Got Scammed, Paypal Has Been 0 Help, How Can I Get My Money Back?

[martinmmorrow]

A seller on Instagram by the name of @invinceabledodger818 was supposed to sell me 3 items. I sent him $ via Paypal and then he never sent the items. I tried contacting him multiple times and filed a dispute through Paypal but they said it was authorized. Is there anything else I can do to get my money back?

[kernowlass]

@martinmmorrow 

Did you use the friends / family option to pay? If so then..............

A friends / family (or gift payment) is intended as a transfer of funds from family or friends to one another. For this reason, there is no processing fee when payment is made with bank or PayPal balance.
However as it is a “gift” payment, there is also no Buyer protection as no goods or services should have been exchanged.

If he was not a close mate or family member you should never use that option as it enables the seller to evade paying his paypal fees and negates your buyer protection at the same time. You would also not be able to open a dispute apart from one citing an unauthorised transaction (when your Paypal account has been used to make the transaction without your consent).

You also 'risk' having your account limited for using this option when you are purchasing goods as its against Paypal user agreement.

If you funded your paypal payment via a credit card then contact your card issuer and see if they will assist you but unfortunately as it was a 'gift' payment they may decline as well.