Skrill is one of the most popular e-wallets and internet-based payment processors available, so you have likely encountered its name before. But, despite its popularity, you may have been wondering – is Skrill.com safe? Or would it be better to choose a different e-wallet? Read on to find out about the legitimacy and safety of Skrill’s various services.
Is Skrill Safe and Legitimate?
Let’s start off with a brief overview of the platform and the reasons behind Skrill’s popularity. Skrill users can use the site’s services to deposit funds, spend money, and send funds to other users. Skrill was originally founded mainly to spend money on online gambling services, but the site has since evolved to include diversified applications.
Nowadays, Skrill is a fully-functional e-wallet that can be used for sending money overseas, cryptocurrency trading, and much more. The latest statistics show that there are over 40,000,000 Skrill users and that Skrill payments are supported by 150,000 merchants. But, the popularity doesn’t answer the question – how safe is Skrill?
When Skrill first began operating, it had the FCA Registration Number (FRN). This was issued from the authority responsible for ensuring the fairness and honesty of the country’s financial markets. Therefore, Skrill was required to adhere to any regulations mandated by the FCA. Now, it is authorized and supervised by the Central Bank of Ireland (after Brexit), which still has stringent regulatory requirements. To read more on Skrill’s changes after Brexit, check out our update.
Skrill is also a member of PaySafeGroup – which also includes the highly reputable Paysafecard and Neteller services.
Lastly, Skrill has a high Trustpilot rating of 4.4/5, with over 14,000 reviews. This is considered to be an “Excellent” score. So, as you can see, there are many satisfied Skrill users, and the e-wallet provider must comply with strict governing regulations. But, is the site itself safe to use? Or is it vulnerable to hacking?
Is It Safe to Use Skrill?
Skrill uses plenty of security measures to ensure that all of your transactions are safe and private. All of your site activities and personal details are protected with 128-bit SSL encryption, which is certified under VeriSign.
What’s more, Skrill’s developers use tools developed in-house and externally to monitor all individual payments, analyze the behavior of accounts, and research transaction patterns. This way, they can flag and freeze accounts that are demonstrating suspicious activity. Lastly, when you send money to somebody through Skrill, none of your sensitive details will be passed on to the recipient.
Is Skrill Legitimate?
Can you be scammed by Skrill? No – Skrill itself will never scam its users or use account information in a malicious manner. If it did so, the Central Bank of Ireland would immediately rectify the situation.
However, it is possible for a Skrill account user to trick you into sending them money. As with any e-wallet service, you must take care to only send money to reputable merchants. Thankfully, Skrill addresses phishing and scam attempts. They can’t recover the money that you sent to personal accounts, but they can advise you when you pay for a product that you don’t receive. There is also a form you can fill out if there has been an unauthorized transaction on your account.
If you need more evidence that Skrill is legitimate and still doubt is Skrill account safe to use, consider the fact that they have a rigorous verification procedure. Skrill is required by law to verify all customer accounts – you will need to upload a photo of your ID card, passport, or driver’s license, along with verification of residence via the documents dated within the last 90 days. The verification process is fast, while also ensuring that nobody will falsely create an account on your behalf.
Is Skrill Wallet Safe?
Depending on your country of residence, you can withdraw funds you receive via Skrill to your bank account or a VISA/Mastercard – or you can send funds to somebody’s email address. There’s also the option to store your money in the Skrill wallet. But is it safe to do so?
Yes – as long as you keep your Skrill password private, the money cannot be removed from your account without your knowledge. You can make the Skrill wallet even safer by turning on extra authentication methods, which are accessible in your settings. You can turn on mobile phone authentication – with this a unique code will be sent to your mobile device, making it much harder for any intruder to get access to your private account. You can also choose authentication via e-mail and set up a 6 digit PIN to log in to your account.
Is Skrill Money Transfer Safe?
Skrill’s money transfer services are safe – just keep in mind that you should only send money to people that you actually know. With a scammy transaction, Skrill may be able to cancel the purchase (as we mentioned earlier), but they can’t reverse a personal payment of funds.
However, you may cancel or suspend a payment within 30 minutes of sending it, as long as the funds have not already been withdrawn by the recipient. The refund will be in full, including all taxes and fees.
To ensure the safety of users during transfers, you do not have the authority to manage someone else’s funds. You also may not use the service for short-term credit card loans.
Conclusion: Is a Skrill Account Safe to Use?
After reviewing the various regulations, safety measures, and user reviews of Skrill, we have determined that Skrill is safe to use – and that its services are, indeed, legitimate. However, as with any online payment processor, you must take care to protect your account credentials and to refrain from sending personal payments to strangers. As long as you use common sense, Skrill can safely meet all of your online financial needs.
- Why we love Skrill:
- Many forms of currency are available
- The verification process usually takes less than 1 business day
- Fees are low, and the limits are high
- The company is fully regulated under the Central Bank of Ireland
- The mobile app is well-designed and intuitive
If you would like to create a Skrill account, use our link to do so! Baxity can offer the absolute best Skrill conditions upon sign-up – for instance, faster verification and lower thresholds for VIP access.
