posted on December 5, 2005 05:21:26 AM new
"It has come to our attention that you may be the recipient of potentially unauthorized funds. We have initiated an investigation into this event. In the meantime, we have placed a temporary hold on the funds in question until the investigation is complete. This temporary hold will show as a deduction in your available balance. In the meantime, you are free to continue transacting using your PayPal account."
OK, I have NOT sent the item yet. I thought the high bid amount was too much and looked suspicious so I waited a day. I suspect his account was hijacked.
Assuming I am wrong, and *IF* Paypal eventually gives me the go-ahead and I send it to his CONFIRMED address, will I be guaranteed safety? Or can they come back against me later?
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on December 5, 2005 05:52:38 AM new
I would pick up the phone and speak with PP. At the very least, you should be immunized from the 7 day shipping requirement.
posted on December 5, 2005 05:58:29 AM new
is this pfishing??
did you log on to your paypal account and check to see if your fund is on hold??
The word 'event' sounds fishy??
/ lets all stop whining !! /
posted on December 5, 2005 06:22:32 AM new
This happened to me once. I cooperated with PayPal, they cleared to ship it in a few days, so I did. Nothing bit me, but it was less than a $10 sale so I wasn't too worried!
posted on December 5, 2005 10:32:57 AM new
If this turns out to be fraud and Paypal missed it,you will lose as fraud is not covered by seller protection.
You can see what else he is bidding on and ask the other sellers if they know something you dont know.
Or you can call and chat with the bidder after Paypal said it is okay to ship.
dont forget signature receipt for that kind of amount.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
posted on December 5, 2005 10:42:02 AM new
As long as he doesn't ship he doesn't lose. The worst that can happen is that money is refunded, he files for fees and relists. I wouldn't ship until I had absolute assurance from PayPal that they have verified that this is not a stolen id and that you will be protected by the seller protection plan.
Last week I got a number to call for PayPal in my email - did you get one too? I would call and try to get it in writing before shipping. Waiver of the 7 day shipment requirement for the SPP is a good idea too.
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posted on December 5, 2005 11:30:35 AM new
Update:
I just got a message from the buyer
"Hello,
My paypal and E-bay accounts were hacked - Thousand of dollars taken out of my bank account without my knowledge over this weekend. Paypal found out about this and so they reversed apparently ALL transactions. You are NOT the only one affected. I don't know mutch else. There were over 50 purchases worth more than several thousand dollars - My bank account was EMPTY. Paypal tells me I am NOT liable. At least that is one plus.
Please contact me at (removed)
Sorry for the problem but mine is worse"
I can't argue with that. His problems are worse. I guess I'll be taking advantage of the "Second chance offer" on this one.
Since Paypal shows this as paid, can I get my fees back?
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on December 5, 2005 11:53:05 AM new
Can't you refund? At any rate, you can manually mark as "Payment Not Received" (Payment Details) in ebay before filing.
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posted on December 5, 2005 11:59:08 AM new
Paypal will reverse the pay option showing it paid if it turns out to be fraud. It may take a week or so but eventually it will show up in ebay as unpaid again. This happened when I refunded a way too late payment on an item showed paid then showed unpaid. Don't ship.
That is way too scary...
I think Paypal should implement a password to confirm payments that only the real owner would know and is not stored on Paypal accounts somehow. Make sense? But I guess it would have to be stored there but it should be encrypted and can only change it if you know it and is not revealed by email either. Sounds good to me. owner of account would have to remember it.. LOL like how many warts do you have on your butt? LOL how many people see your butt heck I can't see my own butt. Little humor there.
**************
Here have some sweets from me!
posted on December 5, 2005 02:11:47 PM new
which buyer?
the buyer who hijack other bidder's account wont be responding to any email,the real owner did not bid on the item,so he has no interest.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
posted on December 6, 2005 08:08:34 AM new
Hwahwa is correct... The actual owner of the account doesn't want what I'm selling. He only became involved when his bank called him about being severely overdrawn. I'll never know who the actual crook was, and probably the owner of the account won't either.
I didn't realize what I was selling was such a high fraud item. "Magic The Gathering Online" cards... Electronic versions of those cards all the kids play. There are no paper cards to mail, so all the transfers are done through email. They can pay me with fake funds and hope I deliver the "cards" before Paypal catches the problem. In theory, the whole transaction cycle could take only a few minutes. They win-they pay-I transfer cards electronically-chargeback occurs-I scream helplessly.
I would have no way of getting the merchandise back, since I never actually ship anything physical and don't even know the address in Paypal is real. Fortunately, this time I noticed funny activity on the bidder's account and waited. Experience pays!
One more interesting additional fact. The eBay account had several brand new negative feedbacks (including mine) last night, but today they are all gone. Apparently eBay cleaned things up for him. I didn't think eBay would be so quick to help this guy after "ALLOWING" his account to be hijacked.
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on December 6, 2005 10:08:05 AM new
If that's the kind of transaction it is, could it be covered under PP SPP anyway (no edc)?? For that dollar amount (if you get that much on the relist) I think you'd better take another kind of payment that can't be reversed.
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posted on December 6, 2005 11:50:57 AM new
Neglus, it's obviously not really relevant anymore in this transaction, But my thinking went like this:
As far as the SPP goes, I figured I would snail-mail him a receipt with delivery confirmation.
Thank that would have worked? Then I could have proven I delivered to his confirmed address. Paypal wouldn't know that his product and my mailing were not the same item, since there is no physical item.
