Hello, everyone. Today, I'm going to branch of slightly in an additional direction, although these sorts of updates will likely be few and far between. In other words, this isn't a new "module" series, but rather to serve as warnings to end-users of certain services. These are based on personal experiences, so I will throw out there in advance that not everyone's personal experiences are the same, and some individuals may have positive experiences with the same company that other individuals had negative experiences with. Not everyone's experiences are the same. I can only speak for myself.
In any case, what am I talking about? Some end-users who use Pay Pal regularly for their businesses may hear from time to time certain rumors. What rumors am I talking about? As an example, there was a recent incident in which a professional poker player (Chris Moneymaker) accused PayPal of freezing his account, and seizing approximately $12,000 of his assets seemingly without any lawful reason, with customer support representatives vaguely citing the end user agreement as their entitlement for doing so. Understandably, the owner of this PayPal account became very upset and launched a lawsuit against the company in a small claims court, demanding the return of his money in its entirety.
It is my understanding that PayPal refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing on their part, and even more shockingly, this isn't the only person that this has happened to. In that same article, two other individuals (Roni Shemtov and Shbadan Akylbekov) similarly had their accounts frozen and their assets seized (approximately $172,206.43 and $42,351.87 respectively).
While I am fortunate enough to say I have not lost quite nearly as much as three unfortunate individuals (PayPal only stole a couple thousand dollars from me), I nevertheless have quite recently had similar experiences with the company, and subsequently reported them to various federal agencies that deal with corporate corruption and fraud, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), my state's Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
To be absolutely clear, what PayPal is doing is not only illegal, it is CRIMINAL! Under the United States Code (USC) 18 USC § 1343, it states the following:
Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation occurs in relation to, or involving any benefit authorized, transported, transmitted, transferred, disbursed, or paid in connection with, a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency (as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), or affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.
While I know that it's ultimately wishful thinking that PayPal will ever receive the justice it deserves considering the United States is quickly becoming a Corporate Plutocratic Oligarchy, I feel obligated to report them to the appropriate federal agencies regardless. At least then I can rest with a clear conscience that I tried my best to hold them accountable for their actions.
That being said, I encourage anyone else that has similarly been defrauded by corporations such as PayPal Holdings, Inc that they also do their due diligence and report their own incidents regarding PayPal to the appropriate investigative authorities. Similar to how the Great Wall of China wasn't built in a single day, and how every journey begins with a single step, the more people that report corruption against a specific company, the more likely it is that the government will step in and investigate these corporations in question. Ideally, they may even prosecute and bring these corrupt entities to justice. In a true capitalist society, companies and businesses that defraud their customers are acting in bad faith, and it's only appropriate that they lose the public's trust.
If nothing else, spread the news, and warn your friends and family in conducting any of your business or financial transactions through PayPal. If PayPal loses enough of its clientele, its stocks may plummet, and the corporation may collapse in that manner, if they are not brought to justice through legal litigation.
Let's all do our part to show that we're not going to tolerate corporate abuse and corruption any longer! Spread the word!
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