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Comment on Amazon just told me to log into someone else's account – and delete it

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It's just bad customer service workflow (that you weren't escalated, but locked into the script) and bad interface design (that addresses aren't verified.)

It's some ratio of lack of imagination:care.

I called paypal last week to remove an expired card from my account. At some point, Paypal has started doing background checks to come up with security questions after the fact, all three of which have to be answered correctly in order to have a discussion about your account.

One of the questions was my father's wife's (who he married when I was in my late teens and both lived in a different state) birthday month. Another was a friend's street address that I used to get an Oregon ID, and slept on her floor for about 3 months 20 years ago.

The operator was sympathetic, but what could she do? She had no way to escalate, and there was no contingency for if a question was asked that the customer may never have had the answer to. It's just sloppy.

At some point, Paypal has started doing background checks to come up with security questions after the fact

wtf? paypal keeps pestering me to link it to my bank account, with the incentive that i won't have to pay fees to transfer money to friends. i've held off out of a vague feeling that they'll find some way or the other to screw me over once i do; stories like this make me happier that i've listened to that instinct.

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