Disputes were opened and closed within minutes and it wasn't me have you ever heard of this?

[thecool300]

Hello all, I'm more than sure I was scammed by a seller. Payed for a product and it got shipped to the wrong address confirmed by UPS. The thing thats very weird is the very next day I payed the seller I received 2 emails. 1 that says I opened a dispute (which I didn't) and literally within minutes I received an email saying I closed the dispute ( again I did no such thing). Of course the day of delivery I didn't receive anything and then I filed a claim. Person on the phone said once I open and close a dispute I cant re-open it. Has anyone ever heard of this? Disputes actually opening and just closing without the user doing so?

[adamandeva10]

No! Disputes are really a big deal and they take a lot more work that just pushing a button. If someone says you re-opened a dispute, that's impossible, from what I have been told, no matter the reason. They would just make you open another dispute. When you paid for this product, I assumed you put in the right address? Were you given shipping information? And, were you able to track that information? If I was you, and that ever happened again, I would ask that UPS stop the shipment and hold the package, especially since the shipment is in your name (hopefully), then you can claim it. While that might cause the shipper to want it back, they would than probably look like a scammer. There are all kinds of ways that you, as the shipper can change information, once the package leaves IF you have the right tracking number. Make sure the package is always in your name, just so that you can claim it with an I.D. So all this person did was have you buy something and then sent it to themselves, essentially keeping the product. 

However, what I don't get is that after the package was shipped to the wrong address, why did you pay for the product? The whole thing, if it ended up elsewhere is their fault for addressing it wrong. And they should have caught the error and fixed it before the drop off. That can be done. Did you feel that this was in some way your error because, if you didn't get the product, why did you pay for it? And, after the mix up happened, no matter what someone promises you, until you get the product, you do not pay. Don't let people give you any kind of story because when it comes down to it, they are all lies! A sob story given during a sale is always catfishing. Because no one who buys and sells things, when making a mistake, would beg someone to pay for something they couldn't even get them. Never feel bad for fake tears. Always think about the situation and not what the person tells you. You will never get the truth from their words only the actions and things that happen. The best indicator of duplicity is not what people say it is what they do!

And while you may have gotten this dispute emails they are probably made up. The seller may be trying to find out what you are doing about what has happened, to find out about the actions you may have taken against them. Because you can always call PayPal about things and ask, if you are worried. All you say, to get someone to speak with is nothing but customer service over and over. It worked for me. 

Please be safe. When a sale seems to good, it usually is. Read reviews people write while buying products. Always make sure to confirm things. Take control of things when you are buying something, rather than let the seller take the lead. And, if there are too many calls, emails, too much drama surrounding a sale, you are probably being scammed. Never believe what a seller tells you because a person who truly wants to sell you something, does not tell you their life story, along with the sale. Say, I'm sorry to hear that, and move the conversation on to the product or sale, if they keep redirecting you to personal information, the sale is pointless because you will never get the product you want, in the end, and may end up losing a lot more!

These scammers talk about the people they scam as if they are objectives, targets, not even people, with feelings, hopes (the buyers) and that need money to survive themselves! They do not care if they wipe you out and now that they have got away with it once, they usually come back again. Because they know that they got away with it. Right now you have to be EVER vigilant with anything you receive in your email, through the phone. When a person finds someone to steal from, in this manner, since they know it worked they will try again in different way because, I am sorry to say, they know that you fell for it. Why keep looking for new people to take advantage of when they have someone on the hook already? And maybe the dispute emails they sent are part of a second scam, I don't know. I just hate people who steal money rather than get a real job and make it on their own!  Because scammers are there to abuse you, take all they can from you and, in the end, will leave you embarrassed, ashamed, and out of money. No matter how cheap something is, it's not worth all that! And, if you don't cancel your card, make sure you watch all your transactions. (If you card isn't a dire necessity to you at the moment, in 7-10 days you could have a new one the scammer would not know)

I hope you are no longer dealing with the seller. I hope you have reported them for what they have done. The longer you wait the more time they have to move your money and do this to other people. Let PayPal know what happened. But, yes, it sounds like you were scammed. 

