Ed Earns

Somebody hacked my paypal account!

I don’t know what happened but when I checked my mail, I got a message saying that

I never thought this would happen to me but it did and now I’m all pissed off again. The incident with the security transaction password of Unionbank EON in my previous entries weren’t even solved and now I got this problem.

I just hate it, I never sent an authorized payment to that certain email address and now I lost 76 bucks! sheesh. What I did before this problem might happen again is change my password and withdrew all my money left. I have around 280 bucks left which is supposed to be used sometime November to pay off for my tuition fee in school so I could get back studying. However, because of this, I’m still going to suffer a lot. Sigh.

I already sent a dispute request to the Paypal resolution center and I’m waiting for a response from them. I’m crossing my fingers, including my toes.

Sigh, I never thought this online banking account would be taxing.

Up to now I still haven’t received any response from Unionbank. Sheesh.

I’m getting more and more upset knowing that I don’t have any update from them whatsoever.

I guess I’ll have to give them a call again and talk about that Reset TXN Password security issue again.

To think I’ve dedicated 3 entries already on this blog about that Change transaction password issue. I guess there’s more to come then or I’ll just buy some Las Vegas Show Tickets.

Unionbank EON, what’s going on?

I haven’t had any response from you ever since I called. A rep promised that I’ll receive an email from your team that the issue over my “change transaction (TXN) password” will be fixed but up to now, I haven’t received any update.

I’m just PO because of the hassle and the frustration this has caused me. What’s the purpose of online banking, isn’t it for convenience? Sigh. I guess I’ll have to contact a some of your people again and explain (AGAIN) what’s going on and why I can’t get passed the Unionbank EON page. Can’t your staff just access my account online right after verifying my security information? Sheesh. This is just too much work for me like some of those cosmetology colleges.

I’m just upset right now. I’m upset over Unionbank EON’s Reset TXN (Transaction) Password feature. This is a new security feature of Unionbank whenever I’d try to log in to my online account to check my funds online.

As what was stated in my previous entry, I couldn’t get passed the Change Transaction Password page wherein it’s asking me to enter my current password and type in a new one.

Again, I can’t change my transaction password because I DON’T know what my TRANSACTION password is!!!

I already called Unionbank in some of the branches here in Cebu and they told me that they can only email the internet security team to reset my password. To be fair, Unionbank’s internet Security team was quick in replying stating that they’ve sent a RESET for my current transaction password and that I just have to go to the “My Account” option to change it. Here’s the copy of the email that I received:

Subject: Transaction Password Reset Procedure
From: “internetsecurity”
Message:

Please be advised that your transaction password has been reset. You will be asked to nominate a new transaction password. Please follow the following procedure:

1.) Login online using your USER ID and ATM PIN as your Login password.

2.) Upon successful login – check out the alert “RESET TRANSACTION PASSWORD NOW”

3.) Go to “MY PROFILE” then, on the left side click “RESET TRANSACTION PASSWORD”

4.) Upon clicking the “RESET TRANSACTION PASSWORD” the system will prompt a confirmation

5.) Upon confirmation, the system will prompt you the default password – it will be the last or first 10 digits of your ATM card number. Please make sure that the new password you are going to nominate is different from your old password.

6.) The system will prompt you for a successful “password change”

Regards,

EBANKING SERVICES

Now the only problem is I still can’t get passed that “Change Transaction Password” page, there’s NO option for me to go to that page.

I called the customer service hotline (1-800-1888-2277) of UnionBank since the different branches here in Cebu couldn’t do much. A customer service rep named “Mark” answered the phone and after going through the whole explanation again, he informed me that he was going to send an email to reset the password. That’s when I had to reiterate that there’s NO PROBLEM WITH THE PASSWORD. The problem is I CAN’T get passed the screen already to go to the “My Accounts” tab.

He told me to just expect a response to the email that I provided him within 24 hours but up to now (3 days), I haven’t received any response. I’m afraid I’d have to call back again and explain… AGAIN.

Notice that I wrote some of my words in caps and I don’t care as much anymore because I’m just upset over the hassle that this has caused me. Somebody at Unionbank, please answer and fix this problem! I wish I could go to some Las Vegas Shows.

