A 17-year-old German student contends PayPal has denied him a reward for finding a vulnerability in its website. Robert Kugler said he notified PayPal of the vulnerability on May 19. He said he was informed by email that because he is under 18 years old, he did not qualify for its Bug Bounty Program. He will turn 18 next March. PayPal, which is owned by auction site eBay, outlines the terms and conditions for its Bug Bounty Program on its website, but does not appear to have an age guideline. PayPal officials did not have an immediate comment. Many companies such as Google and Facebook have reward programs. The programs are intended to create an incentive for researchers to privately report issues and allow vendors to release fixes before hackers take advantage of flaws. Facebook pays a minimum of US$500 for qualifying bugs, while Google pays from $100 up to $20,000 depending on the severity of the issue.