David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Information about Recent Hacking Claims
PayPal BlogJune 17, 2011
You may have read in the news or via social media channels that hackers have released PayPal account information to the public. These reports are not accurate. We wanted to assure you that the PayPal site has not been breached or hacked in any way.
A group of hackers is claiming they have compromised another, less secure website and have secured the usernames and passwords of a number of accounts from that site. The hackers have released these login credentials to the public and have encouraged criminals to try accessing personal online accounts at a number of companies, including PayPal, with this information.
These usernames and passwords are not necessarily associated with PayPal, but if people have used the same login credentials for multiple sites, including PayPal, then their accounts could be accessed by another person.
We recommend that you think of the passwords you use on different websites the same way you think of the keys on your key chain. Using the same password at multiple sites is like using the same key for your home, your car and your office. If something happens to that key, you?re in trouble.
Avoid using obvious passwords like ?password? or the name of a family member. Instead, use a combination of upper and lowercase letters and always use different passwords for different websites. For example, choose one secure password for financial sites like PayPal, another password for e-commerce/shopping sites like eBay, and another password for email or social networking accounts.
PayPal?s security team became aware of this particular security situation early on and proactively began monitoring a number of accounts for suspicious activity, in order to protect our customers.
PayPal always safeguards our customers from qualified unauthorized payments sent from their accounts. We regularly monitor for unusual activity on accounts and will work directly with customers if they suspect their accounts have been accessed fraudulently.
PayPal BlogJune 17, 2011
You may have read in the news or via social media channels that hackers have released PayPal account information to the public. These reports are not accurate. We wanted to assure you that the PayPal site has not been breached or hacked in any way.
A group of hackers is claiming they have compromised another, less secure website and have secured the usernames and passwords of a number of accounts from that site. The hackers have released these login credentials to the public and have encouraged criminals to try accessing personal online accounts at a number of companies, including PayPal, with this information.
These usernames and passwords are not necessarily associated with PayPal, but if people have used the same login credentials for multiple sites, including PayPal, then their accounts could be accessed by another person.
We recommend that you think of the passwords you use on different websites the same way you think of the keys on your key chain. Using the same password at multiple sites is like using the same key for your home, your car and your office. If something happens to that key, you?re in trouble.
Avoid using obvious passwords like ?password? or the name of a family member. Instead, use a combination of upper and lowercase letters and always use different passwords for different websites. For example, choose one secure password for financial sites like PayPal, another password for e-commerce/shopping sites like eBay, and another password for email or social networking accounts.
PayPal?s security team became aware of this particular security situation early on and proactively began monitoring a number of accounts for suspicious activity, in order to protect our customers.
PayPal always safeguards our customers from qualified unauthorized payments sent from their accounts. We regularly monitor for unusual activity on accounts and will work directly with customers if they suspect their accounts have been accessed fraudulently.
