scammed by facebook

[Foxertin]

i was scammed on facebook by someone selling a nintendo switch. i made sure to use my card because i thought it had some sort of buyers protection. after i paid for the nintendo switch i was given a fake tracking number: 9505511057215168604775 . this number was created by him paying for a shipping label and then never putting a package in. the tracking just says “information available soon” but its been about two weeks. i reported this to paypal and they said the money was never received or something and then closed the dispute. is there someone in paypal to help me in this situation? i have screenshots of the whole interaction of our chat and my recipe and his profiles before he deleted them.

[kernowlass]

@Foxertin 

How did you send the payment, was it friends/family OR goods/services.

[Foxertin]

goods and services

[kernowlass]

@Foxertin 

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
•You receive an item but it’s significantly different than the description on eBay or on the seller’s website

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. We'll 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

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/first-dispute

DO NOT CLOSE THE DISPUTE UNTIL YOU HAVE A CLEARED REFUND OR YOUR ITEM WHATEVER THE SELLER SAYS. ALSO DON'T FORGET TO ESCALATE THE DISPUTE TO A CLAIM WITHIN 20 DAYS IF THE SELLER DOES NOT REFUND.

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 do a chargeback for you.

[audrey1234]

i just got scammed with the same tracking number for a nintendo switch on craigslist... were you able to get your money back?

[DDGM7981]

The whole reason I used PayPal was to avoid getting scammed. Now I feel like an idiot.

[kernowlass]

@DDGM7981 

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 you 'some' buyer protection but the onus is on you to 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.