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Nitasha Tiku

01/29/14 11:40AM

Filed to: Cybersecurity

The harrowing tale of how Twitter user @n lost his one-letter handle, worth $50,000. Spoiler alert: think twice about letting PayPal and GoDaddy store your credit card info.

The following replies are approved. To see additional replies that are pending approval, click Show Pending. Warning: These may contain graphic material.

Magister Nitasha Tiku 01/29/14 12:36PM

I'm not up on all of the relevant laws and it isn't revealed whether the hijacker is in a US jurisdiction, but it sounds like they committed several crimes. While it makes for a nice cautionary tale and the story will probably get his handle returned, plus maybe some changes in procedures, I also hope he called the cops. It's a good Twitter handle and all, but identity theft and extortion are more than pranks.

jay_benton Nitasha Tiku 01/29/14 01:47PM

Off topic-ish, but how long has PayPal been in the easy credit scam game with this company they own called Bill Me Later? Two months ago they ran a credit check on me, and then issued me a credit line, all without my consent. I immediately had BML cancel the account they'd created for me, and deleted my PayPal account as well. What gives? Who's turning PayPal's business in that direction, or have they always played around in the easy credit scam space, and I just never noticed?

OpenIntro jay_benton 01/29/14 01:50PM

They've partnered with Bill Me Later for a while now. At least a couple of years. PayPal has always has shady practices.

jay_benton OpenIntro 01/29/14 02:16PM

It sucks. Until that happened, PayPal had been one of the few companies on my good list. One red flag is enough for me.

OpenIntro jay_benton 01/29/14 04:59PM

So I'm assuming you've never had your funds frozen for 3 months due to a false claim, with literally NO recourse. Fun stuff.

jay_benton OpenIntro 01/29/14 05:18PM

Holy crap, no way, but I've only used it as a purchaser. I've read sellers' horror stories before when searching around for more info about their practices. Shady times.

Jamez Nitasha Tiku 01/29/14 04:23PM

Wouldn't trust Paypal with cling wrap, let alone a credit card or bank acct #. That said, how the hell do people put any trust in GoDaddy still? Haven't we all heard enough about how awful a company it is? Sure, argue that most people aren't tech savvy enough to know or care, but this guy had the twitter handle @n. He had to have known. Sure, crap situation, but work with crap companies and own something valuable yet imaginary like that and someone's going to take advantage.