pixiamom
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posted on October 17, 2009 05:04:27 PM new
My friend has a PayPal dilemma. His wife sold items online (not eBay) and accepted Paypal. She died 8 months ago and he has no idea what her password is. He thinks there might be $9,000 in the PayPal account. He has tried talking to various reps and supervisors at Paypal without luck. One told him they would gladly work with him if he got Power of Attorney - did I mention that she is DEAD? He consulted an attorney who told him it would cost about $1,500 in legal fees to get the money out. He's supporting 2 minor children and has tons of medical bills to pay off. Is there a way to access stored passwords on her computer? He is very computer illiterate, has never been on one and no longer has access to the internet.
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hwahwa
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posted on October 17, 2009 05:23:59 PM new
Question-how can the man be an illiterate when his spouse was savvy enough to sell 9k worth of goods on internet?
When was the last time she logged on to her PC?
She may have kept her password(s) in some notebook,ask him to search for it .
Did she leave a will??
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
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pixiamom
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posted on October 17, 2009 05:59:43 PM new
Computer literate people marry non-computer literate people all the time... He has searched his household and has not found the password. If there is a way to retrieve it on her computer, I hope to lead his 14 year old son to find it.
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kozersky
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posted on October 17, 2009 06:12:29 PM new
No Probate of her estate? As I recall, there is not a Transfer On Death provision, or Beneficiary with a PayPal account.
I bet there was not even a Will. A Power of Attorney is not going to work now.
Your friend might try sending PayPal a copy of her Death Certificate, and their Marriage License, along with a letter seeking the proceeds of her account (no email).
This would be a good time for all who read this thread to at least hand write a Will. It only takes a few minutes, and would save a loved one further grief, when they attempt to sort out what remains of your estate.
Bill K-
William J Kozersky Stamp Co. Main Store
William J Kozersky Stamp Co. Vendio Store
William J Kozersky Stamp Co. eBay Store
William J Kozersky Stamp Co. Book Store Book Store
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pixiamom
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posted on October 17, 2009 06:24:51 PM new
Thank you, Bill. My friend is now in a total befuddled state, unable to move forward without direction. I will give him your suggestions. His hours as a butcher have been cut down to 15 hours per week. I met him because he has 40,000 postcards he inherited from his parents. I hate to see him sell them short, which he is willing to do to meet his financial obligations.
[ edited by pixiamom on Oct 17, 2009 06:34 PM ]
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hwahwa
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posted on October 17, 2009 06:29:41 PM new
Computer literate people marry non-computer literate people all the time.
//////////////////////////////////
well,may be he does not deserve any of the money then.
Just pretend it does not exist!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
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neglus
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posted on October 17, 2009 06:31:02 PM new
Does he know her email address? Can he try "forgot my password" thing? If she used Firefox, you can actually see the saved passwords (if she saved them) if you fiddle around enough.
I am not familiar with IE - Firefox it's under "Tools", "options" "security" "saved passwords".
-------------------------------------
http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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pixiamom
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posted on October 17, 2009 06:43:43 PM new
From Hwa-hwa:
"Computer literate people marry non-computer literate people all the time.
//////////////////////////////////
well,may be he does not deserve any of the money then.
Just pretend it does not exist! "
So the children of the mom who has $9,000 in a Paypal account should not receive the proceeds because their father is unfamiliar with a computer? HwaHwa you are heartless.
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glassgrl
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posted on October 17, 2009 07:11:06 PM new
have him email Ina at auctionbytes. She would probably be interested in the story AND she has a lot of contacts that most people don't have. I bet she can get something done about it. Really.
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karenmx
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posted on October 17, 2009 07:32:33 PM new
Getting a POA to deal with a deceased spouse's estate isn't an unreasonable request. In the absence of a will, it's about all the survivor can do--and he really should do it, especially if there are minor children involved. One never knows what sort of legal issues may crop up.
