Strange Paypal situation, input appreciated, update IT's a SCAM
Manorcourtman
Posts: 8,058 ✭✭✭✭✭
So last Sunday I sold a coin for $460 on ebay to someone with 2 feedbacks and less than 30 days on eBay. My invoice states eBay checkout is required. The buyer ignored it. So three days go by and I email him. He emails back and says he will use Paypal the next day. Well 2 days later no Paypal payment. Well yesterday I log into my eBay account. My eBay says the buyer sent Paypal to me on 12/28 and the eBay paid indicator indicates it's been paid. I have rec'd over 1000 payments via Paypal on ebay and know the difference between a Paypal echeck(which needs to clear) and an instant payment. So before I ship the coin I go to Paypal and log in. No payment or record of his payment shows. Strange thing is the buyer altered/updated my bill from ebay to a higher total as indicated below:
Subtotal: US $460.00
Shipping and handling: US $9.95
Shipping insurance (included): --
Seller discounts or charges:
--
Total: US $479.95
The buyer has updated the total
I have never seen eBay state on the auction page that payment has been rec'd and in my eBay that the item has been paid for and it not be true. Anyone else seen this happen before? I emailed eBay and my rep. says she cannot get into Paypal's database and forwarded it directly to Paypal for resolution but I suspect Paypal will say they cannot access eBay's info!! Maybe I'm being paranoid but I wonder if the buyer is trying to scam me or has figured out a way to manipulate eBay's checkout system? Any other idea's about what may be happening? And no my eBay account has not been hacked. I'd advise everyone to check their Paypal accounts before shipping anything.
Subtotal: US $460.00
Shipping and handling: US $9.95
Shipping insurance (included): --
Seller discounts or charges:
--
Total: US $479.95
The buyer has updated the total
I have never seen eBay state on the auction page that payment has been rec'd and in my eBay that the item has been paid for and it not be true. Anyone else seen this happen before? I emailed eBay and my rep. says she cannot get into Paypal's database and forwarded it directly to Paypal for resolution but I suspect Paypal will say they cannot access eBay's info!! Maybe I'm being paranoid but I wonder if the buyer is trying to scam me or has figured out a way to manipulate eBay's checkout system? Any other idea's about what may be happening? And no my eBay account has not been hacked. I'd advise everyone to check their Paypal accounts before shipping anything.
0
Comments
<< <i>I would suggest you check your PayPal account again. The payment may be on hold, pending your approval of release, because of an unverified account. >>
Checked again. No record of the transaction whatsoever.
I'd be a little nervous if this were an unconfirmed address, and if your terms of sale don't restrict PayPal sales to confirmed addresses, this might be a good time to start.
<< <i>
<< <i>I would suggest you check your PayPal account again. The payment may be on hold, pending your approval of release, because of an unverified account. >>
Checked again. No record of the transaction whatsoever. >>
???? Possible phishing attempt? If there is a paypal transaction# that the buyer can supply, paypal should be able to identify the disposition of the $$$
<< <i>Just make sure you are following the Seller Protection Policy to the letter and make sure you don't ship until the funds are cleared through PayPal.
I'd be a little nervous if this were an unconfirmed address, and if your terms of sale don't restrict PayPal sales to confirmed addresses, this might be a good time to start. >>
I only sell/ship to confirmed addresses and have Paypal set to this. I hope others don't ship w/o checking with Paypal first. I guess that's my point. My coin is going nowhere until Paypal/eBay verify confirmed payment. But if some of the super-slueths have any ideas about what's going on here please fire away
Russ, NCNE
<< <i>Check your total PayPal balance. The payment can actually be in, and not be reflected as a line item in the list. Recently there has been significant latency in their system.
Russ, NCNE >>
No dice, PP balance less than $100. I'll update the situation as details unfold. Very strange indeed.
<< <i>???? Possible phishing attempt? If there is a paypal transaction# that the buyer can supply, paypal should be able to identify the disposition of the $$$ >>
I would agree with this. The buyer could have sent the e-mail to look
like it came from paypal so you just ship. I wouldn't send item till
you verify the money in your account
Also forward the e-mail to spoof@paypal.com and they will
verify if it is from them. Good Luck.
