Am I being scammed by a seller on Facebook Marketplace?

[natethegreat3]

Ok to preface I want to say that I'm typically very good at identifying scams online and steering clear. I wanted to buy a camera from a person who had sold a variety of items on Facebook marketplace and had opened his account in 2009 and had a lot of friends and posts and everything, so it seems to be a totally legit account. Anyways, we used PayPal to send the money to ensure I would be protected should the item not arrive. Then a few hours after I sent the money I got an email from PayPal saying that I initiated a dispute which I did not do. I immediately assumed my account had been hacked but then I thought maybe it does that automatically until my item arrives. But then a couple hours later, I got another email from PayPal saying that I closed the dispute which means it cannot be reopened or escalated to a claim, which to me sounds like there's no way I can get my money back anymore. I did not open or close the dispute which makes me think somebody has gained access to my account somehow. I have also lost contact with the seller who will not respond to me. Any ideas on how to get this resolved so I'm not out over a thousand dollars?

[sharpiemarker]

@natethegreat3 

Oh boy, this type of scam tactic is in it’s beginning stages. Seen it reported a handful of times so far since around Feb/Mar ‘23 and could gather some steam by the end of the year. You’ll have to speak with PayPal CS and first swear up and down that you did not open the dispute, to examine how the dispute was opened and ask them to open a new case. Change your password and your email account password while you’re at it.

Failing that, and you paid with credit card, file a chargeback. It’s getting to a point that it’s in your best interest to pay with credit card thru PayPal.

[natethegreat3]

Fortunately you can still 'report a problem' even after the case has been closed and PayPal took care of it and refunded my money right away. However, I still don't understand how the scammer was able to open and close a dispute from my end without having my passwords or access to my account.

[PayPal_JonK]

Hi everyone! Thanks for visiting PayPal's Community Forum! Thank you @sharpiemarker for your help starting a resolution on this thread. Your time and assistance is always greatly appreciated.

@natethegreat3, welcome back! I'm glad to hear PayPal was able to refund this purchase for you. It sounds like you were successfully able to open an appeal. The option to appeal a dispute may not be available in every situation, so that's great to hear it was available for you.

@Branmaddox, thanks for joining the PayPal Community. If you run into any issues with your purchase, you can open a dispute here. If you run into any speed-bumps along the way, please don't hesitate to reach out to our Customer Support teams for assistance. 

Good luck!

 - Jon K

[Branmaddox]

What type of camera because I think I bought from the same seller in Marketplace Facebook !!

[natethegreat3]

It was a Fujifilm X100V. Lots of scams out there right now for this camera.

[burfang]

This EXACT scam happened to me on 5/31, it was even for photography gear too! (Tamron 35-150mm lens)

I'm glad you were able to get a refund, but I've had a much more frustrating outcome. I've called paypal CS almost a dozen times, and spent close to 12 hours on the phone over the past 3 weeks. Every time, they manually reopen the case and it get automatically closed within a few days.

I was finally transferred to a supervisor in the fraud department today, and she said that their internal data showed that I had opened and closed the transaction, and that all G&S protections were gone once the transaction was closed. I said that I hadn't done so, and pointed out that it made no logical sense to open a 'did not receive item' dispute for something that was to be shipped an hour after the transaction. She didn't want to hear it, and basically insinuated that I was the one being dishonest here. She said there was no one else to escalate to, and no supervisor above her to speak with. She gave me paypal's legal team address lol.

I wish I could dispute with my credit card, but unfortunately I had so much trust in paypal's G&S that I used my debit card. Switched that pronto, but the damage is done, and my bank is no help. Anyone have a clue what I can do? I submitted a BBB complaint, and tried the 'report a problem button', it gave me the option to change case type, so I changed it to 'item wasn't as described', and explained the context in the text area. Hope it helps, but does anyone have any other ideas?

[natethegreat3]

That is incredibly frustrating! I also used a debit card only because my credit card wasn't working at the time for whatever reason. But yeah, make sure to only use a credit card in the future for a second layer of protection. I have no idea how the sellers are able to open a dispute from the buyer's end, so much so that even PayPal's fraud team thinks you did it. No idea how that can happen and work!! PayPal needs to get ahead of this asap!

Hope you can get your money back!

[Exfinite]

Same exact thing happened to me - also with the Fujifilm x100v camera on FB marketplace. Been on hold for an hour on the phone.

@natethegreat3 Which report a problem option did you choose?

[natethegreat3]

I can't remember what all the options were but I think I selected "fraud" or something like that and PayPal actually looked into it and refunded my money immediately.