Got Scammed as a Seller

[zmonet]

I was selling a pair of shoes online for $350 when "Bryan Grey" contacted me asking for more pictures to verify authenticity via Instagram. I sent him the photos and he asked to purchase them with overnight shipping, for a total of $400. He asked me to request the payment from him on Paypal so "he knew it was the right person." I did so, and he said he sent the money. I received an email from a regular Paypal email address saying I had received the funds and he sent me a screenshot of his Paypal account showing he paid the $400. I shipped the shoes and sent him the tracking number. Once they were delivered the next day and I asked if he received them, he never responded and I realized he had blocked me on the original selling site and on Instagram. I never received the money and realized the email and screenshot I received were fake.

I can't believe there's no way for me to open a dispute about this. I called Paypal to see if they could do anything... and they basically said no. They told me to report it to the police, and when I did that, the police said there was nothing they could do either and it should be up to Paypal to handle. Very frustrating that even though a clear theft occurred, the police aren't handling it and Paypal offers NO protection to sellers.

[PayPal_Nick]

Hi @zmonet,

I'm so sorry to hear this happened to you. It sounds like you were sent a fake email, not from PayPal, where the scammer pretended they were PayPal. This is a common scam used to defraud people with PayPal's name. You can learn more here, https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/report-problem. Unfortunately, there's no way for PayPal to stop someone from pretending to be PayPal. If you do receive a legitimate transaction with PayPal, you are covered via Seller Protection as long as it's sent via goods and services. You also can file a report online with the FBI, https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.