Re: ASA and Paypal

Bob,

Good reminder and heads up.

Not just Paypal. Nearly every large credit card/bank system has had
this problem: Discover, Citi, Washington Mutual. The ASA started
getting PayPal related phishing expeditions before we even set up our
account, but because we were considering Paypal, the staff paid more
attention to them. The general rule is to never access these
financial sites via an email--always login via the secure web site.

When you click on the Donate button, you go to a SECURE Paypal
server. Your transaction is safely encrypted including the credit
card information that you submit. Your transaction is as safe as most
other financial transactions you do on the web. If you are
uncomfortable with that level of safety, then don't use this method.
If you are, it is provided as a convenience to those who wish to
support us.

You will never be asked for passwords, credit information, etc. via
an email from PayPal or any other e-commerce organization. Don't
respond to any such emails.

As I mentioned, you DO NOT have to become a PayPal member to utilize
this service if you are worried about such things.

TG

>This system is o.k. with me, Terry, but members should know that
>Paypal users have been victimized by phishing sites. No one should
>respond to an email purportedly from Paypal asking for their
>financial information. Someone i know did so, and while they caught
>it in time, they had to change all of their accounts and register a
>hold on old accounts with the the credit organizations.
>
>Bob Schneider
>
>>
>> From: "Terry M. Gray" <grayt@lamar.colostate.edu>
>> Date: 2005/05/19 Thu PM 06:19:22 EDT
>> To: asa@calvin.edu
>> Subject: ASA and Paypal
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> ASA is experimenting with using Paypal as a mechanism to receive
>> payments from members (donations, membership fees, registration fees,
>> etc.). Since many of you are ASA members or friends, you may be
>> willing to help us test our new system (and at the same time make a
>> financial donation to the ASA). We have done some preliminary testing
>> and it seems to work fine so don't fret that you will be the first
>> one to actually try some experimental system. [I made a small
>> donation myself--you know the old saying, "Put your money where your
>> mouth is."]
>>
>> The button to go to our PayPal donate site is at the bottom of the
>> ASA home page. You can get there by going to http://www.asa3.org and
>> scrolling to the bottom of the page.
>>
>> You don't have to be a PayPal member to do this. Just type in the
>> amount you wish to donate and click on the button beside the "If you
>> do not currently have a PayPal account" words. You then go to a page
>> where you enter your credit card info.
>>
>> If you are a PayPal member then you can login and use your normal
>> PayPal procedures to make the Payment.
>>
>> You will receive an email back from Paypal as a notification/receipt
>> for your payment. You will also receive a receipt from ASA.
>>
>> For the record, there is a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee. This is
>> quite reasonable for credit card payments (although higher than the
>> non-existent transaction fee for a donation by check).
>>
>> If you are planning to come to the annual meeting at Messiah College
>> in August and you haven't registered yet, keep your eyes open for an
>> on-line registration form and a payment option using PayPal.
>>
>> TG
>>
>> --
>> _________________
>> Terry M. Gray, Ph.D., Computer Support Scientist
>> Chemistry Department, Colorado State University
>> Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
>> grayt@lamar.colostate.edu http://www.chm.colostate.edu/~grayt/
>> phone: 970-491-7003 fax: 970-491-1801
>>

-- 
_________________
Terry M. Gray, Ph.D., Computer Support Scientist
Chemistry Department, Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado  80523
grayt@lamar.colostate.edu  http://www.chm.colostate.edu/~grayt/
phone: 970-491-7003 fax: 970-491-1801