scam

[anna1201]

I believe I have been a victim of fraud. I have been in contact with PayPal by phone about an issue I have had with another PayPal user, Audrey Roberts. I sold her a phone via gum tree and asked her to send the payment of £85 to me via PayPal. I received an email from what I thought to be PayPal as it looked official. It told me that the payment of £85 had been made but that I would need to provide proof of postage to get the money, so I sent the parcel and provided the tracking information. I then received an email to say that there had been an error and the payment of £85 gone through 3 times, totalling £235, so I would need to send £150 back to Audrey Roberts so that I could get my £85. I contacted PayPal to try and resolve this matter, to discover that the email was not from them. They told me they would open a case and told me to email all of the correspondence I have had with her. I sent an email but it went to an unmanned mailbox, so I rang up PayPal again today to get the correct email address and to see if anything had been looked at, to be told that there was no case open and nothing was being done about anything. Ithis person I spoke to messaged Audrey about this fraudulent activity and gave me the reference number 9FX94296735051. I have been in contact with Audrey constantly trying to resolve this but I am not getting anywhere, and have Paypal looking into it, and have now reported the incident as a crime on ActionFraud.police.co.uk. My crime reference number is NFRC180402279859. I have documented evidence of this incident and personal information that can track this person down. E,g: 1. Text messages arranging the sale and the swapping of email and postal addresses. 2. Scam emails that looked like they were from PayPal. 3. Emails and texts arranging the transfer over money to refund the supposed overpayment including account details. 4. PayPal statements

[kernowlass]

@anna1201

Scams been ongoing for at least the 10 years I have helped on here.

Its a common scam using spoof emails for transactions on various sites and other companies.....

They may buy on Ebay but they use an anonymous or hijacked Ebay account and DO NOT have a Paypal account so they can't use Ebay checkout. They encourage you to accept a 'direct' Paypal payment and may ask you to send the item internationally.

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.

If the scam works and you send the item then they often try and get more money from you saying you have to pay customs fees or you have to refund an overpay via western union or moneygram for eg.

They also 'sometimes' threaten legal action...have a laugh at that one and ignore it as its rubbish.

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.
Paypal NEVER expect you to use a rival money transfer service eg Moneygram or Western Union etc.

Whilst paypal like you to report the spoofs so they can warn folks, there is no 'case' they can open for you as NONE of the transaction was done using Paypals site. They use fake names etc and often work out of an anonymous African internet cafe.