Why does PayPal facilitate fraud?

joshw4288
Contributor
Contributor

I've used PayPal for a long time and always assumed I would have buyer protection if something unlikely happened. The first time (September 2021) I filed a claim, I was denied. I purchased an item online and on what appeared to be a legitimate website that offered purchasing through PayPal. I thought that given they offered PayPal they couldn't be fraudulent since PayPal offers buyer protection. What reason would a scammer have for using a service that protects buyers? PayPal facilitated the fraud. I bought the item, never received it, never received tracking from the seller despite repeated attempted contact and, eventually, the website I purchased from disappeared. I filed a claim. The seller (from China) provided a tracking number for a package that couldn't possibly be mine given a) it came from Stockton, CA (not China) and b) the weight of the package was over 30 pounds (not the 2-3 pounds mine would have been). PayPal denied my claim because some random package with some random tracking number was delivered to some random address in my same city. PayPal didn't give a **bleep** despite me providing information confirming this. I wish I had used my credit card, which would have given me far more protection than the fraud facilitators at PayPal. Lesson learned. I will not use PayPal for purchases moving forward. They are not safe and do not give one **bleep** about investigating fraud. All this event taught me is how easy it is to defraud customers through PayPal. All you have to do is scrape tracking numbers OR mail a **bleep** envelope with tracking to a random address in the same city as your buyer and PayPal will eat that **bleep** up and you, with the help of PayPal, can defraud buyers to your hearts content. PayPal IS the scam. Just here to warn others--PayPal does not give a **bleep** about you and will not honor their buyers protection. They refuse to even ban the account that is currently still defrauding people with the assistance of PayPal.  

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6 REPLIES 6

sharpiemarker
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@joshw4288 

 

Bad actors read how the protection program works and find work arounds. Tracking services api do not track or display street addresses due to privacy concerns. Get an intranet report from shipping carrier or official note on letterhead that for said tracking number your address is not on the package, nor was it delivered to your said address to appeal.

 

Or file a complaint on bbb.org under PayPal San Jose, CA.

 

Be extra careful of who you buy from; anyone can open a shop. Do actual web research on name of site/domain name for any scam reports/domain whois info or stick to tried and true stores.

 

PayPal does not have any control over the products or services provided by sellers who accept PayPal as a payment method, and PayPal cannot ensure that a buyer or a seller you are dealing with will actually complete the transaction or is authorized to do so.”

 

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full?locale.x=en_US#disclaimer-warranty

 

You can report the account:

https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/contact-us?email=paypalme&locale.x=en_US


Kudos & Solved are greatly appreciated. 🙂
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Trelane39
Contributor
Contributor

SAME!!!! Almost exactly as your story , long time user of PayPal, Fb … thru PayPal as well and it’s a scam with a tracking number that isn’t a tracking number and supposed carrier says China??? What??? Ridiculous! I deffinately won’t be using PayPal again 

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kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@Trelane39 

 


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.


How do I open a dispute with a seller when a purchase goes wrong?

You can open a dispute in the Resolution Centre of your PayPal account within 180 days of payment if:
•You don’t receive the item OR service
•You receive an item but it’s significantly different than the description on eBay or on the seller’s website (or you receive a totally different product).

By opening a dispute, you can communicate directly with your seller to work out a problem transaction.

If you reach an agreement with the seller you can close the dispute. If you're still not happy with the result, you can escalate the dispute into a claim. Paypal will review the claim and decide on reimbursement.

These steps apply to Personal accounts. If you have a Business account, please log in to see the steps that apply to you.

To open a dispute:
1.Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Click on the transaction and use the resolve a problem option at the bottom of that details page.

Note:
•Generally buyers must wait at least 7 days from the date of payment to escalate a dispute for an item not received
•Where an item has not been received, please ensure you have given the seller enough time before opening a dispute

Do not close the dispute until you have a refund or your item.
If a seller states that they can't refund until you have closed the dispute don't believe them.
Escalate the dispute to a claim within 20 days (before it times out), if you need Paypal to get involved.

If you lose because the seller provides a fake tracking number then post back here for more advice.
If the item arrives and its not what you ordered / not as described then make sure you change the dispute quickly from non receipt. If the dispute times out before you can change it then contact customer services to open a second dispute for the new reason.

Activate the below link in case you have to return the item at Paypals request (or the correct one for your country as this is the U.S link).

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/returns

If that does not work then if you funded your paypal payment via a card then contact your card issuer and see if they will issue a chargeback.


Advice is voluntary.
Kudos / Solution appreciated.
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Suzie5454
Contributor
Contributor
All I know is their company will go under investigation, whoever has committed these crimes against good people will pay
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kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@Suzie5454 

 

I doubt that as they are mostly in Asia.


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Arleigh1
Contributor
Contributor

Yes, PayPal defrauded me too.  They are a scam of their own. I wouldn't be surprised to find out their own employees are benefitting from under the table cash payments or maybe they get bonuses on the more money they collect so they allow this to happen. I had 2 reps both tell me not to worry about it that the seller hasn't been paid and it was an obvious fraud, yet they denied my claim when they showed a stolen mailing label that was from another name entirely and had nothing to do with ANY purchase. I, like you, was given no recourse or anyway to respond. Any links were removed from the website. No way to contact the seller as the website was bogus and suddenly disappeared which was CONFIRMED by the first rep contacted. The rep even said that there was no way they could deliver a package in 3 days from China and not to worry they would not pay the charge. Yet they did. Contact the better business bureau, file complaints on Yelp, do all you can to shut PayPal down. They are nothing but a money laundering service for the criminals. I myself am looking into bringing PayPal to court and sue them for the amount and for all of the stress and discomfort they have caused this senior citizen. I have wasted more time and stressed about this so much over the last 3 months. I am 65 and had a stroke a couple of years ago yet I have to go through this stress and hard time all due to PayPal's poor service. Like I say, I would not be surprised to find out some one at PayPal is allowing this to happen after what I have seen them do (or shall I say not do) to prevent fraud. For me it was a hundred-dollar charge but allow that to happen to 100,000 people around the world then it becomes a ten-million-dollar swindle. Then PayPal company gets their cut and their employees get bonuses and perks to look the other way. 

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