Attempted eBay Fraud

[jjnd08]

I am currently selling my 116233. I want to list it on here, but I wanted to wait until February to be a Pledge Member so that way I can retain that status for an entire year instead of just a month. So I listed it on eBay. Yesterday, I got a notification that it sold. The person that bought the watch asked me to send him an invoice to his email so that he could pay for the watch. I did so, and I got an email from: service@paypal <service@paypalapprovalorder.com> telling me that I have received a Payment.

It looked pretty legit; it used the correct language, had the appropriate header and footers, etc. The email directed me to input the shipping number into PayPal, or that once the shipping can be cleared by a carrier that the payment would go through.

This seemed off to me. I logged into PayPal and saw that the payment status hasn't changed (another red flag). So I called PayPal, and it was indeed fraud. I just wanted to let all of you know that if you ever get an email from "PayPal" saying that you need to ship an item for funds to clear, it's fraud.

Here is the "buyer" that I dealt with; just in case any of you ever deal with him: Paul Lalchand <lalchand_paul1@yahoo.com> His ebay user ID is: mistuhevo

PayPal also emailed me a list of what they will never ask for:
Paypal Will Never:

• Send an email to: “Undisclosed Recipients” or more than one email
address
• Ask you to download a form or file to resolve an issue
• Ask in an email to verify an account using Personal Information such
as Name, Date of Birth, Driver’s License, or Address
• Ask in an email to verify an account using Bank Account Information
such as Bank Name, Routing Number, or Bank Account PIN Number
• Ask in an email to verify an account using Credit Card Information
such as Credit Card Number or Type, Expiration Date, ATM PIN Number, or
CVV2 Security Code
• Ask for your full credit card number without displaying the type of
card and the last two digits
• Ask you for your full bank account number without displaying your bank
name, type of account (Checking/Savings) and the last two digits
• Ask you for your security question answers without displaying each
security question you created
• Ask you to ship an item, pay a shipping fee, send a Western Union
Money Transfer, or provide a tracking number before the payment received
is available in your transaction history

[crowncollection]

always be careful paypal is all for buyers not much protection for sellers, i always log into check payment properly, i dont just trust an email.

[jjnd08]

Originally Posted by crowncollection

always be careful paypal is all for buyers not much protection for sellers, i always log into check payment properly, i dont just trust an email.

Agree, I'm glad I did this. I saved myself from potentially getting ripped off of close to $7000!

[AbsolutelyROLEX!]

Man thats scary, indeed ebay is a "buyer only" sales platform.
Anyone that becomes a member here should never have to sell or buy on the bay ever again, just my opinion.....

[jjnd08]

Originally Posted by anderl712000

Man thats scary, indeed ebay is a "buyer only" sales platform.
Anyone that becomes a member here should never have to sell or buy on the bay ever again, just my opinion.....

I have had good experience on eBay with watches. I have bought two, and sold one. I got a very good deal on my last one.

I have also heard of people being scammed on here. Everyone just needs to be careful out there; unfortunately, there are bad people out there.

[TurboWatch]

on EBAY. Please do so now.

[jjnd08]

Originally Posted by TurboWatch

on EBAY. Please do so now.

I reported him to ebay.

[SohAIS]

Thanks for sharing that information and be careful outthere every one.

[socalwatchcollector]

This crap with the paypal/ebay email fraud has been going on for years... You also need to report it and send it over to paypal security and they will handle it.

[jjnd08]

Originally Posted by socalwatchcollector

This crap with the paypal/ebay email fraud has been going on for years... You also need to report it and send it over to paypal security and they will handle it.

I did. When I called PayPal to check it out, they asked me to forward them the email I received so that they could verify that it was a phishing/scam attempt.

I received emails back from PayPal confirming my suspicion.

[dysondiver]

well done for catching on it was a scam attempt.

[robertneville]

unfortunately, it happens EVERY day. glad you didn't get burned.

[bayerische]

An email is not something to trust. Glad the OP got out of it without loosing a watch!

[jjnd08]

Originally Posted by bayerische

An email is not something to trust. Glad the OP got out of it without loosing a watch!

So is the OP!

[Cc1966]

Good catch...and glad it worked out OP.

[tbonesteak]

Happened to me today, same email. Instantly knew it was fraud. I mean it was obviously shady from the start when the buyer bought a buy it now OBO at full price.

God, Ebay is awful... I asked if I could relist the item, they tell me I need to work out nonpayment with the buyer. HELLO IDIOTS!! THERE IS NO BUYER!!

Then I spoke to some customer service people from who knows where and they offered no help. Infuriating!

