I believe I'be been scammed! Need some advice please

[Dupie]

Hi all, I recently bought something off FB Marketplace. Seller was normal and answered all my questions and provided photos, no issues. I then sent her the money through PayPal, she said she'll post it straight away, then nothing. No responses to my messages via Messenger or Paypal (classic). She's also deleted the item off Marketplace and the post she made in a public FB group (which is how I saw it). I can see that she's sent about 8 shipping email updates through PayPal with the AusPost tracking number that changes back and forth between "Order Processed" and "Shipped", then the last "update" I received was "Order Status: On Hold", which all seems to have been typed in manually. I have entered the tracking number into my AusPost app and can verify it's somehow legit (not sure if it's some e-parcel or something she's using), however not once has the status changed from "Pending" in my app. It's been almost 5 days now since she's "posted" the item/created a tracking number, however want to be strategic at how I deal with this. My question: I'm wanting to open a dispute, but want to be sure that I make the right decisions on how to go about it. 1) I'm worried that if I raise a dispute for seller not replying back, then I won't be able to raise another one if the item is in fact a scam. 2) If I raise a dispute asking for my money back, I wonder if she'll use her manual "update" for "Order Status: On Hold" against me to make PayPal believe that she is in fact going to post the item or there are issues with AusPost (which I can prove there hasn't been any updates). 3) if I raise a dispute without first receiving the "item", would that affect the dispute? I idiotically chose the wrong payment method to sent money from my bank account rather than the debit card the bank account is attached to, so unfortunately only have one shot at this and can't rely on the bank for help. Do I wait to raise a dispute so more time pass to prove the item isn't going anywhere? Any advice is appreciated on how to go about disputing this scam.

[PayPal_Bindu]

Hello @Dupie,

Welcome to the PayPal Community Forum and thanks for posting!

Sorry to hear about the issue with your purchase. No worries! PayPal purchase protection policy covers the purchase in case of any issues if certain requirements meet. If you sent the payment as a Goods & services payment, you can open a dispute for not receiving the item. Steps to open a dispute in your PayPal account can be found here. 

You have 20 days from the time you opened the dispute to resolve it with your seller. If you can't come to a resolution, you can escalate the dispute to claim. Once you escalate the dispute, PayPal will intervene and decide the outcome. PayPal system will review the tracking information by contacting the shipping carrier and to decide the outcome of the case the tracking status should show as delivered. 

Please note that the dispute will automatically close after 20 days unless it's been escalated. Once a dispute is closed, it cannot be reopened or escalated to a claim. Feel free to reach PayPal support team for any additional assistance. 

Hope this information helps you,

Bindu