On-line scam and Paypal is requesting an internal USPS document that it is impossible for me to get.

[pharpe]

I was involved in an online scam where my paypal account was charged but I received no receipt from the vendor and they provided a fake tracking number.  I reported all of the details and provided copies of my emails to the vendor.  

I on 12/2 I attempted to purchased a computer monitor from an online site and paid using Paypal. After submitting the transaction I never received confirmation or a receipt. I did get an email from Paypal that my account was charged. I submitted a request for a receipt via the website customer service link explaining the issue and asked for a confirmation and receipt for the order. I did not get any reply and sent additional emails to the contact email on the Paypal receipt and got no answers.  On 12/4/2019 there was an update on paypal with a tracking number. USPS tracking only shows the city and zip of the destination but not the full address.   I tracked the package, and when it was supposedly delivered, nothing actually arrived.  I have video evidence there was no delivery.

I contacted the post office and found out that the tracking number was spoofed. It was an real tracking number but for an unrelated package that was going to the same city and zip but not my address.   It was from Albany NY and sent to a comply different name and address. It was also only 1 ounce. (Mine was supposed to be a 27" monitor). 

At this point I filed a claim with paypal with all this info.  Paypal closed the case the next day without even talking to me or the seller.  They just said the item was delivered based on the fake tracking number.  I called and spoke to an Paypal agent and explained all of the detail again.  She said I needed to get an Intranet for from the USPS showing the details of the tracking number and upload that.  When I called USPS I was told that the Intranet for is an internal only document and they do not provide that to the public.

So in a case of clear documented fraud Paypal if requiring a document that it is impossible for me to obtain?  What do I do at this point?

[Gurhan1975]

That is exactly what Paypal is doing. Protecting perpetrators instead of customers. This loophole is very well know and many people have suffered from it, yet Paypal is making money and not protecting the customers. Everybody should be made aware of Paypal’s integrity and how it treats its customers how they protect scammers.

[Jtmason01]

I am in the same position. I ordered a product of of a fb ad. From the beginning it was a scam. Pay pal payed totally diffrent company from the add. Now they want the same document from the USPS seems to me paypal is proffiting from these scammers. I am done with paypal and fb they are about profits rather than protecting their members from an obvious scam

[Deb_57]

I’ve had four different fraudulent Items sent to me in place of the ordered items myself. First one was a baby car seat that I ordered and I received a mask. For that item I never received a receipt from the seller. And the tracking number did not go through so I did get reimbursed for that one from PayPal. In place of that I received a blue cheapie mask that you get when you go to the store and you don’t have one to wear in the store so they give you one....And then I ordered a portable icemaker’s and received A ring, and I also ordered an umbrella for my patio area back by the pool as well as the two lounge chairs for my pool area. For those I also received two rings identical to the first ring. The rings are pieces of garbage but they do show that something was delivered so same thing because there is a tracking and something was delivered PayPal denied the claim because something was delivered. I got refunded for the umbrella and an icemaker. This most recent Of the lounger chairs was the one that got denied even though the tracking shows that a small package was delivered to the mailbox. Do you think PayPal could figure that one out? Two lounger chairs do not fit in a small package in your mailbox. Don’t know how to get them to understand that.

[Taz85]

Yes totally understand the same thing happened to me three times

[Taz85]

I ordered a table stand made from wood & stone.Apparently according to PayPal I received it .contacted Royal Mail and when I gave the tracking even before sharing I haven’t received item the person said anything ending with CN is a scam and PayPal know it too.PayPal have asked me to provide them with a intranet form which don’t exist our purchase are unsecure and we clearly have no protection from being scammed and getting money back.PayPal closed my case and said the tracking shows I received the item .funny thing I didn’t even recieve the placebo let alone the actual item.PayPal is allowing this too happen.

[pharpe]

"Go to your local post office (in person) and file mail fraud report and demand nicely an Intranet Report"

This is not the solution. The Intranet Report is an internal document not to be given out.  Hence the the word "intranet".  I'm sure some people have been successfully able to social engineer a USPS employee into giving it out but that should not be PayPal's requirement.  

This is not a post office issue it's a PayPal issue.  The correct fix is for PayPal to honor purchase protection for known scams such as this.  You are correct that persistence is key.  I was finally able to get PayPal to make this right after talking to the 4th or 5th manager.  It shouldn't be that hard however.

[Deb_57]

I have gone been going back-and-forth three times a day with PayPal on a chat… I’m not able to talk to anybody because the phone number that’s listed does not work anymore. And I’m sure it’s because there’s so many of these calls coming in from scams that they just knocked off the phone number and have to do it by chat. But anyway chatting with PayPal and it’s always a different person don’t know if they’ve read the whole thread or not and then contacted UPS which was the wrong place then have him he can’t contact USPS. Thank God I spoke to the same person that USPS three times now and she continues to tell me there is no Intranet form That they can give me. They informed me to let PayPal know that they could log onto US PS and put in the tracking number to see the tracking of the item and that it shows it’s a snall package. Again the item that was ordered was two lounger chairs for the pool area. They can’t figure out why PayPal would think lounger chairs would go through the mail and not through another company like UPS. I guess I’ll have to walk into the local post office and ask for an intranet form and see what happens

[Drayla1]

Here is my experience. I ordered something online. It was shipped UPS and I was provided a tracking number. It was shipped and delivered. But delivered to a different name and address in my city. I had this issue as well but upon talking to UPS about an “intranet form” and finding out such an animal does not exist. I did a little more research and spoke to a PayPal CSA. An intranet form you get from USPS. Apparently it’s a USPS thing not UPS. For UPS I went on their website and emailed their customer service(I had already opened an investigation with them) and requested verification that this was delivered but that it was not delivered to me. They sent me an email with in hours asking for a little more info and I sent them what they wanted and went to bed. Next morning I had the email in my inbox. I called PayPal back and referenced my claim number for the case I started against the scammer. The CSA asked me to send her the UPS email and before our call ended she sided in my favor!! The whole process from purchase to resolution was 5 days. USPS = intranet form. UPS = email from UPS that says yes.. package was delivered but to a different name and address in your city. Apparently scammers are stealing legit tracking numbers and providing it to the person they are scamming.

[DigitalNomad202]

Someone needs to sue PayPal over this clear scam! They hold the buyer more accountable than the scammer sellers! I was given a FAKE tracking number and told to get a signed Intranet form from USPS. I went and tried to elevate the request to my local post master but they REFUSED to sign the form because it wasn’t their tracking number! So scammers can provide a fake number and the buyers have to provide more documentation?? INSANE!

[Susan113]

I had this same issue. Ordered some shoes through Facebook from what I thought was a KEEN website.

It was a scam and although I immediately tried to cancel the order, pay-pal won't let me.  Which is stupid.  Amazon and other places will let you do this as long as the item hasn't been shipped. It would have saved them the hassle, not allowed the scammers to win, and me a lot of wasted time.  I spent weeks chatting with different people each time explaining over and over that it was scam.  But Pay pal kept refusing to refund my money because tracking numbers showed the shoes had been delivered.   I went to the post office and they will not give  you an internal USPS document even though Pay pal insists you get one.  The post office  was very supportive and pointed out that both tracking numbers went to different addresses.  This is fraud.  I pointed this out to Pay pal and kept contacting them week after week.  Finally one day after weeks, my money was refunded.   I have to wonder how many people eventually give up and Pay pal and the scammers get away with it.  This was almost a year ago and I can't believe that Pay pal hasn't been held accountable for allowing this to continue.