P.S. I was just thinking if you paid for the product because they told you that it was your fault the product got shipped to the wrong place, if you gave them the right address, then all this is their fault. If they wanted you to pay because delivery was made (but not to you) to me, this does not sound right. No reliable seller would demand payment with a mistake like that. They would want to give better service. And, what I am thinking, that if this is the situation that happened, that you paid for the product before it got to you but was shipped to another address, they sent the dispute emails because they want to find out if you are disputing the payment or not. I guess your not going to know if the seller is a scammer or not. It sounds like it, with the demand of the payment early. What I would do is call PayPal, ask them to put a hold on the payment as the product was not received yet and then, when you get it pay. If the seller does not like that, too bad. They should have sent the package correctly the first time. Do you know that they could have changed the address on that package right before it was delivered. Oddly yesterday I was getting a package, a book. I had mistakenly switched the first two numbers of my street address around. I got a email from the sender that UPS had attempted delivery and there was no one to receive the package. So, the mistake was caught. And, the sender changed the address last night and I got the package today. That is how a legitimate people do things. And since you are a legitimate person, do the legitimate things. If anything veers outside that, well you know something is wrong. If you were not given tracking information however on the package...as a buyer that is your right to. This is such a fishy situation. Be careful. But, put that payment on hold! 

[thecool300]

You answer is appreciated and thank you - your suggestions may be very true - here's the short story - I purchased a camera on Saturday and payed extra for overnight shipping knowing it would come on Monday since they don't do Sunday deliveries. So I payed the seller on Saturday. Sunday approaches and I received 1 email saying I filed a dispute and within 5 minutes i got another email saying I closed the dispute. There was no reason for me to file the dispute since I wasn't expecting anything until Monday. I got scared and called Paypal right away and yes they confirmed that I open and closed the dispute. I told them it wasn't me and they added it to my notes. As for the seller they disappeared and I haven't heard from them again. I'm normally careful about who i'm sending my money to. The person seemed legit but I guess thats the idea lol. My address is correct and paypal today did get on the UPS and confirmed the seller sent something to a different address.  I'm so glad I did services and goods option and not the family and friends.

I just wanted to make sure there isn't some kind of scam that involves somebody other than the user opening and closing disputes. If you say that isn't a thing then maybe there a glitch somewhere. Regardless thank you so much for reading and taking the time to read my question!

[adamandeva10]

Hmmm....the scary thing is, to open and close a dispute, how do you do this without very detailed account info. I didn't know that this was real PayPal open and close account stuff. Think about it, if you didn't open a dispute, someone did, legitimately, and you need some pretty intense information to do that. I mean they would either need to log into your PayPal account of have your card number and last four. And, since that is the easiest way to do it, they probably called in PayPal. I wonder if PayPal has a log of that call to see how much info. of yours they have. Really, what I now realize and, it sucks, is that the last four of people could be fairly easy to find. And, they had your card #. In the end they didn't get the money right? And, never use family and friends unless that's the truth! As I said you should never accept sob stories from strangers. They should have family and friends for that (lol). And you never know. Be vigilant now and watch out for the seller coming in guise of a different sale or whatever. And, overnight sales, Bed Bath and Beyond asked me the last time if I wanted something overnight (for free) of course I picked that option...took them over a week to get it to me except for the outside vendor who sent my sheets the next day! Like I said...things that are too good to be true! Anyway, I am such a suspicious person by nature and after my life experiences....

Take care and like I said...the seller may pop up with some kind of offer down the line. Didn't they send you tracking information? Because with that information, once the seller gives them the package, you can end up changing the address too, I believe, if there are any issues. 

[thecool300]

holy crap - they asked for a screen shot of the transaction - I thought it was to prove that I payed - and yes it did have my card number in asterisks... and it showed my last 4 digits of my card.... WOW!!! So they can call with just those 4 numbers?

[PayPal_JonK]

Hello @thecool300 and @adamandeva10, 

Welcome to the PayPal Community Forum. I'm sorry to hear there's been some confusion regarding a recent dispute. I'd be happy to clear a few things up. 

We never recommend providing the last four of your card, ssn, or any other financial information to anyone outside of PayPal as those may be used to validate your identity when contacting Customer Support. If you've provided that kind data to anyone outside of PayPal, please contact our Customer Support again as soon as it's convenient for you to report that activity.

In regard to our dispute process - it is correct that once a dispute or claim is closed by the buyer it cannot be reopened. I understand you're stating you did not close it and you've reported that to our support teams. If you reach back out to them, I would recommend mentioning the merchant requested a screenshot of the transaction from you. It may or may not potentially change the outcome of the dispute, but it would be important to notate on the case. If our support is unable to assist further with this dispute, and you funded the transaction with a debit / credit card or a bank, you may want to reach out to your funding source to see what kind of dispute options are available. For future transactions, you can read about our Dispute Process and Purchase Protection here.

Also, here's a great article If you ever receive a suspicious email and another on How to spot fake or phishing emails and sites. 

I hope that information helps. Good luck with this and future transactions. 

 - Jon K