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I have not used Paypal before; however, I need to use it to send money now. I have heard that Paypal shows your real name and address when you send money.

How can I stop that, so that I can send money without giving the recipient my real private information? I have heard that business accounts can use a "business name" instead of a personal name; could I just make a business account (even though I don't have a business) and use it as a personal account without repercussions?

Somatic
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4 Answers4

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I have 2 PayPal accounts for this purpose (with different email addresses).

The first account is tied to my real email address, and has my real name, phone and home address associated with it. This account is also connected to my bank account and credit cards.

For riskier transactions where I don't need physical delivery (or will accept delivery to my local post-office in cases where I don't trust the seller with my personal details) I use my secondary account, which has a secondary email address of mine, and a fake name and with a fake address, it is not connected to any external accounts.

To send or receive money "anonymously" I first send money from my real account to my fake account (inter-account transfers are free with PayPal), and then send the money to the seller from the fake account.

This is in violation of PayPal's terms of service, but I've been using this system for the past 5+ years without any issues.

Dai
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If that is what you insist upon, don't use PayPal. This is one of the supposed justifications for the existence of cryptocurrencies

keshlam
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This is still relevant. Address management is allowed in your PayPal Account settings.

  1. Add a dummy address to use for transactions that do not require physical delivery.
  2. Use a dedicated email address for PayPal, buy a domain name if you have to. PayPal exposes your logon email to the receiving party. This is despite this being considered a breach in most jurisdictions and their also promising not to share financial information. It is a simple matter for a hacker to hijack your account with this email. This is a foreseeable risk, and they arguably have a duty of care to protect you. A forwarding email should be used, preferably on their domain. Username logins are a no-brainer.
  3. In addition, eBay have a big problem with this email being exposed, as early as last century it became obvious that category killers would dump vast amounts of stock below cost just to harvest a mailing list from eBay. Banning email logons works, but not if PayPal foils the ban. Hackers, meh. Lost income is what they care about.
  4. As for your own name, it is acceptable to use an AKA. In fact in many places it is rare for people to be known by their actual given names. The name should not be "false", but it does not have to be the name on your SSN or Birth Certificate.
  5. If you have to use an address, add a unique alpha code, such as a locker or box number for each transaction.
  6. Invoice without mercy for any unsolicited mail or email received.
mckenzm
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Yes, you can create a PayPal business account without having formalized a business with government filings and whatnot.

At its simplest terms, "having a business" is simply "doing business as" (D/B/A) a trade name. You can use the address of a Private Mail Box such as those provided at the UPS Store.

Ask any kid with a lemonade stand or a box of Girl Scout cookies - you only need to engage in government formalities like registering an LLC or getting a tax EIN when you cross certain thresholds of activity, and paying for things is generally not it.

Also, some of businesses, for some relationships, will require the business formalities like an EIN, which in turn will require creating a trade name and registering it with the state. For instance if you set up a traditional credit card merchant account, they'll probably want that.

Harper - Reinstate Monica
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