Someone I don't know sent me money and asked for me to send it back. Is this some sort of scam?

[barts185]

I'm presuming there is some sort of scam involved, but not sure what.

It doesn't look like I can cancel the money they sent me. It looks like my only option is to issue a refund.

I'm guessing they were hoping that I would actually send them money and they would then open a dispute on the money they sent me, but not sure how that would actually work out.

Is there another option other than issuing a refund? Does it hurt me at all if I issue a refund?

[sharpiemarker]

@barts185 

Its possible that someone made an error and the money got sent to you by mistake. You can deny the payment or issue a refund. The money will be returned to the original funding source. Note: If a PayPal fee was charged (click the transaction for details), the PayPal fee will not be returned/refunded so deduct the fee amount from the amount to refund or it will come out of your account balance.

[barts185]

This is not someone I've ever had any dealings with, and my PayPal email isn't one that could easily be confused for another.

I don't see an option to cancel. If I click on the transaction, I just see an option to refund. Is there a way to just cancel it?

[sharpiemarker · Accepted solution]

@barts185 

You can cancel if the transaction is in "Pending" status. Even then if a 'cancel' button is not available, the payment can't be canceled. Have to wait until payment is under "Completed" status to issue refund. Sometimes a payment can be denied but you don't seem to be given that option either.

Since there is only a refund option, issue a refund but remember if you see that a fee was charged, deduct the fee amount from the gross amount received and that would be the amount to refund, or you'll end up paying that fee out of pocket as PayPal no longer refunds their fees.