<< <i><< ???? Possible phishing attempt? If there is a paypal transaction# that the buyer can supply, paypal should be able to identify the disposition of the $$$ >>
I would agree with this. The buyer could have sent the e-mail to look
like it came from paypal so you just ship. I wouldn't send item till
you verify the money in your account
Also forward the e-mail to spoof@paypal.com and they will
verify if it is from them. Good Luck. >>
A phishing attempt would not cause the item to show as paid in the sold section of his eBay.
Russ, NCNE
<< <i>
<< <i>???? Possible phishing attempt? If there is a paypal transaction# that the buyer can supply, paypal should be able to identify the disposition of the $$$ >>
I would agree with this. The buyer could have sent the e-mail to look
like it came from paypal so you just ship. I wouldn't send item till
you verify the money in your account
Also forward the e-mail to spoof@paypal.com and they will
verify if it is from them. Good Luck. >>
No emails were sent. eBay says the seller paid via Paypal on 12/28. Ebay says the item has been paid for. No phishing involved here, it is eBay who has been fooled at this point. According to Paypal no funds have been sent and I WILL NOT ship the coin till funds are confirmed. Again my point is that this may be a new scam and I am looking for opinions. The buyer was notified that funds were not received earlier this morning and that the coin would NOT be shipped until funds were confirmed with Paypal. No word from the buyer. This old dog has seen alot of scams over the years but this may be a new one.
Russ, NCNE
<< <i>No emails were sent. eBay says the seller paid via Paypal on 12/28. Ebay says the item has been paid for. No phishing involved here, it is eBay who has been fooled at this point. According to Paypal no funds have been sent and I WILL NOT ship the coin till funds are confirmed. Again my point is that this may be a new scam and I am looking for opinions. The buyer was notified that funds were not received earlier this morning and that the coin would NOT be shipped until funds were confirmed with Paypal. No word from the buyer. This old dog has seen alot of scams over the years but this may be a new one. >>
Tell the buyer you don't have it and ask him to confirm the e-mail address he sent it to.
Seems silly that eBay checkout would consider a payment complete if it went to an incorrect e-mail address, though.
[Edit to add: Never mind -- it appears he didn't use eBay checkout but entered the address manually. Still, seems stupid that eBay would automatically mark it as paid in that situation.]
<< <i>If I don't have the money in my account, nothing is going to be sent. I don't care what anyone says. >>
I agree 100%. In fact, the buyer can mark an item as "payment sent" manually. I do this when I mail money orders. My guess is the seller sees this action as payment sent. Which may or may not be true.
I would contact the buyer and ask them why they marked the item as payment sent. Or you can take a nicer tone and ask when to expect their check.
<< <i>My guess is the seller sees this action as payment sent. >>
It will show as payment sent, but that won't activate the dollar sign paid icon.
Russ, NCNE
<< <i>
<< <i>My guess is the seller sees this action as payment sent. >>
It will show as payment sent, but that won't activate the dollar sign paid icon.
Russ, NCNE >>
Interesting. I was hoping to jump in mid-stream and solve the mystery.
Dear Christopher %4#^*(,
Thank you for contacting PayPal.
Hello, I hope all is well with you. My name is Frances and it is my
pleasure to assist you. I understand that the transaction shows in
PayPal unpaid. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has
caused you but I would be more than willing to help you on your concern.
Let me check your account further.
If you have not received a payment, we recommend you contact the sender
and confirm that the payment has been sent. Often, concern over a
payment results from a miscommunication between the sender and
recipient.
If you have received an email notification stating that a payment has
been sent to your PayPal account, but the transaction has not posted to
your History Log, the sender may have entered an incorrect email
address.
If the email address they have entered is not an exact match, the funds
will not be posted to your account, however, your email service provider
may be able to detect this slight difference and route the email
notification to your email account.
