PayPal Email Address - Is It Safe To Give It Out?

Recently, I have been asked a few times about PayPal email addresses. “Is it safe for me to give someone my PayPal email?”

The short answer is “Yes!”

It is very understandable that many have this same concern. A PayPal account is just like a bank account and therefore you want to make sure that you don’t take it’s security lightly.

This question comes up so often is because many membership sites, for example, will ask you for your PayPal email after you join them. This is usually not a mandatory requirement but rather recommended.

They may ask for it even though they may already have an email address associated with your account. This is because some people have a different or dedicated PayPal email address.

One of the reasons they ask for it is because they will have a referral program that pays you via PayPal. If you refer someone to their site via your affiliate link and that person makes a purchase, you will receive a commission.

Why is it safe for you to provide such sites with your PayPal email address? Because no one can charge anything to your PayPal account without knowing your password.

For this reason, never divulge your PayPal password to anyone.

Every time that you buy something via PayPal you will be asked to verify your password. The only time where there is an exception to this rule is in the case of recurring payments. However, when you make the first payment in a recurring payment agreement, PayPal will indicate to you that you are entering into a recurring payment plan and will specify the frequency of the payments, whether it be weekly, fortnightly, monthly, etc.

At anytime in the future, if you decide you do not want to continue the recurring payment, you can cancel it immediately via your PayPal account.

PayPal is a very convenient way to make and receive payments online. While you should always use discretion when revealing sensitive data to any website, generally it is safe to give out your PayPal email address.

What have your experience with PayPal been like so far? Leave a comment below!

Browsergames

November 11, 2009 at 10:59 pm

You’ve got some points here, but I wouldn’t give my paypal email to everyone.

SF7
February 6, 2021 at 12:14 am

Hey Browsergames.
I have just established a new PayPal account for the purpose of selling a vehicle. The vehicle is disabled and not road-worthy, however the interested buyer seems indifferent to my concerns that she ( ? ) may be buying a vehicle NOT in the condition she may have assumed it was. I am not sure my account is safe from hackers and the interested buyer is ignoring my concerns, just keeps insisting I share my full legal name and my account e-mail address. Does this seem odd to you or am I just assuming too much here?

Thanks.

1. John Lagoudakis
  February 6, 2021 at 4:36 am
  
  Hi SF7,
  
  Thanks for your question. There are a few things happening here which makes me hesitate to give a definitive answer to your question. Firstly, I’ve never sold a vehicle online before, and in your country, so I don’t know what the legal requirements are. Also, because it is a new Paypal account, Paypal may require you to jump through a few hoops in order to accept a large first payment. However, why the buyer is asking for your full legal name to make a payment through Paypal, I’m not sure. It is a good idea to go with your gut feelings… if it doesn’t seem right to you, maybe it’s best to back away from this sale.