Maximum PC

So, this is how it all went down. On ebay, I was selling my XPS M1730 laptop for $3299.99. Pretty humble price, seeing as how I purchased it for quite a bit more, having maxed it out at the time of purchase.

Meanwhile, there's a guy who buys it, and I'm psyched cause I pocketed $3300! Turns out the guy was a scammer. This is where the problems began.

My account was locked because they had to confirm any suspicions. In order to prove I was I, I had to scan them my birth certificate, S.S. card (because some guy from India had my S.S Number, which I have NEVER given out before except to doctors , employers, and my bank.) , my driver's license, confirm my bank account, and give them my blood type!

See, this is what I didn't get.

a.) Why they needed my blood type. This brings literal term to "writing things in blood".

b.) I was the one scammed. Not them. Why did they lock MY account?


Well, I was selling various other things at the time. So here I had sitting in my account about $4500.00 and I can't put it in my bank account or anything. Lucky I didn't send out my computer.

Well, after all was said it done, they refused to refund my account, all my stuff that I sent out before was gone, and the money was lost.

This is just a warning to those who might find themselves lucky. Even if you've been loyal to them, they don't care. Who are you? What do you benefit them? Maybe 1K out of fees? Whoopdie doo to them! They are a company that is crooked and pro-scammer, no matter what they'll tell you.

Thanks a lot Paypal for screwing me over.

Paypal Employees, how can you sleep at night?

If you provided all that info I don't see how they can lock your account like that... That money was clearly yours unless I am missing something here, and how is that guy a scammer if you got payed the $3300?

Something doesn't add up here.

Are you sure you were dealing with Paypal and not a scammer pretending to be Paypal?

They shouldn't have to ask for all that information. But a scammer would.

Nope. It was paypal. I talked to them on the phone, and I was the one who called.

NEVER would I EVER give out that much information to anyone. PERIOD.
I wouldn't even give that much info to my own bank!

I really hope you didn't get scammed. Something really doesn't smell right here.

What was the phone number that you dialed to reach Paypal?

PayPal is a registered financial institution. The hoops that they made you jump through were NOT invented by them.

Read the ToS *before* you allow *any* organisation access to your bank accounts / money. Seriously.

Absolutely nothing that has happened to you would be the least bit surprising if you'd actually read and understood the terms of service ... and entering into a business arrangement in the thousands of dollars without being crystal-clear on the contract is fucking stupid.

To answer your question:

"b.) I was the one scammed. Not them. Why did they lock MY account? "

Who do you think reimburses you when you're scammed? Do you think they can get the money back once the scammer has cashed out? No. It comes from PayPal .. out of their pocket.

Before any organisation is going to hand you $3300 out of their own pocket, they are going to investigate .. it is called 'due diligence' and it is required by law.

As for blood type ... that is really bizarre. That is something I've never heard before ... which, like everyone else here, makes it sound like you got screwed twice.

What is the number that you called?

1-888-221-1161

Where did you get that number from?

When I did a Google search for that number all that came up were websites dealing with poor PayPal service and never a hit for Paypal itself.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?c ... tact-phone

When I manually go to the contact us and use the link above, its not a toll free number.

Could malware be an issue?

i believe you have to sign in first. Maybe it's because I was signed in when i gave you the link?

Contact Us
PayPal Customer Service:

1-402-935-2050
(a U.S. telephone number)


Got the same thing too..

That is a PayPal number. I get the same number when I sign in to the provided link.

I live in America, so it should be an American one. Why it's that one, I don't know. But this was merely a warning, because I'd rather have you guys learn from my mistake and not lose all the money which could be used to upgrade or buy a new computer =)

So .. what was your mistake?

The only mistake I made was dealing with them. I had to switch all my numbers around, cancel my bank account and start up a new one, provide myself with a fake phone number, etc.

Sigh.

Unfortunately, it seems like PP is the only game in town. Yeah, I'm glad you didn't send out the pc either.

What I don't understand is why PayPal is getting blamed for someone else's scam.

Someone offered to buy the laptop; you didn't send it and you didn't keep their money. They protect him by locking his account (standard in cases of fraud and required by federal law in the US) and he shits all over them.

I'm not even sure what he has lost, exactly.