PayPal enabling scammers

[Valjacfin]

Anyone else have problems with PayPal enabling scammers?  PayPal are complicit in helping scammers steal from us even though they say they protect us.

[kernowlass]

@Valjacfin 

Chinese Web Sites or on Social Media ads easy to spot (once you know the below signs) so buyer beware.

Paypal would not be able to check every individual seller / merchant / company in over 200 countries worldwide that adds paypal to their website to accept payments.

So they give some buyer and some seller protection. However that protection can never be a 100% coverall so you need to read it so you can risk assess your transactions.

They do stop bad companies from using Paypal when enough claims start rolling in.
However as they are in China (mostly) then its easy for them to just start over with a new name, so stopping them does not really do anything.

The best thing is to not buy from them in the first place, to recognise them -

1. No return address on the returns policy. The site will look as if its in your country (where they despatch goods from) but they will ask for returns to go back to China (returns depot) at a shipping cost often more than the item is worth.
2. No contact telephone number. if you click on contact the most you will get is webmail or an email address.
3. Rarely company address information.
4. Great pictures of items at bargain prices that turn out to be tat.
5. Fake reviews.
6. Google and you can often see previous company names as they change them once enough claims roll in and Paypal stop them using their services and start over.
7. Send fake tracking numbers to win item non receipt of item claims.

[Valjacfin]

This info is only useful after the fact. Buyer can only check so far and I thought I'd thoroughly checked out this company as far as possible. I now find out this isn't a new problem and PayPal has known about it for at least 2 years. I don't believe that PayPal hasn't had enough problems flagged up. The company I used had a UK address but covered many many company names and sell to USA and most if not all of Europe. All trading under the same umbrella name of Landbase Trading Co. I've spoken to other buyers who've had the same problems as me with this company and got no help from PayPal, so don't pretend you haven't had enough complaints about it. In fact there's a whole article from Digital Marketing Agency, Northwich and Cheshire, about PayPal knowingly making money by helping Chinese scammers from 2 years ago. You're protecting the scammers but not your customers. In my eyes that makes you complicit.

[kernowlass]

@Valjacfin 

Hundreds of these scam companies worldwide, its not up to paypal to check out who you purchase from that is up to you.

They are a payment processor and give you 'some' buyer protection.

Do you expect your credit card company to investigate every merchant you purchase from all over the world to see if they are legit?

No, because they equally give you 'some' buyer protection.

Also I have not had a single complaint. Why would someone who works in healthcare receive a complaint from you about a company???

All I do is give up my time to try and help other users of this forum recognise a scam company to prevent them from being scammed and the best ways to try and get their funds back if they are scammed.

[Valjacfin]

Sorry, I wasn’t meaning to reply to you personally. It was aimed at PayPal

The company I used had an English address. It also had a telephone number and an email address, which subsequently came up as undeliverable.  I followed PayPal guidelines for checking for scammers and did the same checks as a reasonable person would do short of travelling the length of the country to knock on their door.  I don’t expect PayPal to check out every company, but expect them to have our backs when we've taken reasonable precautions to prevent it happening. After all, protecting customers from fraud is one of you selling points.
I tried to leave a link for the article about PayPal and Chinese scammers but I couldn’t do so on this page.   It was only £16.99 I lost, but when you think how many countries are being sold to and the multiple companies  with different names(I’ve found at least 20) that are under the umbrella name, they and PayPal must be raking a fair bit money from them.

[kernowlass]

@Valjacfin 

Sadly its the way of the world, scammers everywhere.

Only today there was a programme on scammers that used Revolut to make a lady transfer funds from her bank account for security as she thought it was the bank phoning her.

Then the scammers emptied that Revolut account, however Revolut were not responsible, the lady herself had done it.

We can protect ourselves as much as possible and companies can protect us as much as possible but sadly no person or company can give us 100% protection.

I got taken in by a Facebook china scam years ago, chucked the item in the bin and put it down to a learning curve.

[Valjacfin]

Yes, happened to me before too, but it was a larger amount and my credit card company did a reverse charge and got the money back. It’s just galling when you think of the scale of it and these Chinese  scammers are getting away with it without any comeback. Most of the women I’ve talked to are too embarrassed at being caught out and don’t bother to do anything about it or get met with a wall if they try to. It is often small amounts and even to get it looked at they’ve had to jump through hoops to try and get their money back with no result at all. Most people just don’t have the time or energy to push it and the fraudsters know that.   I don’t understand why PayPal doesn’t do reverse charges when they know customers have been scammed, especially when they say they protect you from fraud.  It might deter the scammers too.  

[Valjacfin]

Wow! I’m shocked. PayPal has just found in my favour and say they’re issuing a £16.06  I’d been told I’d lost my case and it had been closed, then nothing else.

Well done PayPal. I hope everyone else is a lucky.  I don’t know if you had anything to do with this, but thanks if you did.