

comicwiz

Posted
Posted
I am worried that Paypal will close my account. They have no reason to do so. Should I be concerned?

 

Have you spoken with them over the phone? If you haven't, call them at 1-888-221-1161 and get this straightened out. Emphasize that you are a resident of Canada and provide the fixed address (hopefully one that corresponds to the CC info or profile you already have set-up with them). Vacationing in Cuba isn't illegal for Canadian residents, and if you were just checking your PayPal balance, they should provide you with some explanation as to why your account is being reviewed and how long this will take to complete. If they aren't giving you any straight answers, contact the RCMP and report the issue. They may have encountered this problem before and might be able to give you some insight as to how to proceed. At minimum, it couldn't hurt to have them make a phone call on your behalf to make sure this isn't something that they sit on for too long.

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bababooey

bababooey

Posted
Posted

I've never experienced this myself but even though Canada & US have different political views of Cuba - paypal is US based so I think their rules apply so if you tried passing your Canadian money through a country with an embargo then being Canadian likely doesn't matter. (shrug)

 

One of the post 9/11 changes in the Great White North was the creation of Fintrac - they are the anti-money laundering agency up here; the US equivalent is OFAC. Any firm like Paypal is a "money services business" & even though most of us know about the $10,000 figure to declare cash at the border (or risk seizure) the money services businesses are required to report anything cross-border over $1K.

 

I'd say you're in a situation where all the circumstances simply made their system flag the access you made from abroad. If they give you grief try to get help from someone at Fintrac explaining your situation.

 

:insane:

 

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eccomic

eccomic

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I called them back and expressed my disenchantment. The customer service rep advised that as they have received all that they requested from me, it is just a matter of reviewing and following protocol and the rep further advised me that there should be no issues with lifting the limitation but that that is ultimately up to the compliance department. :wishluck:

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Thor Odinson-1970

Thor Odinson-1970

Posted
Posted
Always login directly to paypal and no through any link on an email (thumbs u

+1

 

Agreed! Twice in the past did I receive similar limitation e-mail notices supposedly from PayPal (except for the Cuba part), without having travelled at all!

The first time it happened, I tried to do as instructed via that e-mail link, but it didn't work (beware especially if it requests that you type in your credit card # !!!). Then I logged in directly to my PayPal account and saw no such limitation flag nor anything unusual. I then phoned PayPal to inquire about the limitation e-mail and their C/S rep told me that those e-mails do not come from PayPal, and that I should disregard / delete them. The rep checked my account and confirmed that it was just fine.

 

The second time it happened, I knew then to directly login to my account and phone PayPal for confirmation.

If a "limitation" notice does actually show on your account after logging in, always phone PayPal so they can take a look at it. Never go through the e-mail link. :preach:

 

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bababooey

bababooey

Posted
Posted
I called them back and expressed my disenchantment. The customer service rep advised that as they have received all that they requested from me, it is just a matter of reviewing and following protocol and the rep further advised me that there should be no issues with lifting the limitation but that that is ultimately up to the compliance department. :wishluck:
Good luck. :foryou:

Keep the Fintrac info (or check w/them in the meantime) these agencies work closely together so often they'll speak the same language & help each other get beyond some red tape - there might be more cooperation extended to a sister agency than a foreign citizen of Canada.

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lizards2

lizards2

Posted
Posted
Canadians are known troublemakers. I'm glad they are being watched. :sumo:

 

 

This is why I always blame Canada ahey. :)

They've got broad shoulders because of the back bacon and donuts. And beer. And I just sent about $400 to their liberation front - Paypal thinks it's for comics :blush:
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