Can you create a paypal account without a phone number

- This topic has 20 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 2 months, 1 week ago by .
Índice Show
OscarCP
Blocked
August 8, 2022 at 4:14 pm #2468572
PayPal now seems to demand that one lets this company know one’s phone number before being able to see online the monthly statement on one’s account activity.
I received the monthly email from PayPal that my account statement for July was ready for me to see, and after I logged in, the screenshot below shows what I saw. I consider this not so much as a safety precaution and more as an added risk. Any advisories or alarms, warnings, etc. can be sent by email to my address, which PayPal obviously has. This additional information now requested is not, in my opinion, adding anything to the above.
Are others seeing this as well?
Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).
MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV
1 user thanked author for this post.
- anonymous
  Guest
  August 8, 2022 at 4:51 pm #2468581
  I logged into PayPal earlier today (Aug. 8) and did not get that request.
  1 user thanked author for this post.
- samak
  AskWoody Plus
  August 8, 2022 at 7:11 pm #2468621
  They were badgering me to give them a phone number a while back and when I ignored it they suspended my account.
  “For the safety and security of the PayPal network, we still need you to update your details on your PayPal account to continue using your PayPal account. We have tried to contact you on a few occasions to do this and unfortunately, we have now had to limit your account.
  This means you can no longer use PayPal to send and withdraw, however you may still be able to receive money for the next 30 days until the 12 April 2022. ”
  Today I signed in and went to update my details – it didn’t ask for a phone number, just a date of birth and my home address. After entering plausible but incorrect details for both, my account is now working again.
  
  Windows 10 Home 21H2, Acer Aspire TC-1660 desktop + LibreOffice, non-techie
  1 user thanked author for this post.
- 7ProSP1
  AskWoody Lounger
  
  August 9, 2022 at 5:37 am #2468712
  Yup. Same thing and I am not impressed one bit.
  It seems to be an attempt to have every single piece of personal/identifiable information about you they can in order to “protect” you. In once sense, I understand how this could indeed be another added layer of “protection”, but it should not be a requirement to provide a phone number in order to be allowed to continue to use your account.
  What if, dare I say, you didn’t have a phone (gasp!) with which to provide a number and you instead only chose to utilize email as your primary source of communication? Should you then be penalized for this and subsequently not be allowed to use PayPal’s services? I say absolutely not. You should never be forced to provide a phone number or even have a phone in order to use any type of service. Period.
  Having said that, I will add that I love PayPal and fully appreciate the real extra layer of security and protection they provide when purchasing and paying for things online but this new phone number requirement is not cool with me at all.
  1 user thanked author for this post.
- alejr
  AskWoody MVP
  August 9, 2022 at 6:40 am #2468718
  Not only are they asking for a phone number, it must be a “mobile” number or they won’t accept it as a valid phone number!
- - JohnW
    AskWoody Plus
    August 9, 2022 at 7:58 am #2468729
    I assume that PayPal requires a mobile number because they cannot send a text to a landline.
    At some point PayPal probably intends to use it as a forced 2-factor authentication by sending you a code by text message to verify that it’s really you trying to log in. For example, if they do not recognize your device or location.
    Obviously they could do this be sending a verification email or robocalling your landline with a code, as some companies do. So PayPal is just doing what it wants to.
Geo
AskWoody Plus
August 9, 2022 at 12:10 pm #2468773
When I log in, the example page you show above is the same except mine also has a link that says “not now” which I click on then go to my account. I do have my landline listed.
- alejr
  AskWoody MVP
  August 9, 2022 at 12:41 pm #2468791
  I do have my landline listed.
  So do I, but whenever I actually try to “directly” login, they always ask me to update it because it’s not a mobile number and there’s no “not now” link to continue without giving them a new number.
  Thankfully, whenever I actually purchase something using PayPal, the login procedure always includes the “not now” link you described so I’m able to successfully complete the transaction.
  And, since I’m now logged in, I can then go directly to my PayPal account with no further issues.

SueW

AskWoody Plus

August 9, 2022 at 12:22 pm #2468781

After getting the same monthly email from PayPal yesterday, I just logged in and did not get that request (requirement?).