Possible reasons funds have not been received from the sender are:
1. The sender may have entered an incorrect email address.
· If the email address is not an exact match, the funds will not
be posted to your account
· The sender may have used a number 1 instead of the letter l or
vice versa
· Send a Money Request and ask that the unclaimed transaction be
canceled and resent to the correct email address
2. The sender may have sent the payment to an email address that is
not registered on your PayPal account.
· The sender can cancel the payment and resend it to your
registered email address, or
· The valid email address can be added and confirmed to receive
the payment
3. A payment may not post to your PayPal account if the email
address on eBay Seller-accepted payment methods was recently changed,
but not changed on your PayPal account. To view the email address used,
follow these steps:
1. Log in to your eBay account and click "My eBay".
2. In the Search box, enter your item number, and click "Search".
3. Click on "Sell Similar".
4. Click on step four at the top of the Sell Your Item page.
5. Scroll down to Payment & Shipping to view the email address
you registered when you listed your item.
4. The sender may have sent the payment to an email address that is
unconfirmed on your PayPal account.
· Complete the registration process by confirming the email
address
5. The sender may have forgotten to click "Submit".
· The sender can verify that by viewing their transaction log
6. If you are expecting a payment from a business.
· The business may be sending payments using our Mass Payment
feature
· Contact the business customer service to inquire when they
will send the payment
I would like to let you know that you are valuable to us, and it is
important for me to help resolve your concern. If you would need
additional assistance and you would like to contact PayPal by phone,
kindly call our Customer Service agents at 1-402-935-2050 / our toll
free number 1-888-221-1161. We would be more than happy to help you.
We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter, and
wish you continued success on PayPal.
Sincerely,
Karen Frances
PayPal Consumer Support
PayPal, an eBay Company
Original Message Follows:
------------------------
Form Message: %#####% ######
D_ID############D_ID/W_ID#########W_ID/S_ID###S_ID
Subject: TL%S##### Selling Manager ? Using the Sold View [#US ######T
****
it says where the PAYPAL payment was sent (email address)
<< <i>go to the item on eBay while logged in with your user account
it says where the PAYPAL payment was sent (email address) >>
It was sent(according to eBay) to the correct addy. But it wasn't really sent!!
My identity has been used to make bids that I did not give permission on please pull my bid I am trying to get ahold of ebay so that my identity does not get used again.
- judyd64
Do I neg 'em or not??? What to do??
<< <i>Scam or unauthorized use? Just got this email from the buyers account:
My identity has been used to make bids that I did not give permission on please pull my bid I am trying to get ahold of ebay so that my identity does not get used again.
- judyd64
Do I neg 'em or not??? What to do??
Was the account hijacked or was it one of those "my son bid on my computer" things? If it were really hijacked, I'd be charitable.
If it were NOT hijacked and if it was someone she knew who had the password, I'd ask "judyd64" how the "unauthorized" user got the item to appear in eBay as if payment was sent.
Russ, NCNE
<< <i>Since the buyer did a manual entry, it's possible he entered the wrong eMail address for payment. If that's the case, it would show paid in your eBay, but the money is out there in limbo and thus not showing in your PayPal account.
Russ, NCNE >>
I have had this happen twice in the last month. The buyer changes the email address by 1 letter and/or adds a period to the end. Both times I got it corrected with the buyer, but I wonder in it's a scam because if the funds go unclaimed for 30 days they revert back to the buyer. Both items were low dollar transactions.
<< <i>Interesting. Even if it is a hijacked account, that would not explain why it shows paid on eBay but does not show paid in PayPal.
Russ, NCNE >>
This scammer has figured out how to manipulate the eBay checkout system. They changed the shipping charge and figured out a way to make it look like they made the payment. How that happened I don't know. Super Slueths help needed!
Call eBay's 800 number and ask what is up?
even the 2 feedback the buyer has are in the last 2 weeks from transactions that don't look legit
they are not listed on last 30 days summary for items bought
and they look like they come from scammed accounts
scarey stuff if all the things you say are correct
Also, if I'm a buyer who really paid, I'd get pissed that my coins haven't been shipped. Doesn't sound like that's the case here!
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