Paypal Investigation into Recent Transaction Email

[iamaseller]

I received this message 2 days ago from Paypal, what do i do? I haven't done anything out of the ordinary recently besides adding a new bank account and confirming it several days ago. The transaction in question took place last week, an ebay buyer bought an item from me, received it and everything was all good until this....

Dear xxxxxxxxxxxx,

One of the benefits of using PayPal is that we make every effort to alert
you to potentially problematic transactions. Our goal is to help you make
sound business decisions.

From time to time, we request additional information about PayPal payments.
This is a security measure meant to protect you from problem transactions.

We would like to learn more about this transaction. Please log in to your
PayPal account and provide some information.

We strongly advise that you not ship the item until our investigation is
complete. If you have already shipped the item, please log in and let us
know where you shipped it.

We have placed a temporary hold on the funds until the investigation is
complete.

[aspkin]

It looks like your buyer scammed you.

[iamaseller]

i can live with that, it was a fairly small transaction. as long as they aren't investigating me i hope

from your experience, what do you think they are going to do next? are they going to release the money back to me or continue to hold it and then tell me I'm screwed?

[Quasi_Mojo]

Is this an e-mail you received, or was it a message on your account?
This looks like a phishing e-mail.

I would never go to PP's website without typing the URL directly into the address bar. Never click a button or link in an e-mail.

[aspkin]

Most likely you'll lose this money unless you can prove shipment.

[djmuggs]

this means the buyer was NOT the owner of the account. used someone elses paypal and sent you stolen funds. they will reverse the funds and take them out of your pp. this happen to me 3 times already.

[terryp]

Getting these emails more & more frequently…..every single one I’ve lost the money as Paypal don’t recognize registered international mail tracking

Just the last 6 weeks I’ve lost almost 200 quid …be very careful of mailing multiple BIN items without making sure it’s all above board

i now threaten all the buyers with the small claims court in the UK as it is fraud ....many times money returned to buyer after the items have been signed for on delivery .. a total scam

[terryp]

"We strongly advise that you not ship the item until our investigation is
complete. If you have already shipped the item, please log in and let us
know where you shipped it."

This is a complete joke as I normally get the paypal email 5-7 days after items have been shipped...? I have never received the email in less than 5 days after payment, so are we supposed to hold off shipping for a week...guess Paypal know nothing about DSR's

[ebayhateluv]

HI:
Ive recd this email when "I" sent money from MYSELF to MYSELF,,
within 2 diff pp accts

[iamaseller]

I agree that it is a complete joke, how can sellers be protected by fraudulent buyers if we aren't notified until a week afterwards. I ship same day or next day because of DSR ratings.

Are we even protected if we ship with a tracking # or will they still take the money from us? Can I file an unpaid buyer strike if they do take the money from my account?

[Modee]

This happens with legitimate buyers too. Without getting into the non-essential details, in such cases if a confirmed address was attached and you can prove you shipped to that address and the item was received, the transaction will be sustained.

But, if no address attached, you cannot prove shipment OR the address was fake and the item was returned undeliverable (this happened on a payment I received from a tech support client, who consequently made good with a Money Order), the payment will reverse.

[iamaseller]

Update

Dear xxxxxxxx,

As you know, we have been reviewing the transaction detailed below. Our
investigation is now complete and we have returned the funds to the PayPal
account holder.


What kind of crap is this? So this buyer used fraudulent funds to pay me and then receives their money back. Unbelievable.

[divine422]

They probably paid with instant transfer or something and their bank decline. They will automatically question you about the transaction and i you cant prove you shipped, youre done.

[Modee]

No, that has nothing to do with it (bank declined). I have legitimate people on here who have paid me tech support fees with their PayPals and this exact same thing has happened. They were not trying to defraud me, and the funds were available in their accounts. They mailed me money orders promptly to cover the reversed transactions.

The details of why this happens are too sensitive to even discuss in public, but it has to do with an algorithm PayPal employs.

What it does come down to is - avoid PayPal at all costs!