First, I want to share my experience with skrill so other readers can know what to expect. I signed up for an account back when skrill was still called “moneybookers.” I ended up deleting my account, but while I had the account I never had any issues with hackers or fake transactions. Now I need to use an ewallet again, so I think I want to make an account. now, before I do that, I want to ask a question first – you said that skrill can freeze your accounts if they see suspicious activity. Do you have to opt in to this in the settings or is it automatic? And how do you unfreeze a forzen account?
Zofie78, thank you for your question! Answering your first part of a question – freezing in case of suspicious activity occurs automatically, as part of standard checks by the Skrill Security Service. Account settings do not affect this.
Regarding unlocking, it all depends on the level of your unusual user behavior. You may be deprived of the ability to make transfers and withdrawals within the account, or they may completely close access to your account during an additional check. In this case, you usually need to send a selfie with an identity document, or call support to find out further actions. However, if the security service suspects you of violating the rules of the payment system under Article 11 (https://www.skrill.com/en/footer/terms-conditions/skrillaccounttermsofuse/), then most likely your account will be blocked without the ability to recover or create a new one.
Interesting information… I read the article 11 in the link you sent me, there are so many prohibited purchases! Why are they so strict about how to spend money?
Zofie78, all these restrictions are dictated by the rules of the financial regulator under whose jurisdiction Skrill operates. It is currently the Central Bank of Ireland.
And for the most part, they concern only operations that are prohibited throughout the world, such as the financing of terrorism or the sale of drugs, etc. For the average user, these restrictions are unlikely.
I’m really happy with the amount of safety stuff that skrill does to make sure the users stay safe. it can be hard finding an ewallet that protects its customers. The review helped me a lot, so thanks! I am kind of a nervous person so I will definetely use those extra security feutures like the 6 digit pin. Oh do you know if skrill partnered with google authentication?
Ahmad, we are glad that you appreciated the level of Skrill security service. Yes, earlier Skrill used two-factor Google authentication, but now they switched to a scheme of one-time security codes that are sent to the phone number or mail linked to the account. This change was made for even greater security.
If skrill is so safe and reputable, then tell me this, why does skrill have a bad rating on sitejabber.com?
Sookie, thank you for your question! Based on the reviews on the specified site, I can say that before registering accounts, users did not familiarize with the payment system terms and condition, as well as the requirements for the verification procedure.
Skrill has quite strict requirements for verification documents, but passing all the stages is quite realistic. This is confirmed by the number of users who choose this system as the main method of online payments, and remain completely satisfied with it, including our customers.
What I would advise anyone who is going to register a Skrill account for the first time – do not rush to top up account and make transfers before you fully verify it. Yes,registering in Skrill directly, you must first top up your account to start verification, but 1$ is enough for this purpose. However, if you register using our special link you are able not only bypass this condition and verify your account without a preliminary deposit, but also pass verification faster. If you still have any questions, you can always contact us and ask all your questions. We will be glad to help you!
I understand, thanks for looking at the sitejabber reviews.
Can I pass verification wothout address document if I use your link?
No, using our link you can start verification without preliminary deposit, and it will be passed faster than usual. But you still need to send a full set of documents. However, since you live in the EU, you can enable geolocation and verify your address using it. If your actual address matches the one specified when registering an account, of cource.
I finally managed to log in to my account, but I am restricted with any transactions. My money is still locked and I lost a thousand US dollar last week due to inability to use my funds. I talked to them twice and all I got is “we are working on your case”. I will appreciate it if there is anybody out there to advise how to sue this site.
Zehrudin, we are really sorry that that you had to deal with difficulties in using your Skrill account, which led to significant financial losses on your part.
We did not have any cases of litigation with the company, but first we recommend you familiarize yourself with their term and conditions to make sure that your actions with your account did not violate them in any way. The only way out in solving the situation with the account blocking is to re-contact their managers. Sometimes decisions can really take a long time, especially in large companies like Skrill.
SKRILL DOING FRAUD WITH CUSTOMER. THEY ACCEPT A FREE ACCOUNT FROM CUSTOMER TO SCAM. I OPENED A SKRILL ACCOUNT 2 DAYS AGO. I VERIFIED MY ACCOUNT FULLY. THEN I RECEIVE A FUND FROM MY FRIEND. AFTER RECEIVE MONEY SKRILL SAYS MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN PENDING TO CLOSURE. MY QUESTION IS WHY SKRILL VERIFY ME AND WHY THEY CLOSURE. WHAT ABOUT MY BANK AND OTHER CHARGES? THEY FULLY SCAM PEOPLE. WHY RESTRICTIONS ARE NOT APPLIED BEFORE RECEVING MONEY?
We’re sorry you had to deal with this.
Please be aware that SKRILL is operating in accordance with the UK FCA’s requirements which also includes AML/ KYC procedures. Therefore, some p2p transactions often require additional checkup in order to comply with the regulator’s requirements. SKRILL may require additional data (for example, screenshots of correspondence, etc.). An account can be blocked in a month or so if this information is not delivered. Have you sent all additional data to SKRILL already?