Why does PayPal not help against fraud, leaving victims feeling blamed or unsupported?

[AfraChan]

We were scammed by fraudulent PayPal emails, which resulted in a negative balance on our account. Rather than helping us recover the money from the scammers, PayPal authorized a third party to collect the funds from us. Is this really how PayPal conducts business?

Here is the timeline for our case:

20-Jul-24

• Got deceived by fake buyers on Facebook. $1090 CAD was transferred under "friends and family" ($640 via auto-deposit, $450 via debit card).
• Contacted PayPal for help. They advised us to contact our bank, wait for the transactions to be reflected on the account, and file a chargeback.
• Contacted our bank. The transaction for $450 was completed on the same day, while the $640 was not.
• We followed the bank's instructions: filing a chargeback for $450 and using stop payment instructions to stop the $640.
• Reported our case to the local police online and received an approved police report.

21-Jul-24

• Reported the case through the PayPal Resolution Centre, but no appropriate options were available.
• Provided a detailed note about our situation within the case.

27-Jul-24

• Contacted PayPal online customer support.
• Learned that the negative balance was due to PayPal advancing the money to the recipient on our behalf, but they couldn’t retrieve the funds from our bank.
• Uploaded all the information, including the online chat record and police report, to PayPal.
• PayPal mentioned they would reach out to their cybercrime department via IC3.gov.

01-Aug-24

• PayPal decided that the case reported on July 21, 2024, was not unauthorized and therefore could not be covered by PayPal Purchase Protection.

29-Aug-24

• Received a refund of $450 from the bank.

03-Sep-24

• Received an email from National Credit Recovery Inc., stating they were authorized by PayPal to collect the $640.
• Contacted PayPal customer service via hotline for assistance, but no one could clarify what we should do regarding the email.

04-Sep-24

• Contacted National Credit Recovery Inc. and explained our situation. They placed the case on hold.
• Contacted PayPal customer service again and requested that our case be escalated.
• A customer service agent informed us that they would investigate and get back to us within 24 hours to 10 days.
• Submitted a complaint to PayPal online, but no email acknowledgment has been received yet.

We would appreciate it if PayPal could handle our case more seriously and provide us with timely updates.

We are willing to pay if PayPal confirms that, rather than holding scammers and criminals accountable, they place the responsibility on victims.

[kernowlass]

@AfraChan 

Sorry but you sent funds using the friends/family option against paypal rules to purchase something and then you expect paypal to bail you out?

They front the payment to the seller on your behalf and if they refunded you then paypal would be out of pocket for something you did against their rules !!

You negated your buyer protection by sending the funds that way but now you want buyer protection so you get reimbursed???

[AfraChan]

@kernowlass 
Thank you for your comment. We understand your point about PayPal's buyer protection policies, and we acknowledge that we may have unintentionally violated them by sending funds through the "friends and family" option. However, our primary concern is PayPal's decision to authorize a third party to collect funds from us before fully investigating the case.

We reported the issue to both our bank and PayPal on the same day. Our bank conducted a thorough investigation and even refunded part of the money, while also taking steps to stop further transactions. In contrast, we haven't received clear updates from PayPal regarding their investigation or what actions, if any, they took to protect the funds.

Although we recognize that buyer protection may not apply, we believe PayPal had the opportunity to investigate the case thoroughly before allowing funds to be withdrawn by scammers. We are simply asking for clarity on why PayPal would take steps to recover money from victims before concluding an investigation. We would like to know what measures, if any, PayPal took to minimize the loss and protect us in this situation.