How To Get your Paypal Account Locked:
Use Opera Mini.

Paypal may send you a “Notification of Limited Account Access RXI033″ if you try to use Opera Mini to access your paypal account. If you find Paypal has frozen your account it may be caused by your using Opera Mini or another Anonymizing web browser. Opera Mini is usually only used on Non-Smartphone devices like Motorola Razr & Blackberry. Opera Mobile is the paid version which it appears should not give the same issue.

Paypal may send an email that reads “We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party. We have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features in case your account has been accessed by an unauthorized third party.”

The reason for this account access is most likely not some hacker sitting in a coffee shop messing with your paypal account. The reason is Opera Mini uses a transcoder to minimize the amount of data passing through to your cell phone. The transcoder server is in Norway. Therefore, when you attempt to access Paypal from Opera Mini on your phone in the USA the Paypal Security Watchdogs are alerted to access to your account from NORWAY. Now Opera claims to adhere to proper security policies but then they say there is no end to end security with paypal.  At the same they say they adhere to Norwegian Law as respects to privacy concerns. However it doesn’t seem to adhere to common sense. They should alert their customers IN THE OPERA MINI APPLICATION BEFORE we attempt to sign in to banks that their software is not properly suited for Secure Banking transactions. At least let their customers know that, and let the customer know that Opera Mini’s transcoder may look like an anonymizer tool, which Paypal does NOT like.

The point is, if you use Opera Mini to access Paypal, Paypal will most likely freeze your account. Period. Because of this it is wise to tell this to everyone you know who uses Opera Mini.

Here is a sad, sad side point also. Even if log in to “fix” your limited access you may not get your account reactivated at all. Their automated steps do not work. When you walk through the steps and verify your security questions and the Resolution Center shows no open cases to fix, your account may still be frozen. Paypal’s answer? I quote loosely “Our online security walkthrough to reactivate the account used to be good but now it’s behind the times and we know it’s broken. Let me ask you some questions over the phone instead. … Yes, we know it says the you have no open cases but your account is still frozen. You can only fix it over the phone.“

For your sake, I hope you didn’t find this article because you used Opera Mini to check your Paypal account balance before buying a last minute plane ticket or some other time sensitive transaction. Depending on the hold times at Paypal it may be hours before you get access to your money again.

Comments are welcome,
Evolving Office

First Photo Credit: prfct.net