Paypal sent me an email recently (to my old work email) saying I had ten bucks in an inactive account that I should claim before they give it to the State of Kentucky.

Here’s the email:

No transaction or other activity has occurred on this account since the above date. Accounts that have shown no activity for the past 3 years are required by Kentucky State Law to be sent to Department of Treasury, where it will be held indefinitely or until the owner claims it.

To prevent the balance of this account from being turned over to the State, you will need to log in to your PayPal account by opening a new browser window and entering https://www.paypal.com in the address bar. Once you are logged in, your options are to:

• Leave account open, update your Profile information if it is incorrect and start using PayPal again (including requesting a balance pay-out if you desire). All that is required to reactivate the account is to complete a log-in to your account; or
• Close the account and initiate a balance pay-out through the PayPal system

If you are having difficulties logging in or if you require further assistance, you can contact PayPal at 1-866-445-3186 or reply to this email at PayPal@PayPal.com

IF NO ACTION IS TAKEN BEFORE SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 THE FUNDS WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE STATE OF KENTUCKY WHERE ALL FURTHER CLAIMS MUST BE DIRECTED.

Just a couple “minor” deals:

• The phone number is invalid.
• The email is invalid.

Paypal has my money and won’t give it to me.

At first it was about the money. It’s mine and I want it.

Now it’s not about the money it’s about Paypal. Their ineptitude to get me MY money is flabbergasting.

Of course I didn’t have  a clue what the password to the inactive account was. When I tried to reset it with the “forgot my password” link, I was challenged. Supposedly, I had been randomly selected for a new challenge.

Thusly…

We are currently performing regular maintenance of our security measures. Your account has been randomly selected for this maintenance, and you will now be taken through a series of identity verification pages.

Protecting the security of your PayPal account is our primary concern, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Bank Account Information XXXX-xxxxx-xxxx-18

They wanted me to give them the full account number!

Paypal has my money and won’t give it to me.

That bank doesn’t exist. I think it’s been bought and sold at least twice. I sure don’t have any bank statements!

So I scrounged up a phone number and called.  Michael said he would give me a five digit number that would over-ride their challenge.

Wrongo, virtural currency breath.

That five digit code just brought up the same Paypal challenge.

Yes, I understand security needs. But according to Paypal, this defunct bank account number is THE ONLY WAY, I can get my ten bucks.

Screw it. If Paypal can’t get me access to the money, then let the State of Kentucky hold it for me. It will be fun… Kentucky has to publish a list of people withe unclaimed money every so often. It will be fun to see my name in print. It will be fun to watch the spam come rolling in from scammers who want to help me reclaim my “lost fortune.”

Paypal has my money and won’t give it to me.

But they will give it to the Commonwealth (har) of Kentucky to hold for me.