A lot of people have a lot of complaints about PayPal ripping them off. To be specific, people will use the service normally and then one day they'll get a larger amount of money than usual - perhaps they sold their laptop to someone - and suddenly paypal puts their account on LOCKDOWN. Their money is frozen and paypal gives them this gigantic list of tasks to complete in order to MAYBE get their account unlocked.

So they do all the tasks - fax them this, fax them that, prove this, prove that - and then SIX MONTHS LATER paypal finally releases their funds.

There is a simple and totally legal way to offer yourself the most protection from this kind of thing happening to you.

When you set up your PayPal account you have to verify with a checking account. Don't give them your primary checking account info! Instead, follow these steps:

1.Go to a drug store and get a pre-paid credit card. I suggest GreenDot. They cost an average of $10 just to sign up for the card and then $5 each time you want to load money on them (should you use it as a credit card regularly.) They usually also require a $20 initial deposit onto the card.

2.Log into the card's website and look at the information about DIRECT DEPOSIT. They offer an option where you can have your employer directly deposit onto your credit card after which you can take your money out of an ATM at any time. This service is FREE.

3.When you get the direct deposit information you will be given a checking and routing number to provide your employer. This is because pre-paid cards are basically like ATM cards tied into a bank account. The checking account is a totally valid account in a major U.S. bank. In the example of Greendot, the account is with Columbus Bank & Trust.

4.In the place where Paypal asks you to enter checking account info to confirm an account, enter the account info for direct deposit from your pre-paid credit card. Paypal will then go through the process of depositing two small amounts into your account and ask you to contact your bank in 2-3 days to get those numbers, log back into paypal and confirm them to prove your identity. Do so.

Now you have a legitimate and legal bank account tied into your paypal account without exposing a normal major bank account to fraud. There are other benefits as well. For example, Paypal usually has a 5-business-day turnaround rate should you want to withdraw money from paypal into your bank account. In my experience, using the account tied into your pre-paid credit card takes 24-48 hours, including Saturdays. This is good because, using the above scenario, if someone sends you $1000 via paypal for your laptop you can immediately begin with withdrawal process, and it gives paypal less time to freak out an put a freeze on your funds by reversing the withdrawal process.

Also those two small deposit amounts they want you to verify appear on your online credit card statement in less than 24 hours, so you don't have to wait long to activate your paypal account.

For more horror stories about paypal go to www.paypalsucks.com - and above all just be smart and protect your bottom from crooks!!!