Received invoice from one seller which I didn't make any purchase. Is it a scam?

[MichaelCHK]

Hi all. I received a notification from PayPal that someone sent me an invoice to make a payment of USD 500 for purchasing a anti virus software which I didn't make. Could I just leave it like that with out paying or how do I cancel or report this?

[chicken_run34]

Paypal just sent me a money request from someone I do not know. 

The suspicious person wrote a note on the request "We have detected some suspicious activities with your PayPal account. If you did not make this transaction, please call us at toll free number (phone number) to cancel and claim a refund. If this is not the case, you will be charged $699. 99 today .Within the automated deduction of the amount, this transaction will reflect on PayPal activity after 24 hours. Our Service Hours: (06:00 am to 06:00 pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday)."

I have know idea who this person is, what company they represent, or any related transactions in that amount with them. How do I get paypal to cancel this request?

[Trevorfabron]

ello, [removed] Here's your estimate Dogecoin (DOGE) [Removed. Phone #s not permitted]sent you an estimate for $304.00 USD. View Your Estimate Seller note to customer TRANSACTION ID:- 2Q5W1 JO1B MKL4 1AFS . Purchase of Dogecoin (DOGE) is Successful amount mention in the invoice and will be going to deduct from your account within 24 hours. If you did not recognize this transaction or want to Cancel this Charge Reach us at [Removed. Phone #s not permitted] PayPal

[CrazyBull22]

PLEASE FAST SOMEONE TO TELL US !!! This one is spaming as and i need to see wehere to remove this ... i dont want to pay it  !!! PLEASE HELPPPP!!!!

[MarcusK415]

I received this message earlier today:

Your Purchase of Dogecoin cost $ 500. 00 successfully approved. In case you haven't done this transaction and need a refund immediately call us at +[Removed. Phone #s not permitted]/span>

I did not make this purchase and it is obviously a phishing or fraud attempt. Now an estimate of 500 dollars is permanently tied to my account with no way to cancel it since it is not an invoice or transaction. I can't report it and since the estimate was sent via PayPal directly, I can't forward it as a fraudulent e-mail either.

Is there really no way to remove this estimate from my account? I haven't been scammed yet, so it seems like PayPal isn't able to do anything, but I also don't want an unpaid estimate tied to my account forever. Any help is appreciated!

[sharpiemarker]

@MarcusK415 

There’s no way to decline the estimate? But I think it best not to react to it.

Forward the estimate email you received to PayPal as suspicious email you received. You can add a note when forwarding that this is a fraudulent/scam/prank estimate sent randomly to you and request it be deleted.

You can report it to the phishing email address found here:

https://www.paypal.com/se/smarthelp/article/how-do-i-spot-and-report-a-fake%2C-fraudulent%2C-or-phis...

If they still won’t do anything, you can just ignore the estimate. Eventually, the estimate will be rotated off your Activity feed in time as you continue to conduct transactions. Estimates are just a way to communicate between sellers/buyers to come to an agreement of terms/pricing on a transaction before it is converted to an invoice and you are not obligated to pay an invoice and you’re only charged if you took action to pay it.

[CrazyBull22]

if is like this then ... i think PAYPAL have to think about it and clouse this oportunity for ppl being scamed by ppl like this . Or i will delet my papypal account  ... is not normal to be scamed by paypal in this way.

[bikerchic44]

I logged in to PayPal today to find that a request for $699.99 had been made on my account.

This is the PayPal message next to the transaction:

’We've detected that your PayPal account has been accessed fraudulently. If you did not make this transaction, please call us at toll free number [Removed. Phone #s not permitted]to cancel and claim a refund. If this is not the case, you will be charged $699. 99 today. Within the automated deduction of the amount, this transaction will reflect on PayPal activity after 24 hours. Our Service Hours: (06:00 am to 06:00 pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday).’

I can’t ring the number toll free as I live in the UK.

So if I had not logged on today I would not have seen the transaction and lost almost $700!!!

How can that be right?

I didn’t receive a text or email about this.

I don’t even know the person requesting the money!

[sharpiemarker]

@bikerchic44 

Authorization is not required to send invoices, estimates or money requests which means even bad actors can send them to you.

There have been scammers setting up dummy accounts to abuse the invoicing, estimates and requesting features adding texts to them to alarm, prank, annoy and scam the unsuspecting.

You’re are not charged nor will lose any money because it’s only a request unless you take action to pay it. Do not call the phone numbers on unsolicited invoices/money requests. It’s basically spam.

PayPal will never say you have fraudulent access and let you be charged if you do not reply. Scammers social engineering you do.

[bikerchic44]

I thought the message was from paypal.

Thank you for clearing that up.

[sharpiemarker]

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@bikerchic44 wrote:

I thought the message was from paypal.

Thank you for clearing that up.

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You’re welcome.

I am not sure why you didn’t receive an email from PayPal because sent invoices/estimates/money requests triggers a PayPal notification, too. However there are text fields on the invoice, estimate, and money request form for adding terms and conditions of sale, transaction description, and other reference text legitimately but scammers can use it to add manipulative text to trick/scam.

Bottomline is to be most wary of unsolicited invoices, estimates and money requests.