Now they say I can't relist it until this listing is settled! No thanks! I'll try to sell elsewhere.

[Lordofrolex]

Wow this guy is pretty savvy. Its scary how much people try to scam people theses days.

[cajunron]

Good for you for your due diligence. These kinds of thieving people make me sick.

[AU_911tt]

I had something similar happen the other day. Someone bought a buy it now OBO at full price as well. It was from an established account and they paypaled me the money. I even withdrew the money that night. Early the next morning I had an email from paypal telling me not to ship. I called in and was told they suspected the person and that they would buy and pay for an item, but when they receive it open a case saying I shipped them nothing, hoping to get their money back and keep the watch.

From now on, I will be having Fedex watch me package my watches that are sold on eBay or when a person uses Paypal for payment.

I reached out with no response and issued refund on the money. Obviously if it was a legit purchase they would have been wanting the watch and not the money back.

[tbonesteak]

Originally Posted by AU_911tt

I had something similar happen the other day. Someone bought a buy it now OBO at full price as well. It was from an established account and they paypaled me the money. I even withdrew the money that night. Early the next morning I had an email from paypal telling me not to ship. I called in and was told they suspected the person and that they would buy and pay for an item, but when they receive it open a case saying I shipped them nothing, hoping to get their money back and keep the watch.

From now on, I will be having Fedex watch me package my watches that are sold on eBay or when a person uses Paypal for payment.

I reached out with no response and issued refund on the money. Obviously if it was a legit purchase they would have been wanting the watch and not the money back.

Any high cost item I ship, I video record myself closing the box at the post office/UPS Store, the certified mail going with it, and the payment being made. Obviously not bulletproof, but it gives me ground to stand on.

[tbonesteak]

And anyone who uses buy it now instead of making an offer when the option is available is an instant red flag.

Like, do you hate money?

[J!m]

Well, I'm not scammer but if I see something priced fairly with a BIN and a best offer option, and I really want that item, I'll BIN. And I pay for it within minutes.

Particularly true with rare, unusual or difficult to source items (like vintage watch parts?).

I got an NOS 700 crown in the bubble that way not too long ago.

[michigan.watches]

One of the best things you can do to protect yourself while selling on eBay is to check the "immediate payment required" box. That will weed out 85% of the fraud.

[05carbondrz]

Originally Posted by michigan.watches

One of the best things you can do to protect yourself while selling on eBay is to check the "immediate payment required" box. That will weed out 85% of the fraud.

I always check that box.If You don't have the Money now,Don't hit the BIN.I hate when People would hit the BIN and tie my item up for Days on end.

[southtexas]

If you accept PayPal, always make sure to confirm the payment has registered in your PayPal acct by logging into their website directly. Also, add tracking number into the transaction upon shipment.

I didn't always do this, then eBay froze my account (which had lots of money in it). They claimed I was a suspicious character because I had numerous sales within days without tracking numbers. Took several days of me printing tracking results from shipping cos and providing them to pp before they released my money.

Bear in mind that NOBODY had (or has/had ever) filed any sort of claim against me, but pp took it upon themselves to do this. Buyers'-sided business model for sure. Needless to say, I don't keep any significant balance in their account anymore.

[dera]

Originally Posted by southtexas

If you accept PayPal, always make sure to confirm the payment has registered in your PayPal acct by logging into their website directly. Also, add tracking number into the transaction upon shipment.

I didn't always do this, then eBay froze my account (which had lots of money in it). They claimed I was a suspicious character because I had numerous sales within days without tracking numbers. Took several days of me printing tracking results from shipping cos and providing them to pp before they released my money.

Bear in mind that NOBODY had (or has/had ever) filed any sort of claim against me, but pp took it upon themselves to do this. Buyers'-sided business model for sure. Needless to say, I don't keep any significant balance in their account anymore.

They confiscated my money once for over 4 months (about 7000EUR), for review. In the end I had to send a solicitors letter and get the financial ombudsman involved to get my money released. Funnily enough, they got released a day after they received the letter.
Endless calls to them, "Yes Sir, we have received your paperwork and the case will be reviewed, it only normally takes 48 hours" "Well, this has been going on for 3 months" "Oh I don't know why Sir, someone will call you back".

Hate that company. I avoid it like cancer.

[shy06002]

Same thing happened to me last month and I got a similar email. Something just didn't seem right so I logged onto paypal and of course there was no info on the sale. Good thing about paypal is you can send a email to spoof@paypal.com to verify whether you were sent fake email address or not. This was resolved in a matter of minutes which is definitely a improvement on customer service :)