Ockham, I think I know what you're on about. Paypal have two or three different sorts of account, and a "verified" status which seems to depend on them having made transfers to or from a conventional bank account. Here in the UK, opening a bank account needs some basic check on your identity. But all that is done from the Paypal website. You don't get an email invitation. I've found the Mailwasher anti-spam program to be useful -- it has the ability to read a message, and it will tell you what the links really point at.