Win 7 SP1 Home Premium 64-bit; Office 2010; Group B (SaS); Former 'Tech Weenie'

1 user thanked author for this post.

JohnW

AskWoody Plus

August 9, 2022 at 1:19 pm #2468795

Well I just checked my PayPal account and they didn’t ask for my phone number.

So I looked in my account, and it turns out that I had already shared that with them.

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP
Blocked
August 9, 2022 at 4:45 pm #2468845
JohnW: My thanks and three questions:
The way your account is set up, including your phone number, do you need to wait to get a code, before being able to log in to PayPal to send money through it?
If so, can you choose between a phone call, a text message or an email?
Does PayPal communicate with you exclusively through phone calls, or you still get notices from them about your monthly statements, etc., via email?
Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).
MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

John Barlow

Guest

August 9, 2022 at 8:57 pm #2468897

I get the same window requesting to provide a mobile phone number just after entering user name and password. For the last 2 months I’ve been unable to access my PayPal account because of this recent PayPal scheme that’s been applied worlwide for the last 2-3 years in sort of a random manner. Since PayPal has gone private to shareholders they lost significant amounts of money to hackers retrieving small amounts from millions of accounts. Protecting their gains and profits is PayPal’s priority, but said to be holder’s account security.

I’m locked out of my own account since I don’t have or use any cell phone. And my IP phones are not considered valid. PayPal wants a mobile phone number. No warnings, no messaging to my email to advise of the coming change. No way to contact them but phone to their customer service number (female bot voice), go through a puzzle of questions and numbers to dial in, with an half hour wait until you get in touch with somebody who won’t help you because they can’t. I repeated this process 3 times to get 3 different stories. I was told at first it was a technical issue and that case would escalate higher up. Then it was a known technical issue for all account holders without a mobile phone number and that PayPal was working on a solution to come. But it finally landed as a prerequisite having a mobile phone number if you wanted to access your account and was stupidly asked why I wanted to access my account.

3 users thanked author for this post.

OscarCP
Blocked
August 9, 2022 at 9:25 pm #2468907
John Barlow,
That is really bad news. I do have a cell phone, but prefer to keep the number to myself as much as possible, sharing it only with people I know and trust.
Do you have this problem when trying to access your account to see what’s in there, or also when trying to make a payment through PayPal, something that, so far, only have required an ID and password to get it done?
Some time later:
Well, I just donated to a charity via PayPal and could do it without being asked for my telephone number and, or having to perform some rigmarole to send the money. It worked as usual: entering email and password.

So it seems sending money still is as it has been until now.
Or at least it’s so right now.
Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).
MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV
- John Barlow
  Guest
  August 10, 2022 at 10:31 am #2469031
  OscarCP,
  I can still make transactions online. No problem. But I can’t login to my account for messaging or sending money or routine verifications. To send money I would have to contact PayPal customer service by phone and proceed with them.
  I’ve had this account for 10 years now. I requested email confirmation from “” about this prerequisite having a mobile cell phone number to regain access to my account. Really don’t know if PayPal will reply. Have to wait and see.
- - John Barlow
    Guest
    September 6, 2022 at 8:24 am #2475299
    Well the only response I got from Paypal “service” was a system automated email inviting me to login with the usual instructions as how to solve your problem. So my initial email request wasn’t read by anybody. I was still locked out my own account.
    After reading alejr’s comment on this thread I was curious enough to check if the WinAuth app would work with my Windows as it is. Although app is outdated and is no longer supported, it did install correctly.
    So now how to get in to my account. It is rumoured that access to your Paypal account is possible at the moment you make an online purchase by opening a new window while on the transaction page. I haven’t yet had the occasion to try it out.
    This morning for no reason I tried to login to my Paypal account. Well the window requesting you to enter a mobile phone number is still there but this time the button “not now” is visible so to bypass and access account. It just looks like my personal grief against Paypal has made them revert back finally.
    Not sure anyway if this was a one time luck or an updated system default feature, I figured I should try to update security settings within the 2 step verification using the WinAuth authenticator app.
    Well it worked. You can even password the app so nobody else on your computer can use it. You can go even further on and have the app (relative to your Paypal account) only work on that computer.