I sent them an email again and I’m waiting for their reply. Hopefully, this will be ironed out soon. I can still check my balance over an ATM machine, but then it defeats the purpose of convenience in checking it over online.

I wanted to try how to withdraw funds from my Paypal account to my Unionbank EON card, so I decided to test it out today. Right now, paypal accepts withdrawal through your regular Philippine bank account but since I’ve never tried using my EON card, I figured I should give it a go. Also, after looking at different forums, they said it’s faster if you withdraw from your transfer from Paypal to your EON card rather than to a Philippine bank account.

Here are the steps that I did.

Step 1: Log in to your Paypal Account.

Step 2: Click on the WITHDRAW option under the My Account tab. Since I’m from the Philippines using my Unionbank EON card, I chose the Withdraw funds to your card.

Step 3: Enter the amount that you want to withdraw. Take note that there’s a minimum withdrawal amount depending on the currency. As of now, for US dollars, it would only be $10. Also, they have a converter feature which you can use to convert the amount to your currency’s conversion rate.

I withdrew $50

Step 4: You need to Confirm your transaction just to be sure. Please be aware of a $5 processing fee for every Paypal withdrawal transaction, no matter how big or small the amount is. Of course, there’s a daily limit of $500, but since I don’t earn as much (I wish), then 50 bucks is good enough for me.

Step 5: This is the page that indicates that your withdrawal is being requested for process.

Step 6: You can choose to view the details of your transaction and this is the page you’ll encounter. Notice that the status is pending. All I have to do now is wait. 5 to 7 business days, as it says, I’m hoping it’d be sooner.

Once again, I managed to receive a reply from the same reader, Lorie. And I’m posting my response here as well as her message, with permission of course.

Hi, Ed! It’s Lourie, actually.

Thanks for the prompt response in Istorya! Yes, I’ve read both of your blogs and will try my best to continually visit soloflighted.com to help increase your traffic there…to support you in my own little way. Okay, I won’t call you nice, but I still think sharing this information is nice enough for me. Hehe!

Wow, so this is really helpful…I mean, getting paid to blog (or advertise products by word of mouth). I’m glad it has helped you out. I can’t believe why I have not known about this in my years and years of online life. Hehe! I’m glad to know all about it now. Thanks to you! I actually have a job, too, but like you said it’s still not enough. =) Question. About your post on earnings, was it good for how many weeks? Was it your first pay since signing up for these sites?

I actually checked out those sites that you mentioned. I browsed around and found out that their terms and all are interesting. I also read those blogs of one of their members and I got amused. I think I can do it. I hope my blog gets approved. Or if not, I’ll just create a new one and build it up for three months before I apply.

I have a question about domains. Do you really have to buy one? I mean, can you not get a free account from blogspot and use that? My current one is on Wordpress, and… It’s privated and I’m not that active in posting. I might have to open it up if I’m deadset on using it for earnings…and post as often as I can.

I actually use my Unionbank Visa card to purchase groceries and stuff. It’s a debit card, right? I can’t use it to buy stuff if it doesn’t have any money inside. If it’s not okay, then I’ll just create another one.

I agree that it should be balanced; it shouldn’t be all advertising or marketing. I read this one blog last night from a member… xxxxxxxxx.com. She’s one of their top earners but most of the entries are advertisements. You can only count the personal contents. Haha!

Sure, you can go ahead and post my message in your blog…just edit out the email address though. It’s hard if we get spam. Hehe!

Again, Ed, thank you so much! I might have to bug you every now and then for questions. I hope you will not mind.

Take care, too, and best regards.
Lourie

This is my reply again:

Hey Laur.. I mean Lorie. toinks. Of all the things, why’d it have to be the name that I misspelled?

Yeah, at first I didn’t like the idea of advertising products because like I said, I was really a blogger for blogger’s sake. It seemed that my site became commercialized because of these paid posts. Even now, sometimes I don’t like the idea of advertising, it’s because I was able to create a network with pure bloggers before. However, in a more practical perspective, I’d rather do this rather than not blog at all. Instead of me looking for another job, I’d rather blog as a sideline.

