Long story short: about four years back, my parents were the victims of a credit card theft that left us out several hundred dollars that we couldn't get reimbursed by the bank and companies the thief used my parents' card to sign up on. It's left me with an understandable paranoia about any online shopping and plastic in general.

Recently, I just got a debit card attached to my bank account and I wanted to go on a tiny splurge before the bulk goes towards going back to college this fall. I, however, am not keen on the bits of information I've heard of concerning Paypal. Least of all the one about it being attached to an active card.

I realize that it must be extremely secure to handle money and basically the livelihoods of how many ever people who run online businesses but that doesn't put my mind at ease.

Any advice for the potential Paypal newbie?

I had heard some bad things about paypal as well, and was rather wary of using it. But now that I've been using it for a while, I haven't had any trouble and it can be quite convenient. The only problem I've had with them was when I was ordering my gecko online, the card I used had a billing address different from the shipping address I had entered, and the billing instead of shipping address was shown on paypal. So I had to contact the seller to make sure it was shipped to the correct address, which could have been a big deal since it was regarding a live animal but I was able to get in touch with the seller pretty quickly and resolve things. I haven't had that issue when purchasing other things that were being shipped to me, so I'm not sure what happened there... For purely online purchases like downloadable video games or music it works perfectly and I haven't had any trouble.

I wouldn't be too worried about using paypal honestly :)

I always use paypal.I have to say that I have a special card that isn't "connected" directly with my bank. I have to go to my main bank and transfer money to the card before using funds.

Oh, like one of those prepaid cards?

Yep.This is actually my "travel" card :) When I go on vacations or sell some drawings,I use this card to gather/use money. My bank offered it to me,since I barely use my debit card.It offers the same insurance and guarantee except that I feel more comfy using it since I usually put some small money.

Ahhh, I'll definitely have to look into that. c:

I'm not worried about using it - I just want to use it safely.

If you want to use it safely just read the instructions thoroughly and follow them, then practice basic common sense to protect yourself from trouble. Most of the time when people have trouble with PayPal it's often their own doing, which no one usually wants to hear or admit. If you're very worried about all your money being drained you can get a separate bank account just for your PP use and only put a certain amount in there.

I very much understand your fears, as when I first got my plastic I felt very worried. I still worry, but with experience it gets better. You'll be fine. :) PayPal is actually very simple and when used right, is a great tool.

I was already considering the separate account but I kind of talked myself out of it on the pretense of that would be really paranoid. I may yet. I already practice some fairly common internet safety, obviously, my father and I both work on computers and internet safety just became part of our work because you'd be amazed what people do or don't know.

I'll take your word for it. c: Thanks for the advice.

I use paypal all the time. Its very secure and I've never had anything stolen. It comes in so much handy when your buying off of different websites and your not sure about the website's security.

If you are still paranoid about using paypal.

Make a different banking account with a few 100 dollars on it. Put that card on paypal. Only use 1 card on paypal.

But the only time you have to worry is if your logging on paypal on strange computers.

Thanks for the input. c: I was planning to get one of those rechargeable cards for it before I do anything with PayPal, just to be absolutely safe.

A warning though with those rechargeable cards/prepaid visa

Paypal doesn't accept them. Also, a lot of websites don't accept them. I used to use those as well, but the fees each month was kinda crazy.

Ah, well, that crosses that out but again, thank you. This is why I came here - I figured someone here would know the in's and out's better than I.

Yeah, I found out the hard way with a prepaid Visa. Spent 100dollars on one to use around online. (75% of the websites didn't accept them!) It was a headache, i ended up spending it at some store irl.

The rechargeable ones, unless you have a lot of money or plan to use it for a short time. Eck, don't get it. I had got one when they first came out, and the fees were crazy. It changed me each time i used it and charged me at the end of every month, like 5 dollars or so...

I had one when I was younger, mostly because Dad thought it would teach me to be money savvy. Keep in mind, at that time, I had saved for an Xbox, an Xbox 360, a TV, several games and some action figures totaling around $200.

But yes, the fees on those things are insane. x_x