GIFT CARD SCAMMING:
Apparently, there's a lot of gift card scamming. This is an excerpt from a seller at [email protected] who is warning of the gift card scams
Here's an example of how the scam works.
1. You win the auction and pay the seller with PayPal (or similar service).
2. The seller accepts your money and transfers the money from their PayPal account to their checking account.
3. You (the buyer), sit and wait for your gift card to arrive.......
4. Meanwhile, the seller can either let their account go dormant, or close their PayPal account.
5. Now, it's weeks later, and you finally figured out that you've been scammed.� Well, you dispute the purchase via PayPal. And then you wait.....typically, about a week or so......and guess what?....YOU WIN the dispute.....but, then guess what?� You get the following response from PayPal:
"We have determined that the seller is at fault in this matter but regret to inform you that we were unable to recover any funds from the seller's account. As stated in the PayPal User Agreement, recovery of funds associated with a Buyer Complaint cannot be guaranteed." -- PayPal
So, you're out the money!� And, MOST OFTEN, you have NO contact information for the seller. (Apparently, Paypal will not provide the contact info of the scammer.) �
Didn't you check their feedback?
The seller I purchased the gift card from had almost 100% feedback.� In fact, most of the scammers did have 100% feedback.� So, don't just use a sellers feedback as reassurance.
Who are the scammers?
How can I protect myself?
.� Demand you send a USPS Postal Money Order.
� (By paying with PayPal, you have a much less chance of getting your money back.)
- Send the money order First Class Mail, Certified, Return Receipt.
� (This costs you about $4.50.� Sending this way will ensure the seller receives the money, and the seller can't say, "I never received your payment."���� YOU WILL HAVE PROOF THEY RECEIVED YOUR PAYMENT. )
- Demand the user mail you the gift card to you the same way you sent the money order, even�
if it means you pay for it.
� (Like I said, this costs about $4.50.� Don't let the seller try to tell you it costs more -- it doesn't!� Sending this way will ensure the YOU receive the gift card, and seller can't say, "I sent the gift card.....it must have gotten lost in the mail."���� YEAH RIGHT!
But still, BE SURE TO OBTAIN THEIR CONTACT INFO SO YOU CAN FILE A POLICE REPORT.
� I know it sounds like a lot of work, but trust me, it's much harder trying to get your money back from users when you don't have their contact information.
Here's a suggestion from an email I recently received.....Since shipping by US mail was promised to you, the scam also constitutes MAIL FRAUD, which may be prosecuted federally if you file a complaint with the Postal Inspection Service.�
You can do so online at - Please invest a few minutes of your time to help nail the scammer you dealt with! �
Any other information?
One more thing......I have not verified the following information, but I've heard it a couple of times.....Apparently, these gift card sellers (at least some of them) never had intentions of scamming people.� Supposedly, there is/was a distributor who used to sell these Wal-Mart gift cards at a discount to these sellers.� Apparently, this distributor took/stole the sellers money (hence the� buyers money) and left the seller with no gift cards, and tons of buyers without receiving their gift cards.
As I said, the above info is not verified, but it does sound plausible.� At any rate, you need to be careful. That's the purpose of providing people with this auction!
I work for an organization that comes into contact with a bevy of fraud scams both on the internet as well out in the US in many different cities. Apparently, there are people who are purchasing gift cards with bogus checks with the intention on re-selling them on venues like ebay.
There is no way you can verify that the gift card you are purchasing is valid with the promised funds available on it. The criminals are even counterfeiting the mag stripe information in a effort to pass along the same card in multiple auctions so please take heed and reconsider before you bid on one. Why would anyone sell a stored value card in the first place? The available funs are easy to convert to cash if they do not wish to shop at that store. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! I assume there are no current plans for ebay to prohibit the sale of these items. Thanks