Fraud Victim advice

[karamaxjoe]

Hey guys,
I'm looking for some legal or helpful advice on an ebay/paypal transaction I had for about $125 a couple months ago.

I sold a jersey on ebay and the buyer paid through paypal. A few weeks after the transaction, paypal sent me an email issuing a Chargeback. A Chargebacks occur when buyers ask their credit card company to reverse a transaction that has already been approved. I firmly believe I am a victim of Chargeback fraud which is when a buyer reports that someone else has illegally used their credit card information to make a transaction.
The thief will make a legitimate purchase and then claim that they never authorized the transaction. I was able to show proof of delivery and the buyer even tried to resell the item on ebay. The buyer was eventually kicked off ebay. In the end the buyers credit card company ruled in his favor and I now owe paypal $125 and my jersey is gone. Even with all my evidence I didn't have a prayer.

It's a pretty pathetic story and shows how easy it is get ripped off. Anyone have any history or advice on how to fight back. I really don't care that much about the money. I just want the buyer to burn.

Mike

[Sheffield11]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

A similar thing happened to me on an arod batting glove, it went for a little over $200 and about a month later the guy filed a chargeback. I had saved the tracking numbers and i sent them to paypal, within a few days paypal took the hold off and gave me my money back. I was covered under the seller protection plan and it didnt matter what the buyers card decided. Are you a verified and confirmed paypal member? if so you should have beem protected also.

[karamaxjoe]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

No I wasn't verified. It's something I'll obviously have to change to avoid this in the future. I just find it very scary how easy it is to defraud someone with a chargeback.

Mike

[b.heagy]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

That's a scary sitution there. I can't believe paypal did not make the buyer send the item back with a tracker before they issued a refund. Makes me very hesitant to keep accepting paypal, I may consider switching to money orders only. Sorry to hear about your situation, very troubling.

[orioles03]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

not the same thing but i bought somethine on ebay last year it cost like $18 and i just had signed up for paypal credit so i am waiting for the item never arrived emailed the guy no response 5 months later i finally got the guy he said he would ship another this is after i was on phone with paypal then i getting charged interest form paypal so long story short it was almost nine months after i won the auction the guy finally sent the item and i was not paying paypal because i dont know about you i'm not paying for anything i dont have in my hands when i finally got my item i was charged triple what i paid for it paypal would do nothing then paypal turned it over to a credit agency and was forced to pay the bill almost $80 for an $18 item i was so mad luckily the guy is now banned from ebay

[Fraudfinder!!]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

Mike,
I would advise you to contact your local police department with a fraud complaint. The one caveat is that there are still law enforcement agencies that think that eBay and other online auctions are "civil problems" when complaints such as yours arise. There are however, many agencies that would pursue an investigation and possible criminal charges. Do not take no for an answer if they are unwilling to at least look into your complaint. There are criminals that lurk on eBay and they need to be stopped. You would be suprised at the amount of cooperation eBay has with law enforcement. I have worked with them in the past and found them to be very helpful.

Prosecution can be difficult but over 90% of the time, one phone call from a detective is all it takes to get the bad guy to at least make restitution. This is not the best option but at least the victim has his/her money back.

I would also contact your State Attorney General's office (fraud division) and report this guy.

Good Luck....

[jppopma]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

If you wait a couple years, I think that OJ's next book will have some good advice for you.

Seriously, that is scary and sadly the cyber world is still too new for the courts to have address all scenarios. For the dollar amount, I would suggest talking to someone at your local court to see if you can file a small claims case with them. Good luck.

[Vintagedeputy]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

www.zabasearch.com

find him, go to his house, and settle your dispute the way that men have for hundreds of years..........

[Fraudfinder!!]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

Small claims will get you nothing except court cost. (unless the offender lives in the state where you live or, you are willing to travel to where the offender lives to file). Even if the courts find in favor of you (the victim), they lack the teeth to really enforce a judgement. Trust me, the offender will not even show up and ignore the out of state judgement.

It is impossible to ignore a felony criminal charge.

[David]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

If your facts are correct, it appears that he has broken numerous laws. For example, each time he tries to sell stolen goods, that in and of itself is a breaking of the law.

[David]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

I agree that if your facts are accurate filing a police report is a good idea. Also, if the suspect lost and never paid a small claims court judgment, that won't look good on his record. At the least, it won't help his credit rating.

[David]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

One reason you file legitimate claims is that it helps serves as notice for future people who are either wondering whether or not to do business or have their own legal problems with the person. If a person is stealing items and selling stolen goods, this is information future honest customers and businesses would want to be aware of.

[jppopma]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

Sadly the criminal court system has the same issues as any civil court. Even if you do get a good felony charge laid on this other person (which will be very difficult), what will compell the person to appear in court? If this guy is a fraud, he likely has plenty of warrants from being the dirtbag he is---so what is another warrant from another state that he will never be picked up on?

From a police standpoint, we do not like getting involved in the messy civil matters. I'm not saying this is strickly civil, but odds are that you may hear that. If the suspect is out of state, the investigsator will try to call but has no other way to follow up and complete the investigation. I have been victim before myself, and ran into the same walls.

Unfortunately, I do not know enough civil law to know if a court can order garnishment of an out of state defendant or not. At least if they could do that, you can win by default and get your money back.

You can try one or both, and I wish you the best with them all. Let us know how it all turns out. If all else fails, vintagedeputy may live nearby the fraud and pay him a visit.

[10thMan]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

Mike, FIGHT!!! I wouldn`t, or won`t hesitate to File a Police Report, or do whatever it takes. If they don`t get in trouble now, it WILL catch up to them leaving a "paper trail"

I`m aware it`s a pain to do, but Hammer the guy anyway you can, I know I do. The "Oldschool" approach really opens their Eyes, or Closes them if your Tough.

Let us know,
Sean

[karamaxjoe]

Re: Fraud Victim advice

Here's a feel good story for your Tuesday morning!

If you've read this thread before you know I had been srewed on an ebay transaction with a paypal chargeback. Basically I sold a jersey, received payment through paypal, buyer filed a chargeback and I was out the money and the jersey. Turns out the buyer opened an account with a stolen credit card number.

I filed a complaint through the buyers local PD and yesterday the jersey showed up in my mailbox. I've attached the letter below for your reading pleasure. You've got to love the line about the two detectives showing up at his door.

In closing I'd say to never give up when the crooks screw you out of something. I never thought the cops would help, but they did.