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Online fraud - have you been a victim?

Cecille

Cecille

Active Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2011
Messages
434
Location
Philippines
Oh boy, this has been my problem for 4 days now. And it gets more and more depressing.

I have been selling online and I've had a transaction with a guy that seemed alright and easy to talk to. He paid me 120 USD via Paypal and everything seemed fine. But later did I found out that the account he used doesn't belong to him and it was just hacked. I learned that that was the scenario when someone called me 3 days ago that he was the real owner of that account. Now my Paypal account is on dispute and because I have withdrawn the money, I have a negative balance and the 120 USD was held.

So it turned out that I became a victim of online fraud and I am now on debt. Payments on my Paypal account only reduce the amount of the negative balance so it makes me really, really sad that I have to pay for the amount that I supposed to be already spending.

Unfortunately, I am not able to report the culprit since I don't know his exact name. The only info I got from his is his address and cellphone numbers.

So ladies, can you give me some advice on this? Lately, I cannot sleep very well at night thinking of possible solutions to this problem so any help from you guys would be deeply appreciated.

And have you been also a victim of online fraud?
 
Werbung:
Are you sure the whole purchase is the fraud part? I've heard of people buying something online, getting buyer's remorse & pulling the whole 'my Paypal was hacked' thing to get the money back. They usually keep the item too!

How couldn't you get his name? Aren't you required to have a name on the shipping label? I'm assuming you had to ship the item, not meeting somewhere for it.

As for the negative Paypal balance, I would expect them to refund the money to the man if he truly was hacked. It makes sense to me that they would take the amount from you & give it back to him. I just hope you didn't ship the item before the whole thing was brought to the light. This way you can at least try to sell the item again & get some money for your Paypal.

And yeah I've been a victim of online fraud... Did you ever see the 'email response' scam? Usually claims to make $500+ a week just answering emails? Yeah, I fell for that one years ago when I first started working from home.
 
Sorry to know about that Cecile and hope that culprit will learn his lessons the hardest way.

I had been scammed by different sites already and I think I had lost more than that amount if I would sum up all that I should earned and invested on them. And hard to think how those sites remained active for years even they had scammed a lot already. We should really be extra careful in dealing with people online as it seems easier for them now to scam and hack sites and accounts.
 
phoenyxstarr1982 said:
Are you sure the whole purchase is the fraud part? I've heard of people buying something online, getting buyer's remorse & pulling the whole 'my Paypal was hacked' thing to get the money back. They usually keep the item too!

How couldn't you get his name? Aren't you required to have a name on the shipping label? I'm assuming you had to ship the item, not meeting somewhere for it.

As for the negative Paypal balance, I would expect them to refund the money to the man if he truly was hacked. It makes sense to me that they would take the amount from you & give it back to him. I just hope you didn't ship the item before the whole thing was brought to the light. This way you can at least try to sell the item again & get some money for your Paypal.
Click to expand...

Okay, where to start? Okay first question first.

Are you sure the whole purchase is the fraud part? - I am not sure, really. But seems to me that the one who called me was really telling the truth since I did a research about them and all of the evidences I gathered are saying that they really own the account. I have talked to the hacker on the phone, just like how I did to the real owner, and they seem to be different. I mean they are not the same person. So I guess that Paypal account was truly hacked.

How couldn't you get his name? Aren't you required to have a name on the shipping label? - As he was a hacker, he used the same name of the Paypal account where he has stolen the money. Let's just say the Paypal says his name was John Smith. And he told me his name was John Smith. Call me stupid, but I trusted him that easily. I asked for ID's, but he said he just rented the computer he was using, so I just told him to send the ID after the transaction. Later did I realize that he can't show me his ID because that account doesn't really belong to him.

As for the negative Paypal balance, I would expect them to refund the money to the man if he truly was hacked. - Yeah, the money should be refunded. But things happened otherwise. My funds were back after Paypal decided that they have no concrete evidence that their account was hacked. Well, I really feel sorry for them as they told me that the hacker got a big amount from their account. But on the other hand, I am glad that now my Paypal account is cleared from any obligations.

I feel so blessed now. Thanks to God. :)


 
This baffles me. I did the research and PayPal is supposed to be the Fort Knox of payment gateways. I am not doubting you, but PayPal is a sophisticated system - but there are always smart people out there.

