EBAY/PAYPAL SCAM

soolin

Hi Jazzy,

The problem with paypal transactions is not a new scam. As soon as the payment hits your account and shows cleared it is yours to withdraw. As per my original mailing that doesn't mean it can't be taken back by paypal within a 30 day time frame.

As for paypal protection and verified buyers until recently all UK buyers were unverified, at the moment my buyers are approx 30% verified 70% unverified.

Again as per my original mail if you think the transaction looks dodgy then refund it immediately (full links will be on your paypal page) and request an alternative means of payment. Also, please ask on the dedicated ebay newsgroups and they will be much more help on there than I can be with my limited knowledge of the ins and outs of paypal.

Your buyer might just be an ordinary guy who has just joined ebay and is in a bit of a muddle with understanding paypal, on the other hand most complaints about scams tend to be about buyers (and sellers) of electrical items, cameras, and phones etc.

Good luck

Soo

beachbeth

I guess one way to avoid this is to only buy from eBayers with at least 10 positive feedback... I know it's not fair on the newbies but you can't take any risks nowadays...

I just bought and paid £13 for some Buffy videos through paypal. The seller received my money and I have received nothing. I emailed him several times and he just doesn't give a damn! He keeps saying he can't remember sending my videos as he sent so many items all at once. He refuses to refund me and when I left a negative comment on his Ebay account he just left me one back saying I hadn't emailed him to sort it out first(which I had several times!!!).

This seller has got a lot of positive comments about how brilliant a seller he is and how quick he is at sending things, so it just shows you can't always go by the feedback.

Ebay and Paypal have been very unhelpful in this matter and it is difficult to get in touch with them to get it sorted. Also I am now past the 30 day period so Paypal can't get my money back (I didn't realise there was a time limit!). I have, however, still filed a complaint and hope something will come of this.

boblevin

I have sold a few items on Ebay. On one occasion for reasons I do not understand, there were two successful bidders for the same item. Paypal sent the money from both. I sent the item to one of the buyers same day, and wrote to the buyer to expain why I was sending him back his payment. I ended up loosing several pounds as I have not been able to recover the cost of the second sale from paypal, who have not replied to any of my emails. I think I probably sent the money back by the wrong route so maybe in part the fault is mine, however, I no longer accept payment via paypal. I request payment in cash into my bank in cash and as soon as this appears on my account which shows on NatWest webb site in realtime, I send the item. No commission to pay and almost instant payment. The buyer knows that if I difaulted on the sale I am traceable. Seems to work well for both parties.

System

In all honesty I have tried everything to set up just a buying account without any link to my details (ie, credit / debit cards, mail address from paid isp), let alone set up a sellers account.

I have tried every single e-mail address imagineable but it still asks for a credit card.

Even if you use a fake mail address you still have to go to it to finish the set-up of your account, as you usually have a security code or a link to click on to complete registration.

There has been problem with hijacked mail accounts and even E-Bay accounts recently and this is the only way I deem possible to pull off something like that.

I wouldn't buy a top up voucher code and anyone with any sense wouldn't either. This screams 'dodgy' to me, owing to increasing theft to the vouchers (also vouchers are being replaced by swipe cards and are increasingly hard to get hold of these days).
I think that would draw too much attention to the seller.

You were ripped off and are beating yourself up trying to find some answers - I would say what you have written you have seen elsewhere.

At the end of the day if they want to run off with your money then they will without going to lengthy details as described, especially if they continue to open multiple ebay accounts.
They could well be spending the money on e-bay stuff and even some online stores take paypal so the possibilities are endless.

People know the risks with paypal, just as it is risky with cheques, cash and postal orders.
No such thing as 'secure payment'


"Trust No-One"

System

Just to add, that I made my first purchase on eBay with PayPal in October and I was first ripped off by a "regular" vendor in January.

My recommendation: AVOID BOTH.

Will happilly provide full details by email as I have spent hours preparing them and neither eBay nor PayPal will even accept them, let alone read them.

kch75013@yahoo.co.uk

Regards

kevin

raeble

Beachbeth, is your paypal account opened with your credit card? If so file a dispute with your credit card company, if they agree they can take the money back for you. It does take a few months to work through.

I noticed that ebay is not very easy to navigate for new users, so you can't find how to complain easily. You need to do everything within thirty days and this isn't made clear. They could do more to aide buyers so that they know what to do if there is a problem and know to do it quickly.

musey

I have been buying & selling on ebay for awhile now with no problems. I recently bought a dvd (paid via paypal with funds from a previous sale) lo & behold the 1st time I use cleared funds the seller turns out to be a scammer (frannyl4u) with at least 10 associated accounts. I filed a paypal claim which was less use than a chocolate fireguard (at least I could lick the chocolate when it melts) the scammer emptied the account so no refund for me. I have reported it to the police, who were supremely dis-interested because of the amount.

I have written to e bay Dublin requested the sellers ebay details (he may live in the same town as me) & will visit him personally if I get the address. I quoted the clause of the data protection act (clause 35) which allows them (if they want) to give me the details, about 10 other people got scammed at the same time a couple of which were for over £150.

I don't suppose anyone can think of any other ways I could get this jokers address, I've no problem paying him a visit with "the boys" as it were.

robnye

did you receive an ebay invoice from them before you paid?

have you tried for contact details via ebay, using the ebay auction id (might not work as the id is now 'non registered')

try emailing the the other ebayers that have left positive feedback for them, asking for details, they may have an address, especially as not everyone uses paypal