Then again, I guess this sort of thinking could lead people to mail someone a box of rocks or a photo instead of a real XBox...
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on December 7, 2005 09:11:21 PM new
That is legite. This is why PayPal is the most unsafe way to accept money. They confirm a credit card, but don't actually check the accounts for a day or two after the transaction has actually happened. DO NOT SEND THIS ITEM AT ALL. Relist and move on. And never, ever accept PayPal for anything that you cannot afford to lose. Merchant accounts are much cheaper and there is no waiting period for safety.
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Alive in 2005
posted on December 7, 2005 09:37:53 PM new
Let's give Paypal credit for discovering the problem and alerting the seller. I had both my Paypal and eBay account hijacked by simply responding to ASQ through email instead of my messages. It could happen to you. EBay and PayPal have their problems but IMHO their security is top notch and they caught and ended transactions by the hijacker of my account.
posted on December 7, 2005 10:37:39 PM new
#1 No, I'm not going to send anyone anything. The transaction is over as far as I'm concerned. It's just a matter of waiting for the NPB/FVF stuff to go through. The second chance guy never contacted me, so I'm going to relist.
#2 I look at Paypal's speedy notification of fraud the real heroes in this case. If they had been slower, I WOULD have sent him the stuff, and I'd be screwed. As it is, they let me know quickly and saved me a disaster.
#3 I've had WAY more chargebacks through my merchant account over the years than Paypal problems. I'm not sure why so many people have it in for Paypal.
#4 The more I think about it, the less I like the fact that eBay removed my (and other's) Negs from this guy. True, he didn't really bid on all that stuff, but it WAS his responsibility to keep his password and account safe.
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on December 8, 2005 04:14:23 AM new
Replay,
When we first moved into our house, my wife test-drove a car, for which she had to provide her driver's license to the car dealer. Someone then directed the post office to a new address for her, and it took us two weeks to figure out that she wasn't receiving mail at our address (since she had just moved in, and I was still receiving mail, it wasn't so obvious).
As a result, with the information on the driver's license and diverted mail, my wife's identity was stolen, and all sorts of financial mayhem ensued.
By your reasoning regarding the victim's feedback, my wife should have been liable for the identity theft, because it was her job to keep her identity private. I'm usually one for taking accountability seriously, but this really is a case of blaming the victim. Not everybody spends hours every week finding out the latest scams, and even some professional eBayers have had their accounts compromised.
Claude
[ edited by cashinyourcloset on Dec 8, 2005 04:14 AM ]
posted on December 8, 2005 08:43:09 AM new
Claude,
I wonder if you would still feel that way if someone bought a $500 antique from you but backed out, saying their 13-year-old had used their eBay id and password. I feel the way replay does: It's your responsibility to keep that data safe and to NOT use an easily-guessable password or click on a link in email.
Besides, I hate to say it but it's madness to surrender your driver's license at a car dealership. They use it to run a credit check on you.
posted on December 8, 2005 06:33:59 PM new
fluffythewondercat.
The last statement about car dealers using your drivers license to do a credit check is not true.You cannot pull a credit report without a buyers sig it's illegal to do so.
I worked selling cars for 7 years and we never once did that.We always took a copy of a buyers drivers license when they went on a test drive on their own.
Think about it would you just let anyone take off in your car who you do not know without having something that proves who they are.
I knew of one salesman that did not do that and the buyers never returned the car and he get got FIRED.
Sorry had to vent on that one.
Adrian
Realtor for Century 21 AAIM Realty Group in Cape Coral Florida
posted on December 8, 2005 07:25:49 PM new
Fluffy,
I have to agree with imabritrealtor. I present my driver's license at any number of places (I'm too old to get carded , but cashing a Japanese money order at the P.O. requires me to present it).
I think that they require your SSN to run a credit check anyway, and it does not appear on NJ licenses. It's not that I want people running a credit check on me, but frankly I don't much care if they don't steal my identity or affect my credit score.
Would I feel happy about someone backing out of an auction? No. However, I didn't get paid, so I didn't ship, so I still have the item and can relist it. Other than the lack of the bidder getting a strike, it's no different than the times when I get a NPB -- unpleasant but not overly painful.
As people who deal with this every day, I think we risk losing sight of the fact that even intelligent people (but who have only a passing involvement with eBay and phishing) just aren't aware of what can happen to them. During Thanksgiving, I ran into a college professor who got phished.
posted on December 8, 2005 07:53:29 PM newOK, I have NOT sent the item yet. I thought the high bid amount was too much and looked suspicious so I waited a day.
#2 I look at Paypal's speedy notification of fraud the real heroes in this case. If they had been slower, I WOULD have sent him the stuff, and I'd be screwed. As it is, they let me know quickly and saved me a disaster.
Hello. Knock, knock.
Fact is that only reason you didn't get burned on this one is because you were slow in shipping the item out. Had you shipped it in a timely manner, you clearly would have been burned by the lack of PayPal promptness. This was complete luck. Nothing less.
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Alive in 2005
posted on December 9, 2005 09:20:23 AM new
Stonecold:
"A Timely Manner" in this case would have been 2 hours. Auction ended at 10pm, he paid around midnight, and by 2am the Paypal fraud notice arrived.
This was a special circumstance where the product could be delivered instantly by email, and that is why it was inherently risky. People with normal "shipping" of merchandise would certainly have had plenty of time.
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
, but cashing a Japanese money order at the P.O. requires me to present it).