Is this a SCAM? - Domain Buying SCAM???

[GoPC]

Okay...

Say you get an offer for a domain...not an outrageous offer, a reasonable offer. So you sell it.... you then get TOO MUCH money for the domain PayPal'd to you.

Shortly thereafter, you get a note from the Buyer stating he accidentally paid you is Euros rather than US Dollars or GBP instead of USD and would like the money refunded.

NOT THE DIFFERENCE, the whole amount.

After which, he will send BACK the correct amount.

With cash/checks and such... this is the old scam we've always hear about... buying Car for too much, send back the difference, blah, blah, blah...

But with PayPal, how can this work? I can't see it being a Scam, especially having refunded the full amount... but CAN it be?

PayPal can charge back purchases after the fact... so is it possible for a charge to be returned even though you have sent the buyer money?

NOT as a Refund, but you sending him money.

Okay... let me say this another way...

He sends you money, you accept. Then he says please return... so you PAY him the same amount to zero the balance. NOW, paypal sees to PAYMENTS, not a charge/refund. He contests the original buy and you get charged back. He got your payment and his back.

Something like that...

Anyway, just wondering.... cause I returned the money by simply rejecting the original payment (I never took posession of it) and now I've not heard back from they buyer at all.

GoPC

 

[Andrew Shaw]

I dont see that it could be a scam, though anything is possible these days. From my perspective, its appears that it was just a way for him to reneg his offer on the sale. If you dont hear back from him, that will certainly hold true. If he sent you too much, the sensable way would be to ask you for the difference back, unless of course he was worried about sticking you with the paypal fees.

Paypal wont do a chargeback on this transaction if you either deneyed his payment, or issued a refund. Because its counted as a debit now, instead of a credit. If you simply sent him the money then that is a different story...

I would wait a little longer, then try contacting him. If he refuses to respond... just consider it a fish that got away.

I dont use paypal anymore unless its a transaction under $500. Paypal does have many holes. Moniker has a great escrow service, and you can always use escrow.com.

Good Luck with this regardless. I hope you see that sale.

Andrew Shaw

 

[Domagon]

If it's a money / quick transfer, "not accepting" / rejecting is basically the only reliable way to return it.

If it's a payment for goods / services, etc, then "refund" (assuming it's shown as an option) is basically the only reliable way.

It sounds like the buyer sent the money via "quick transfer" in hopes you would then do a quick transfer back, which would be considered a separate unrelated transaction ...

IF you had accepted it, then the thing to do would be nothing, beyond perhaps filing a complaint with PayPal, contrary to what common sense would suggest ... fortunately, according to your post, you rejected it beforehand.

Ron

 

[jdk]

I hope you did not push the domain to this guy? It does sound like a scam to me if you already pushed the name. I get these types of phishing emails from Paypal and eBay all the time.

 

[GoPC]

I did reject it. Figured the safest thing is that I never touched it.

However... some GOOD news.

The buyer contacted me today, apologized for the delays and send the corrected amount. Once I recv'd and transferred it out of my account, I pushed the domains.

It's all good now

Just seemed fishy there for a few days.

GoPC

 

[Domagon]

Good to hear...

However, on a related note, transferring funds out of PayPal adds little to no protection, since most PayPal transactions can be reversed for upwards of 60 days, and sometimes even much longer ... and in such instances, PayPal can and will attempt to recover the money through various methods, if it's already been withdrawn.

Biggest risks with PayPal and domains:

* Stolen PayPal accounts; difficult to spot unless one does independent verification of the other party to ensure the associated account is really theirs.

* Foreign scammers using PayPal ... they know PayPal can do little, and that local law enforcement likely won't do anything either due to jurisdiction; they usually won't pursue most U.S.-based scammers either.

* PayPal itself "limiting" one's account due to "suspicious" and/or "too much" activity; potentially resulting in reversal of any recent PayPal withdrawals to one's bank account.

The dark side of PayPal...
http://www.paypalsucks.com/

Ron

 

[jdk]

BTW congrats on creating the 200,000th thread.

 

[GoPC]

ME?

How do you know that I did that?

Interesting and thanks

Go DNF!!! GO!!!!

GoPC