My First Paypal Fraud Reversal

[mahsauction]

Well today I got my first Paypal Fraud Reversal. I sold a $14US item, got paid with Paypal, shipped the next day and 2 days later got this notification from Paypal. I logged into Paypal and sure enough there is the pending reversal. I'm pretty sure I am going to lose the money because this transaction was with a unconfirmed Canadian.

My question is this: What other things should I be doing? The item is still in transit according to CP tracking. Is there a way to stop shipping the item? (I don't think there is a way)

I found https://www.recol.ca to file online fraud with the RCMP.

I got the contact information from Ebay and called. Wrong phone number.

I've emailed PS Support about it.

He's also stolen from 5 other sellers as well. I've contacted them and they all have the same story.

Anything else I can do? I've basically resigned myself to have lost the money but I want this guy in jail.

[deltone]

OY!! Sorry to hear this mahsauction. Don't know what to say, really. I had something similar to this. I told him I was going to report him to his local police dept., local USPS fraud division, and his local district attorney's office. I got my money back. Not sure if that'll work for you though as this guy seems to have made a business out of this sort of thing!! GOOD LUCK

[amberwoodottawa]

I would contact the local police and give them the story together with the shipping address.

If this guy is ripping off eBay sellers then he is probably burglarizing houses and stealing old ladies purses fo the police would more than likely have an interest in this.

That is not to say you will get your money back however you may get some satisfaction, as you suggested, seeing this guy carted off to jail.

Malcolm

[llee2]

What's this loser's user ID? Wouldn't you think that some red light goes off at Paypal if he's filed 5 complaints of non-receipt within days of the auction ending?

[mahsauction]

Wasen't non-receipt he filed. Paypal was notified that the funds used to pay for the auctions may have been fraudulent (ie stolen credit card or hijacked Paypal account).

[llee2]

Ahh... I see...Was the shipping address confirmed? Or was it some PO Box or something?

[mahsauction]

No an unconfirmed Canadian address but 99% of my Canadian addresses are unconfirmed.

Strange thing is that the mailing address is not a PO Box. So what's to stop the police from visiting the house address.

I thought about contacting the local police but I get the feeling I might need to contact the RCMP because of the different jurisdictions involved.

[llee2]

Here's a long shot but have you tried contacting this buyer? I know sometimes Paypal freezes accounts if they suspect fradulent activity. From what others have said "fradulent activity" sometimes is just another user accusing you of fraud (with little or no proof). Almost like Paypal is jumping the gun or being overprecautious. Wondering if his account merely got frozen by Paypal rather than him actively reversing a single payment. If this is the case, maybe you should contact Paypal for more info on how you should proceed.

[amberwoodottawa]

Try checking the online white pages for his phone number based on the shipping address and call him directly.

Tape the conversation and dont threaten him but suggest that he (or she) gets payment to you immediately.

Malcolm

[mahsauction]

I did pull the contact info and tried calling. Person who answered never heard of the person and the address I gave him was not his.

[amberwoodottawa]

Dont pull the contact information from eBay.

Do an online search (www.canada411.com). While the name he gave you may not be correct, you can "refine" your search after entering the basic information that you have such as his fake name and city address.

There are several other online search tools you can also use. I had tracked an American customer down this way.

Malcolm

[mahsauction]

Malcolm,

Thanks for the idea, found a site that did reverse address lookups and found a name and phone number. Will try calling tonight.

[acurael]

411.ca works great for that - you can search based on address rather than names.

We got ripped once for $500 by a Canadian - filed reports with RCMP and both our local and the scammers local police departments. Scammers local PD actually visited, but was unable to do anything, despite us having server logs with static ip's that he used, signed delivery confirmations, etc.

I'd also suggest that those running online scams aren't the same people stealing purses, etc. - they seem to think they can hide behind the net - and in my experience it seems they can.

Plus, laws in this country being what they are (relative to the US) - it's no big deal if you do get caught.

Anyhow, don't meant to put a damper on your situation - just relating my experiences.

Good luck and be glad it was only $14 USD!

Wade

[mahsauction]

Thanks Wade for the information. It seems unfortunate that a crook can get away so easily. Even if we have information about that person.

Is it important to contact the local PD or contacting the RCMP sufficent?

[randall@ebay.com]

mahsauction,

In many cases it is a simple misunderstanding. Contacting the buyer may be very helpful in resolving your issue.

Regards,
Randall
PayPal Consumer Relations

[mahsauction]

Have been trying to. Phone number from Ebay contact info is wrong. No replies to email as well Randall.

Terry

[shooger]

"In many cases it is a simple misunderstanding. Contacting the buyer may be very helpful in resolving your issue."

Okay, I feel like that's just WRONG. Randall is an awesome guy, it just doesn't seem like him to come along, offer a generic response (which indicates that he didn't actually read the discussion AND minimizes Terry's valid distress feelings). 😞

Sorry for your frustration, Terry! What a horrible feeling to have someone not only rip you off, but do it blatantly and right under your nose. My advice is to leave negative feedback (right away, don't wait) and report his eBay account as having an invalid contact information. Usually that gets the person NARUd within a day or two. If there's any chance of you getting the reversal/chargeback cancelled, having the person NARUd with negative feedback on his profile can only help your case. Best of luck!

[randall@ebay.com]

shooger and mahsauction,

Sorry if that seemed generic. It was meant as a general (not generic) guideline to follow. Often times problems arise simply due to a breakdown in communication. I saw that the OP tried calling, but didn't see anything about emailing. Hoped it might work.

Regards,
Randall
PayPal Consumer Relations

[acurael]

I've been down this road a few times - I've always tried the law enforcement that's local to the scammer - they've always wanted me to file a report locally first.

If you have the delivery address, you can do a phone number search for that address at 411.ca

If it's an unlisted number, you can get a copy of the title from the local land registry - sometimes for free, sometimes for a small fee. This will give you the name(s) of the people who own the property where the alleged scammer had the stuff sent.

We're a pretty helpful group here - maybe one of us lives near the delivery address? I once had a friend drive by and take a picture of the delivery address for a scammer - the scammer quickly changed his mind and cancelled the chargeback - no threat implied - I just asked if this was his house and his car in the driveway 🙂

Don't let it get you down, stuff like this sucks, but it's part of the expense of doing business.

[itrecovery]

if shipment has tracking, it means that item can stopped at local CP office. Call CP for return of the package.

Anatoly