Does his county's court system have a self-help legal center? The paperwork he needs to do probably isn't too onerous, but a self-help center or a fee-based legal document service can be a great help getting it right the first time. The legal document service (usually run by paralegals) shouldn't cost much. There could be some filing fees involved, too, but it really shouldn't cost him all that much.
Failing that, he should WRITE to Paypal explaining the situation instead of making phone calls or sending e-mails. I'd send the letter to their legal department, not some random rep or supervisor--this can't be the first time something like this has happened and the legal people will be the ones to deal with it, not the Supervisor of the Day. Include a copy of her death certificate--it should show him as the surviving spouse. Send it by registered mail. Keep copies of EVERYTHING.
It'll all work out.
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hwahwa
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posted on October 17, 2009 07:56:01 PM new
Sorry,Pixiamom,I should not have said that,my apology!
Paypal does have this forget your email address/password procedure,may be he can guess what the answers are.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
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photosensitive
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posted on October 17, 2009 07:59:03 PM new
Does he still have her computer and has her email account has not been closed? If he has both it is easy to request a new password be sent to the registered email address. Guess that is too simple a solution so there must be a glitch somewhere.
Hope they can solve the problem.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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hwahwa
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posted on October 17, 2009 08:02:44 PM new
Good News!
I just went to Paypal and clicked on 'forget my password".
Paypal then asked me to type in email address or phone number and I chose phone number,then it reminded me my phone number ends in 123 so I should provide the full number.
I did and then it sent me an email to my email address as registered with Paypal and then I took me back to PAYPAL ,then it asked for my ss number or cc number or bank account number and I entered my ss number,then i get to change my password .
So I now have a new password.
Ask him to try it,he must know her ss number or home phone number,email address etc.
Good luck
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
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hwahwa
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posted on October 17, 2009 08:06:59 PM new
Now if he can get into her Paypal account,I assume he wants to download the $$ to her registered bank account.
Well,check her account before he does the download,make sure that bank account is still open and he can access that bank account.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
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coach81938
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posted on October 18, 2009 07:13:40 AM new
"Getting a POA to deal with a deceased spouse's estate isn't an unreasonable request. In the absence of a will, it's about all the survivor can do--and he really should do it, especially if there are minor children involved. One never knows what sort of legal issues may crop up."
Power of Attorney ceases to be effective upon the death of the grantor. It cannot be obtained after the death of a grantor for obvious reasons.
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ladyjewels2000
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posted on October 18, 2009 08:26:00 AM new
pixiamom - I'm sure you have thought of this as well but did he check her wallet for a paypal card? If it draws on her paypal funds - he would have access. He would not be able to withdraw the funds without the pin but he could use it to pay bills and I think with that card he can call paypal for the balance.
I don't have anything near $9000 in my account but my husband wouldn't have a clue how to get to our funds if something were to happen to me.
I think I'll show him how my Firefox works today.
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hwahwa
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posted on October 18, 2009 09:02:59 AM new
I think you can also get cash from your Paypal card from any ATM,but there is a fee charged by the bank who owns the ATM.
Good suggestion,coach!
If he and his son are going to try the change password route,ask him to review his son typing before they press enter,if they try too many times,Paypal may lock up her account.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
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niel35
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posted on October 18, 2009 09:56:47 AM new
I keep all my passwords in a recipe box and have all the info I need on the recipe card, such as user name, password, cr card no. etc.
Its handy to use and filed alphabetically.
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ChristopherCS
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posted on October 19, 2009 11:02:45 AM new
Hello pixiamom,
What browser did she use when on the computer? There are ways either from within the browser itself or via an external program to easily extract passwords that have been saved.
In FireFox it's really easy, you just go to Tools + Options + Security tab, then click 'Saved Passwords' and at the bottom of the popup click 'Show Passwords' - if there are a lot of them just then type paypal at the top of the window and it'll show you all of the usernames and the passwords for those usernames for that website.
It (of course) can be a bit trickier with Internet Explorer, but likely also easily done.
