Just to reaffirm what's been said above - it's perfectly safe. My dad is a complete safety freak when it comes to payment over the internet, but he uses paypal without thinking because it's so reliable.
The biggest securiy risk with paypal is the users themselves. There are a lot of spoof emails sent out that mimic paypal ones. These redirect you to a fake site and try to manipulate you into re entering your details, including password and bank details. Basically paypal or ebay (or your bank etc) will never contact you via email for this kind of information so you should treat every email from any of these sources with 100% suspicion.
“The majestic equality of the laws prohibits the rich and the poor alike from sleeping under bridges, begging in the streets and stealing bread.” - Anatole France
"The law is like a spider’s web. The small are caught, and the great tear it up.” - Anacharsis
Indeed, though by "sources" I was referring to ebay, paypal etc, and that emails from these should always be treated with suspicion. It may be genuine ebay or paypal correspondece but it very often isn't. Especially if it's warning you about security or asking you to enter personal details.Originally Posted by Mikeus Caesar
A common one is where you're informed that someone has been using your account and you must log in and perform "verification".
“The majestic equality of the laws prohibits the rich and the poor alike from sleeping under bridges, begging in the streets and stealing bread.” - Anatole France
"The law is like a spider’s web. The small are caught, and the great tear it up.” - Anacharsis
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