Anyway, what’s good if you’re already approved is you have full control on your site and the content. Because there’re a number of advertisers out there that has a number of topics to choose from. So you don’t have to worry about posting a topic that you don’t like because you’re the one who’s going to pick the topics of your interests to post. Also, you don’t need to get some Online Degree Programs just to earn, okay?

However, it’s not everyday that you get to choose any topic you like, because these advertisers have certain requirements (e.g. you need to have a page rank of X, etc.) These tasks can range from $3 – $200 or more.

It’s easy once you get approved. I have a colleague at work that’s a mother of 2 kids and wants to earn online. She just kept on posting everyday for about 2 months. But it came to a point that she became frustrated because she felt that she’s not making any money because of the less number of traffic. I encourage her to keep on going though; cause it’ll be like that the first months. Until the time came that her blog was approved, she became ecstatic.

About Unionbank, I believe it’s okay. You can check this entry so you can apply for paypal. hehe. Shameless plugging:

http://edearns.blogspot.com/2008/04/paypal.html

About the domain, I don’t think you really need to purchase one as there are some bloggers who are still earning despite their accounts are hosted. However, if you wish to maximize it, it would be better if you purchase one. Because there’re some advertisers that don’t accept blogs that are hosted somewhere else.

What I do usually with paid post entries is post them in between personal entries. That’s also one of the requirements in some paid post sites; that your post should be sandwiched between personal entries.

It’s okay if you still have some questions, you can take advantage of emailing me. As long as I’m not that busy with life, you can email me!

And thanks for letting me publish your message; I just realized I write very long replies. Am I really that talkative? hehe.

Thanks.

I’m so glad that somebody took the time to email me when I posted a topic in istorya. With her permission, I’m putting her response here since she’s interested with how I’m able to earn online; so in turn, people who are interested with the idea may also find some useful tips in return.

This is an edited version, I converted some words to English. hehe.

Hi, Ed…is your name Ed?

Anyway, I find your post here about earning through blogging very interesting. It’s very nice of you to share this information to help others.

I’ve been blogging for a year now (on and off though), and I didn’t know you could get paid for your blog posts. I would love to know more about it, if you don’t mind helping me out. I spend quite a decent amount of time online, and I think it would be best to get something good (like money, perhaps) out of it. I’m married with kids, and I could use whatever little (or big) income that I could get to help the husband with the expenses.

Anyway, I’ve read your blogs, and and I got intrigued by them. So all I need to do is do the same things that you suggested there? I have an existing Unionbank savings account (Visa), can I use that? How do I link that to a Paypal account?

As for posting…how exactly do you post to get paid? I mean, should you always write about products all the time? I read your Siargao series and it was fun. Did you get paid for it? Can you blog about personal stuff, too? I’ll read more of your blog to be able to understand more about this paid post thing. Hehe!

Sorry, I have so many questions. You don’t have to answer any of them, but I would appreciate any help or input though. Here is my email address: xxxxxxxx@gmail.com. You can email me there if you’re not comfortable with Istorya or anything.

Again, thanks for sharing your “secret” to success. Hehe! Godspeed to you, and may your blog continue to rake in all those moolah. Hehe!

Best regards,
Lourie

This is my reply

Hi Laurie… Laurie is your name as well, right?

Thank you for your long message. That’s actually what I want to share here to other people. Since I know my blog’s not that high in traffic, and I believe I can reach out to more people using forums. I’m trying to regularly update my other site. Here’s the thing, my own blog is at http://soloflighted.com, while the entries on how I was able to earn online is thru http://edearns.blogspot.com. Don’t call me nice though, hehe.

Anyway, thanks for reading my post in istorya! hehe. I was able to blog for 3 years for the sole purpose of blogging. Until a friend informed me that I could earn while at it. Honestly, there was a point that I stopped blogging, but I was able to return to this hobby because of this new-found interest of earning money. Especially since my family and I are not that well-off in life. I have 4 other siblings and my parents don’t have a stable job. I stopped school cause it’s a bit expensive and there are a number of things I want to do that I can’t. I already have a job but I feel it’s still not enough. That’s why I just want to help other people as well, just to spread the news. When I talk to people at work about blogging, some wouldn’t believe and find the idea tiring. So I decided to just find other people to talk about it.

