I have lost my phone number and cannot login to PayPal
It is a cruel thing to realize that behind the login screen of Paypal is your balance and yet you cannot reach it. It happened to me. And it took me weeks to solve the problem. Paypal did not reply or was not willing (through the Twitter messages) to come up with a solution. And I was stuck.
Lucky for me I still could transfer money through the app. For me proof that my account was not blocked at all. It was just a stupid two-step verification. Probably because I recently logged in to the Dutch account from the Philippines where I had been staying for over 3 years.
It can happen to any of us, digital nomad, traveler, expat……. Once you cross a border and reactivate an account in another country or enter your account for a long time, PayPal might want to verify if it is really you.
There was no link to any security questions to bypass the missing phone number verification and I just gave up
Until I signed up with a new Freelance platform, and I needed to connect it with my Paypal. There it was again, that wretched screen, it was like a padlock on the door to my financial solutions.
Because they care about me…..yeah right!!
I searched the internet and found a loophole. Among all the desperate people sailing the same boat I was in: No access to their Paypal account. There are so many, one would think PayPal would create a new or more obvious bypass for a missing phone number.
This is how to solve your puzzle!
- On the login screen, do not click on “log in” but click on “reset password” instead
- The screen will ask for them to send you an SMS code or choose another way, click the other way!! It will be your door to Emerald City!
- Choose Verification via email
- Wait for the 6 digit code to arrive
- Enter the 6 digit code in the PayPal site
They are probably not satisfied with that and want more verification
You have a list of options to choose from
I choose the 2 secret questions, but somehow I did not have the right answers……< back….< back…..to the list with options:
- verify by a registered credit card (**23)
And Tadaaa!! You are in!! You are so in!! That even Paypal was confused I guess, for they kept sending e-mails that I had logged in.
OW really??? Finally!
Now here is another tip: do not change the phone number. Unless you are in the country of origin of the account. You can only verify your phone number if it matches with the country you are in, so Dutch accounts need Dutch phone numbers, etc.
You’re probably still able to donate
while being locked out of your PayPal account?
