Latest Paypal scam

Selling a high end item ($2K). Buyer sends two separate PP payments ($960 and $890) that don't equal the selling price ($150 short). With apologies he PPs the third and final payment A FEW HOURS later.

Buyer is verified, legit, etc. so you ship the item insured, sig confirmation, etc., however coupled to only ONE of the payments - most likely the most recent and lowest payment. Buyer files a "Not Received" chargeback on the other two payments - the initial two highest payments - and as there's no evidence of shipment you have no recourse - you're screwed.

PP has confirmed this trend and warns against chain payments.

Interesting, huh?!?!

Do you have an e-mail support to show the item was sold for 2K and the seller respond on his/her short pay?

Link please?

Luckily I didn't follow through with the transaction but no emails, phone logs, etc, other than evidence of shipping would have even remotely addressed the issue. It would be a long and difficult legal battle with no PP support.

Not new, but also not common, so thanks for posting it. Did you send an invoice, or just give the buyer your email address?

wow, i never thought if this, why is selling this so complicated, so i guess the lesson is to refuse partial payments like this. thanks for the headsup!

I like to deal in public places like starbucks by using CL.

If Paypal knows about this scam I would think they would help. All payments are made by the same person. If it's an ebay transaction that is usually linked to the Paypal transaction.

I'm not aware of a way to make a partial payment thru eBay. This could be done with a sale on POTN or fredmiranda, though I'm a bit suprised that PayPal would not be willing to help out here.

Thanks for the info.

good info. way too many scammers.

they keep coming up with crazy ideas to scam, I wish they applied that thinking towards making money the legit way

wow. crazy scammers. thanks for the heads up rcim!

if i was out $2,000...and i had sent something to someone...i'd buy a plane ticket, and go to the address where i sent the item...

Thanks for the heads up.

I just about lost my T1i that I "sold" via CL. They sent an e-mail that looked like a legit PP saying I needed to provide a tracking number then the funds would be deposited into my account. Their mistake was sending another almost exactly the same text from a different state. Had the camera at the hardware store, paid $130 for overnight shipping. When I received the second text I called the hardware store and told them not ship my package. Thank goodness for small towns!

Now I have to watch for this one as my camera is now listed on e-bay. Thanks again for the heads up.