Regards,
Chris
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shething
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posted on October 19, 2009 11:05:50 AM new
In FireFox it's really easy, you just go to Tools + Options + Security tab, then click 'Saved Passwords' and at the bottom of the popup click 'Show Passwords' - if there are a lot of them just then type paypal at the top of the window and it'll show you all of the usernames and the passwords for those usernames for that website.
Yep, that'll work...as long as she didn't password-protect the Firefox browser. I do, just for that reason...anyone can pull up your passwords if they know how.
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hwahwa
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posted on October 19, 2009 11:16:34 AM new
Can you save the Paypal password?
I dont think it is an option offered by Paypal?
What about bank and brokerage accounts?I dont think you can ask them to save it on your pc?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
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glassgrl
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posted on October 19, 2009 11:18:37 AM new
Paypal isn't in my list of saved passwords in Firefox....
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ladyjewels2000
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posted on October 19, 2009 12:33:31 PM new
It is in mine glassgrl. My bank account passwords aren't saved but paypal is.
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hwahwa
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posted on October 19, 2009 12:50:20 PM new
It seems pretty easy to hack into someone 's Paypal account-
if a friend or relative come to your house and sit in front of your pc while you are say away for 20 minutes,he can go to Paypal site and click on forget password and then confirm your phone number and then an email will be sent by Paypal to your email addr ,
He will read that email,click on the link and then confirm your bank account or cc number or your ss number.
Then he will have access to your paypal account,send money to anyone,shop or download fund to your bank account.
The hard part is confirming your bank account or cc number or ss number,if he has any one of these numbers,he will have access to your Paypal account.
Why would any one want to keep that much money like 9K in their Paypal account?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
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ChristopherCS
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posted on October 19, 2009 01:11:57 PM new
Hello,
FireFox will typically allow you to save your PayPal passwords. There are also add-ons you can use with FireFox to allow your bank and other sites that setup the passwords not to save - so you can. You just click on a bookmark in your favorites, then enter your password/login information and it then allows you to remember it.
Not a good idea if your not sure about your computer security or you let your relatives use your computer when your not sitting there next to it, but for those whom are comfortable with it - it's a nice feature to have.
Regards,
Chris
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hwahwa
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posted on October 19, 2009 08:14:46 PM new
if you bookmark it with Firefox,it does not mean it will automatically enter your password when you are at the site?
You still have to enter the password yourself?
Microsoft used to have a feature called passbook or passport?which wil do that.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
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alldings
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posted on October 20, 2009 05:40:03 AM new
New user to FF it will ask if you want FF to remember your userid and Pw you can select one or both. I like it! Bookmark the site click on it and you are there. I does not work for my main financial site and I don't want it too.
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bjboswell
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posted on October 23, 2009 06:53:17 AM new
Pixi, I just read this thread.. day late always  I hope your friend has been able to access the account.With your help, his teenager and all of these great suggestions he should be able to. My prayers are with him and his children. Please let us know,the rest of the story. BJB
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pixiamom
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posted on October 23, 2009 06:38:56 PM new
I found that PayPal froze the account shortly after he first contacted them, so it looks like he will have to work with their legal department. I introduced him to reputable dealers that might buy the whole collection outright as well as to other smaller dealers and collectors. There were many good ideas presented here, and I will relay them next time I buy from him - I especially like Bill's suggestion of mailing proof of the marriage, proof of the death, and I might add proof that their bank account that is tied to PayPal is held in joint. Part of the problem is he doesn't know the amount in the PayPal account. He thinks it is $9,000. My guess is considerably less. PayPal won't share the information with him so he isn't comfortable accruing legal fees to get it.
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hwahwa
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posted on October 23, 2009 06:55:28 PM new
The problem with proofing marriage certificate,death certificate,joing bank account etc is that they are dealing with someone in cyberspace/
how do they know the person they are speaking to is her husband?
How do they know the person on the death certificate is the same person who has this paypal account?
He probably will end up hiring someone to represent him,what about the local newspaper,they are always looking for a good story?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
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