Sphock Scam

7Mark7

I'm an idiot. I have been scammed today by Jesse B from the Isle of Wight who has taken £160 from me through Paypal. I won an item on Sphock, chatted with the seller who seemed legit and nice. I paid through send a friend (as she requested). An hour later Sphock emailed me saying don't deal with the user, user suspended, if you have paid recall the money. I have contacted Paypal who basically say tough.

Anyone have any ideas? Absolutely seething right now.
:mad:

Spoonie_Turtle

I seem to recall PayPal seller protection covers chargebacks; I don't know how a chargeback works but as friends&family doesn't cover that, presumably that would be the way to go.

You may get replies saying you should have paid as goods&services but you know that anyway, and the reality is that with informal transactions we don't always do that - I'll be honest, I don't always and I've been fortunate (I know that). Unfortunately paying as friends&family is always a risk and one we should only take as an informed decision. I will be interested to hear if there is anything you can do.

Edit: out of curiosity, was it something to be collected or posted?

Edit 2: or it might be a bank reversal, if your bank account was the funding source. It looks like chargeback is for when using debit/credit cards as the funding source.

7Mark7

Hello Spoonie

What do you mean chargeback?

I paid through Paypal friends and family and the funding source was a credit card. I didn't know friends and family was a risk I just thought it was a paypal transaction when you don't have an ebay account.

Thank you

:mad:

pinkshoes

7Mark7 wrote: »

Hello Spoonie

What do you mean chargeback?

I paid through Paypal friends and family and the funding source was a credit card. I didn't know friends and family was a risk I just thought it was a paypal transaction when you don't have an ebay account.

Thank you

:mad:

PayPal cannot reverse it, but I think your bank can. Contact your credit card provider.

I think this will mean that you then owe PayPal the money, so will get chased by PayPal for the debt. They probably won’t bother chasing that amount, but you I’ll never be able to use PayPal again.

7Mark7

Thanks Pink Shoes

Not really helpful if I can't use paypal again. They have the world sewn up for paying anyone

But I am appreciative of your response so please don't be offended.

7Mark7

I should point out the email address of the scammer jessbrown082@gmail.com so that if anyone ever gets a request from this person, they should know to avoid making payments. Payment went to S Morris.

Address was 4 West Hill Road Ryde Isle of Wight PO33 1LG

soolin

7Mark7 wrote: »

I should point out the email address of the scammer jessbrown082@gmail.com so that if anyone ever gets a request from this person, they should know to avoid making payments. Payment went to S Morris.

Address was 4 West Hill Road Ryde Isle of Wight PO33 1LG

7Mark7 wrote: »

I'm an idiot. I have been scammed today by Jesse B from the Isle of Wight who has taken £160 from me through Paypal. I won an item on Sphock, chatted with the seller who seemed legit and nice. I paid through send a friend (as she requested). An hour later Sphock emailed me saying don't deal with the user, user suspended, if you have paid recall the money. I have contacted Paypal who basically say tough.

Anyone have any ideas? Absolutely seething right now.
:mad:

The only way to chargeback is to do a fraudulent use of a card claim,and that would involve the OP lying to their bank, so really not a good idea.

OP, you have the address, check it out online, google it see if it looks legit and not a guest house or such like. Then send a letter before action (do a search on the main boards here) and go to small claims. Most victims don't have the luxury of a postal address, you do, so make use of it.

Also as I tend to do can I please remind everyone to know how to use paypal, bank transfers etc before going ahead. Paypal do actually now put up a screen that warns you that friends and family is not safe for strangers- and you have to confirm before you go ahead. If we all watch what we do, and keep an eye on friends and colleagues who may not be as savvy as us online- we can stop these scumbag scammers from getting away with it.

soolin

7Mark7 wrote: »

I'm an idiot. I have been scammed today by Jesse B from the Isle of Wight who has taken £160 from me through Paypal. I won an item on Sphock, chatted with the seller who seemed legit and nice. I paid through send a friend (as she requested). An hour later Sphock emailed me saying don't deal with the user, user suspended, if you have paid recall the money. I have contacted Paypal who basically say tough.

Anyone have any ideas? Absolutely seething right now.
:mad:

One more thought, even though Shpock say this is dodgy, have you actually been scammed yet? Have you tried contacting the seller, is our item overdue etc? Shpock have been known to panic too early, I got a fraud warning on a regular buyer of mine once - I had no issue with him but he said he had been banned as a couple of sellers had complained about him- he still buys from me even now.

7Mark7

Thank you Soolin.

Your point about paypal putting up a screen??? I never got a screen. It just allowed me to pay. All it says is there are no fees. Nothing about strangers. No doubt I'm supposed to read their gajillion pages of T&C's but ..........

The address is real. It's 180 miles away from me. I haven't received the item yet and I have made numerous attempts to contact the seller and have not had a reply.

Would the local Hampshire or IOW police go around if I asked to check out the occupiers? I have reported the crime to the police.

Thanks

soolin

7Mark7 wrote: »

Thank you Soolin.

Your point about paypal putting up a screen??? I never got a screen. It just allowed me to pay. All it says is there are no fees. Nothing about strangers. No doubt I'm supposed to read their gajillion pages of T&C's but ..........

The address is real. It's 180 miles away from me. I haven't received the item yet and I have made numerous attempts to contact the seller and have not had a reply.

Would the local Hampshire or IOW police go around if I asked to check out the occupiers? I have reported the crime to the police.

Thanks

No the Police are very unlikely to go round, obviously you could try but I suspect they will see this as minor.

Incidentally, how did you get the address, did seller give it to you and if so have you any way of knowing it is really the right one and not a random one they chose?

The LBA is the way to go now, you could get that started today and have a letter in the post by the time the PO closes at lunchtime, at least get the ball rolling.

7Mark7

Yes the seller gave me the address when I offered to collect the headphones.

I've used an online template and have emailed the LBA to the seller. I've have also started but not completed the small court claim.

I feel a little less agitated now that I am taking some action. Whether it amounts to anything remains to be seen. I am so annoyed with myself because this would never happen to me, I'm smarter than this or at least I thought so, but it just proves that even the smart ones are not beyond reach of the criminal fraternity.

Thank you for giving me guidance. I would not have considered these approaches. Incidentally, what does the small court claim do? Does it track the person, threaten legal action, then recover the money?

Thanks