I have a situation where I accepted a payment for a friend. I was told that it was a payment for work. I accepted the payment and transferred it to my bank account, then gave her money for the transaction. 5 days later, I get a chargeback for the amount, $290+ for "$400 worth of eBay Gift cards" This 'buyer' was convincing enough to have screenshots with my friend who was 'selling' these gift cards. Basically showing that she ghosted him after he paid her for the cards via Facebook Marketplace. Now, I'm not dumb, but this was 100 percent fishy to me, as the Facebook profile this guy used didn't match the name on the PayPal account. The name on the PayPal account is/was someone I used to know who died in 2021. The address connected to the PayPal account is 3,000 miles away with a fake address that from what I can tell that doesn't exist. His messages are getting more and more hostile in the Resolution Center. I think my 'friend' and this PayPal user are connected, and they are using the chargeback to scam me out of money for the product she didn't deliver. I've already contacted my local law enforcement and filed a report with all the information and screenshots. When a dispute happens and the time window runs out, what happens with the transaction? Will PayPal try and take that money back? If I escalate the issue to PayPal, what's the process of investigation? Do they make sure the person making the claim is legitimate? I believe my 'friend' the 'seller' and the 'buyer' are working together to scam money from me with the chargeback feature. Anybody have any experience with an issue like this?
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