I am sorry that this happened to you, but I am so GLAD that PayPal took responsibility! I have not experienced online fraud but I am super vigilant and only deal with companies, not individuals. I simply do not trust people...I have been called paranoid, but I will continue being a paranoid android as this protects me - to a degree.

I still do not like thinking and knowing that people do this shit! I am happy that you have been able to sort it out!!! It makes the rest of us more aware too, so THANK YOU for the share. (-: ~
 
Hope you got that sorted, what a nightmare! I have been very fortunate so far online but I know a lot of people who have fallen victim to fraud. It's not surprising with so many scam sites out there preying on the unwary.
 
Geesh Cecil! I haven't been online for quite a while now and I didn't know you went through such an ordeal. $120 is a lot of money. Thankfully Paypal had investigated matters thoroughly and decided that you weren't at fault. I'm glad things have been sorted out.

Thankfully, I haven't been a victim of "scammers" and I wish I never will be. Cyber space is now filled with a lot of criminals constantly thinking of ways to rob us of our hard earned money. I think I'll be a "paranoid android" just like Lee11. :)
 
UPDATE:

Last January 28, I received a notification that I got a case from Paypal. It is the same old dispute ... again! :( It really puzzles me since I read in Paypal's terms that once a dispute was closed, it cannot be reopened again.

Now, my balance is on the negative again. Negative $94.50 to be exact. Aw, this truly has become a huge nightmare!
 
Online fraud is a growing problem these days. Fortunately I wasn't a victim of it, but my man almost got his account compromised. He had a weird ATM transaction ($2.75) and reported to Chase. The transaction was initiated in Kentucky and we've never been there :D

So Chase gave his money back and changed his debit card to a new one. That's why compulsively checking your internet banking account is not a bad idea at all in the end ...
 
In Kentucky, we have a new system via child support payments. Instead of paper checks,
we receive a debit card and whenever you get a payment, it's posted to that account and that
card. One would think that it would make things easier, but truth be told, I've had to cancel
and have a new card sent 3 times now.
The debit cards, drafted through Chase Bank, aren't secure. At all. In fact, I was warned by
an Admin at the bank ( after a series of angry conversations) that any purchases I make online
with the card, which they assure you is secure, is simply handing your money away b/c they don't
monitor the card usage and companies that you purchase through can sell your information to other
online companies, so unless you trust that your ISP and internet connection is secure ( no broadband),
you're a potential victim waiting to happen. I've been charged for everything from pies to porn to lingerie. :eek:
 
I am sorry to hear that happened to you :(

It is sad when people take advantage of others just make a buck.

I will recommend using services other than paypal. Paypal refuses to protect sellers at all and they will always screw you over. Try Alertbook
 
oh men! That scared me. me and my friends have had no problem with Paypal since last year. We always had our Paypal payments transferred to separate bank accounts.

The only scam where I'd been had was on online writing. I took on job orders andwrote several articles. When payment time came, every 15 days, my employers (2) both had technical problems, etc..alibis. Then they're gone. My emails kept returning and they can't be reached on fone or anywhere anymore. Good thing is, I had a dream and so I became wary. I lost $21 and @28 respectively. Now, I've learned. And the good thing is.... someone found my work good and hired me on regular work. No scam; prompt payment.

We just have to be less trusting. I learned that now. Good thing I only lost written work payment.
 
It appears that your transactions seem to be local since you can call the buyer and the owner of the hacked account. I would suggest that in future if you have local transactions, you should get the buyer to bank the money directly to your account and then send the item bought.

Perhaps other transactions too should go through other payment methods like Western Union or by check or credit card. Paypal is only for trusted buyers only. Perhaps if you had a few transactions with a certain buyer and he turns out to be a good payee then if he wishes you can let him use Paypal.

This should be a lesson to every one that we cannot trust any one online.
 
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It's the common problem with newbie online writers; I just found out from other new writer friends. Getting fixed rate jobs is really very risky. If you request for down or front payment, the employer is not willing to send. But because the new writer is so eager to have the first job orders, they become eager victims.

Never again.... and I really warned many to mind who they do writing for! Thank you, Uminoor!
 
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