August 10, 2022 at 3:45 am #2468965

OK, here’s the problem with 2FA:

What if there’s a glitch and the SMS isn’t working right, and you never GET the one-time code?

Or it gets hung up in the system, and you have to wait 10 minutes?

Just happened to me with PayPal three times (yeah, they have my cell, and my cellphone provider is awful, so it could be them), so I was pleased to see they hadn’t thrown out the baby with the bath water, and used my password.

Strong passwords.

2FA is NOT a panacea.

Win7 Pro SP1 64-bit, Dell Latitude E6330, Intel CORE i5 "Ivy Bridge", 12GB RAM, Group "0Patch", Multiple Air-Gapped backup drives in different locations. Linux Mint Greenhorn
--
"Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it's being scared to death and going on anyway. The man who says he's fearless is a fool, and I won't have him in my command.” —Unknown

3 users thanked author for this post.

JohnW

AskWoody Plus

August 10, 2022 at 7:54 am #2468991

The way your account is set up, including your phone number, do you need to wait to get a code, before being able to log in to PayPal to send money through it? If so, can you choose between a phone call, a text message or an email? Does PayPal communicate with you exclusively through phone calls, or you still get notices from them about your monthly statements, etc., via email?

PayPal sign-in for me is strictly username & password. I have a confirmed account with phone numbers, credit card for payments, and bank routing info for receiving money.

I get a transaction confirmation email every time I use PayPal, plus a monthly statement reminder email. Occasionally PayPal sends special credit offer emails, or something related to that, but not too often. I am a happy PayPal customer.

They have never contacted me by phone.

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP
Blocked
August 10, 2022 at 8:50 pm #2469186
JohnW:
Thanks for clarifying those points.
The following is still not clear to me and would appreciate an explanation of it:
Having given PayPal your cell phone number and for other than payments:
(a) Do you have to get a code on your cellphone from PayPal, before you are able to access your account, for example to see your monthly statement?
(b) As far as you can remember, have you ever had to receive and use such a code for any reason at all, at least so far?
Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).
MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

JohnW

AskWoody Plus

August 10, 2022 at 9:52 pm #2469191

(a) Do you have to get a code on your cellphone from PayPal, before you are able to access your account, for example to see your monthly statement? (b) As far as you can remember, have you ever had to receive and use such a code for any reason at all, at least so far?

No.

2 users thanked author for this post.

alejr

AskWoody MVP

August 11, 2022 at 6:25 am #2469271

After making a purchase using PayPal yesterday (which gave me access to my account without having to give them a mobile phone#), I was “finally” able to activate/verify Authenticator app 2FA for my account using WinAuth on my PC.

I’d been trying to do this ever since they started asking for a mobile phone# when I tired to directly login some months ago, but had always got a “this option isn’t available” error previously.

This time it worked so now, instead of asking me for a mobile phone# when I login, they ask me for the 2FA code from WinAuth.

1 user thanked author for this post.

John Barlow
Guest
September 6, 2022 at 8:26 am #2475300

How do I verify my PayPal account without a phone?

Solution.

Step 1: Visit an online shop where PayPal is accepted. Choose any shop you want. ... .

Step 2: Act as if you'd purchase an item. Magdalena told us in comments that it works only to pay some low price purchase, keep this in mind. ... .

Step 3: Open a new window from the same browser and visit PayPal's dashboard. Surprise!.

Can I have 2 PayPal accounts?

What Are Multiple PayPal Accounts And Why One Needs Them? To begin with, PayPal allows one user to have a maximum of two accounts. One is for personal use while the other one is for business use. End-users are allowed to add as many email addresses for accepting/sending payment.

Can I create a PayPal account without money?

To open a personal account, you only need to provide your name, address, phone number and email address. But you will need to provide a payment method (such as a bank account or debit or credit card) if you want to send money or if you want to make a payment and you don't have sufficient funds in your PayPal balance.