How do I know if a transaction ID is genuine?

[Irishlass65]

How do I tell if a transaction Id is legit? I received an email saying my pymt is on hold from a prospective buyer pending shipment???? Not sure if its a scammer? 

[sharpiemarker]

@Irishlass65 

Check your PayPal account for record of payment. Click on the transactions to check if the gross amount is correct and related to this sale. If you don’t see a payment related to this order, the buyer sent a fake payment email confirmation. Check the raw email header to see who sent the email, too.

Even if the payment is on hold you’ll still see record of payment in your PayPal account.

A transaction ID does not contain dashes. Consists of letters (in caps) and numbers. 17 characters.

Call PayPal to verify the transaction ID and ask if you have an incoming payment:

https://www.paypal.com/smarthelp/contact-us      

Click “Message Us” or “Call Us” option on the bottom.   

Or reach out to PayPal at Facebook or Twitter.    

https://www.facebook.com/PayPal     

Twitter: @AskPayPal   

When someone really pays, you’ll see the transaction in your account with what to do next in the transaction details and an email confirmation from PayPal.