Victim Location 94805
Total money lost $62.49
Type of a scam Online Purchase
I have redacted some personal information from this post, but I am posting this so others can beware that if you are the victim of a form of fraud that I didn’t even know exited until it happened to me, Paypal is not going to find in your favor.
Here’s how the fraud works. Fake company "sells" item, you pay through Paypal. Company (scammer) gets your money, sends a tracking number that says something was delivered to your zip code, they keep your money without ever actually shipping anything. To be clear, the tracking number itself is real, just not for you personally or the item you purchased. In my case the date was a dead giveaway. You open a dispute with the Paypal Resolution Center, "Company" sends same fake tracking number to Paypal, and without an ounce of investigative legwork, Paypal sees that it is indeed a real tracking number to your zip code and sides with the fraudulent scammer.
I have included a lightly redacted copy of my claim with Paypal (indicated by *);
"I ordered item #5120690508036857267, advertised as an Autometer 7591 voltmeter gauge on May 10, 2020 from AFS CUSTOM PAINT INC, and paid $62.49. By May 24, 2020 I had not received the voltmeter. When following the USPS tracking number I was sent from Paypal: 9274892700509901001630****, the delivery notification read: "Your item was delivered in or at the mailbox at 11:06 am on April 25, 2020 in RICHMOND, CA 94805." Obviously the item could not have been delivered on April 25, if the purchase was not made until May 10. I attempted to contact the seller at the given email of charlotteflwdefoor at gxxxl.com and received no response. I believe the seller to be fraudulent."
Somehow the voltmeter was delivered over two weeks before i bought it. Amazing! On June 16, after multiple failed attempts from Paypal to contact the seller, the seller finally sends them the same fake tracking number they sent me, and resolved the dispute with this message:
"Decided in seller’s favour" and "Valid tracking info provided by the seller." Are you serious? Valid? I made a review on Paypal’s resolution center, again lightly redacted:
""How can we improve your Resolution Center experience?" I don’t know… maybe learn how to read. I received notification that my claim Case ID: PP-D-6821**** was denied today. I paid for a volt gauge from a company called AFS Custom Paint on May 10. The item was never received, and when following the USPS Tracking number: 9274892700509901001630****, it indicated that the item was delivered on April 25. April 25! I ordered the item on May 10, and it was delivered on April 25. Do yourself a favor, go find a calendar and tell me what order the months are in. How can someone order an item on May 10 and it be delivered on April 25? Is the USPS delivering packages with flux capacitor equipped De Loreans??. The kicker is that after a month goes by the seller finally (supposedly) sends you the same BS tracking number they sent me. Did you even bother to check the dates. Paypal resolution center is incompetent at best, and flat out fraudulent at worst."
Very disappointed with Paypal. I have found out after the fact about this type of fraud, and regardless of how loyal a customer of Paypals’ services you are, they will side with the fraudulent scammer and not refund your money. For a more in-depth explanation of how this scam works do a google search for "USPS tracking number scam". I will definitely not be using Paypal as liberally as I have in the past.