About posting… you need to apply for paid post accounts online. That is your blog needs to be approved by paid sites. There are sites who are accepting advertisers and bloggers. The advertisers are the one who are looking for bloggers to write a particular topic and link it to their website. All you have to do is meet their requirements (e.g. you have to update your blog regularly, there should be an X minimum of entries, it should be at least 3 months old, etc.).

Honestly, I’m not the one who applied for my site, since my domain, soloflighted.com, is still a bit new. I didn’t have enough hits or traffic. I was just able to migrate all my entries from an old blog to my new one so that explains why I don’t have a lot of visitors despite the long list of entries since 2003.

About paypal, I’m not so sure about the savings account. But it should accept a credit card. I think it’s okay cause you said it’s a Visa. First you have to sign up for a paypal account, then it will ask you to type your card number so you can link them together. From there, you will most likely know what to do.

Lastly, about Siargao, no, those were personal entries; your entries should be balanced.

Thanks again for taking the time to read and actually sending me a message! Remember, you don’t need to have an online degree to earn. By the way, is it alright if I put your message in my blog to let other people know about it? So I can add another entry to my site. hehe.

Take care,
Edcel

Paypal is a form of cashless transaction that is most accepted by most websites as a form of payment. Here in the Philippines, I believe it can be compared to Globe’s Gcash. Both parties must have a paypal account in order for you to send out money to each other. Honestly, I still don’t know much about it. But I was able to apply for an account. No need to apply for some online colleges to get it.

In order for you to apply for one though, you need to have a credit card. I believe it would have to be a Mastercard or a Visa. Since I was already able to acquire a visa electron thru Unionbank EON account, all I had to do was set my paypal up and link these two together.

At the paypal site, it will ask you to add your credit card to your account because you need to verify your information first. You just have to fill your credit card information to add that account. Afterwards, you need to activate your paypal account. This is done by entering an Expanded Usage number wherein they will charge you a $1.95 fee. Since I didn’t use a credit card, I made sure I had some funds in my Unionbank account in order to have sufficient money for deduction.

After they are able to process it, you need to check your credit card statement for an Expanded Usage number which is what you need to type back in your paypal. But since I don’t receive statements from Unionbank, what I did is log in to their site and log in to the EON cyber account page. I emailed them and got a response with the expanded usage number in their message. You just have to enter that number in the field in paypal and voila! You’re account is verified!

Note: Please do contact your bank, because before I kept on clicking the button in paypal to send me the expanded usage number thru Unionbank. What happened is every time I mailed Unionbank for the number, paypal kept saying that the number has expired already. On the third attempt, I was able to go through the process; that and I was charged thrice instead of once. Sheesh.

Here in the Philippines, I had a bit of a problem when I tried to apply for a paypal account, since I didn’t have a Mastercard or a Visa credit card available. Good thing the admin gave me some tips on how to organize the payment method. She informed me of a savings account by Unionbank that accepts paypal without the hassle. Unionbank’s EON account is/was (I don’t know if its still holds true nowadays) the only savings account that offered services for paypal. The reason why I needed to have an account here is for me to be able to withdraw from an atm the money that is inside my paypal account.

So I applied for an account online. After filling up the necessary information, they told me I just needed to wait around 3-5 business days for processing. I was searching for some online college afterwards to kill the time. You can choose the nearest Unionbank center in your area on where you wish it to be picked up for convenience.

You can just go to their site and click the EON Cyber Account Link, from there you can start off signing up for an account.

I got an email during withing the 3-5 day time frame saying I could now pick up the card at the local branch. I went to the bank and paid my amount (P350) for the annual fee. So, I now got a Visa Electron!

Note: Guys, you can just use your credit card if you wish to apply for paypal, but for ease of use and I don’t want to mix expenses and earnings, I’d rather suggest you apply for one. For me, this is also more secure.