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Comment by VotreReb | Hacker News Reader

"I can't think of a legal reason for this policy."

Wouldn't it be that you committed financial fraud? Paypal initially allowed you to send/receive payments purely based on the fact that you stated you were an age you were not.

The Paypal signup form does not let you signup unless the DOB given, shows you're over the age of 18.

This guy lied about his age and then had the audacity to write a blog post about how bad Paypal is.

He shows he's willing to lie and also willing to commit financial fraud (as that is what it's considered.) - I for one, am very glad someone like him HAS been banned from Paypal.

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Everyone is welcome to their own opinion, but I find it odd that you'd be 'very glad' someone like me has been banned from PayPal? As the top comment points out, surely it would have been fine once I turned 18 anyway. To be honest, I can't even remember much about setting the account up, it's changed primary emails 3 times and I actually did think today I'm sure originally it was tied to a family email from our first internet connection, and my parents used it - anyway, it's not the point.

All this aside, I've now sorted my personal accounts, I've had a ton of messages now from people that are closing up theirs for good, or at least restarting their accounts to protect themselves - so I'm glad I've been banned too.

Given the disenfranchisement young people experience in our society I fully support their lying about their age at every opportunity.

I'm not sure you're being serious. Do you carefully read the EULA or TOS of everything you pay for, line by line? Do you consult a lawyer about how to parse the legalese? If not, you've almost certainly also committed fraud of the same degree.

I think you're getting confused as you don't know about the fact that you can not signup to Paypal under the age of 18, unless you lie about your DOB.

IE; if you're 17 and put your DOB into the Paypal signup process, it literally stops you from signing up.

This person lied to get an account.

Do you have any evidence that PayPal's sign-up process 10 years ago included verifying that you were over 18, or are you just making things up?

This is pure conjecture.

Unless you can prove that "it literally stop[ped] you from signing up" in 2007, then you have no credibility.

I remember signing up to PayPal in 2003 at the age of 14 without lying about my age. I did a lot of the things OP did, web dev, hosting costs, etc.

These days, I only use PP (all fresh accounts, for anyone at PayPal reading this with your ban hammer out, put it away won't you?) when I have to, and even then, through gritted teeth.

There's a difference between reading the EULA/TOS and lying to gain access to something you shouldn't.

If you're knowingly lying to gain access something, you don't need a EULA/TOS to know you shouldn't be doing it.

You are very defensive of PayPal in this thread. Do you have a connection with them in any way?

17 or 18 years old.

It's an arbitrary distinction. I don't think many people would have an issue with anyone saying they were 18 to get an online account. This isn't the same as lying with the intent to cause harm.

It would have been simpler for everyone if PayPal had given him an option to agree to new TOS now they've picked the discrepancy.

Anyway, children can have bank accounts and own real estate and shares. Having a PayPal account at the age of 17 is less offensive than farting in an elevator.

> It's an arbitrary distinction.

Paypal can enforce the contract terms against people 18 years old or older. They can't (in england) against people aged 17 or younger.

> children can have bank accounts

Those accounts are restricted.

True and true. I meant to say that we -society- has arbitrarily selected age 18 for enforcement of contracts.

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