Fraudulent buyers

heladam
New Community Member

Hi All

I advertised a watch on Gumtree and asked for payment via paypal thinking that there was a certain amount of insurance when buying and selling.

I received an email asking me to create a money request for the buyer so i did this.

I then received an email saying that the money had been paid and withheld  until delivery or postage was proven, i was asked to provide a tracking number, i sent the item and replied to the email with the tracking number, i then received an email asking for me to scan the postal receipt and send this, once received the money would be released into my account. I did this and received nothing more.

I contacted paypal and really got nowhere other than them suggesting they were fake emails,i explained they were very professional and convincing however no one seemed to be interested in my bogus emails.

I have sent the emails to paypal but heard nothing.

Does anyone know if a seller has the same protection as a buyer as i have lost £655 !!!!!

The issue has been reported to the police and the fraud prevention team and i have the name and address of who and where the watch was sent but no one seems to want to know,

does anyone have any advice please, i am stressed and sickened by what has happened and i'm sure i'm not the only one......please help.

Adam

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2 REPLIES 2

kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@heladam

 

SCAM....THERE IS NO SELLER PROTECTION AS NONE OF THE TRANSACTION WAS DONE USING PAYPAL.

BEEN ONGOING FOR AT LEAST 15 YEARS AND IS ALL OVER THE INTERNET AND THIS FORUM.


They encourage you to accept a 'direct' Paypal payment and may ask you to send the item internationally.
No funds or activity of the transaction shows in your Paypal account and any emails 'may' go into your junk or spam folders.

You will get/got a "fake" email that looks as though it is from paypal.....it isn't because they don't actually have a Paypal account and have no intention of paying you.
It will say the buyer has paid ...you won't have been paid.
They will tell you that the payment is released when you provide paypal with a tracking/shipping number......this won't happen.

Paypal NEVER tell you to send an item before the payment is showing in your paypal account.
Paypal do not tell you to send trackable, they advise it for selling protection but it is not compulsory.


Advice is voluntary.
Kudos / Solution appreciated.
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sharpiemarker
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@heladam wrote:

Hi All

I advertised a watch on Gumtree and asked for payment via paypal thinking that there was a certain amount of insurance when buying and selling.

I received an email asking me to create a money request for the buyer so i did this.

I then received an email saying that the money had been paid and withheld  until delivery or postage was proven, i was asked to provide a tracking number, i sent the item and replied to the email with the tracking number, i then received an email asking for me to scan the postal receipt and send this, once received the money would be released into my account. I did this and received nothing more.

I contacted paypal and really got nowhere other than them suggesting they were fake emails,i explained they were very professional and convincing however no one seemed to be interested in my bogus emails.

I have sent the emails to paypal but heard nothing.

Does anyone know if a seller has the same protection as a buyer as i have lost £655 !!!!!

The issue has been reported to the police and the fraud prevention team and i have the name and address of who and where the watch was sent but no one seems to want to know,

does anyone have any advice please, i am stressed and sickened by what has happened and i'm sure i'm not the only one......please help.

Adam


PayPal only emails you and tells you you got money. They do not tell you you got money and do this, do that. PayPal know you got enough sense to ship out goods once you receive payment for goods. Did you use PayPal shipping? that way you have to log on your account and see you got payment or not. You are not the only one. This happens quite a bit.

 

Unfortunately, since technical no transaction occurred through PayPal, they cannot help. Always check your PayPal account to see if payment is there, do not just take word of email that you got paid.


Kudos & Solved are greatly appreciated. 🙂
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