The perfect crime?
Ever really wonder about Ebay? They like to maintain an image as this crazy worldwide garage sale type of operation, people buying and selling stuff and generally having a great old time. Ever wonder about Pay Pal, Ebay’s credit card facilitator? Pay pal is the virtually exclusive form of payment on Ebay and they like to maintain an image as the company that allows every small seller to accept credit cards. They are nothing of the kind and I would advise everyone to be very leery of their business practices. I say this as someone who owns a mail order business that accepts credit cards. I know how an honest business operates; Pay Pal is not one of them.
So what is the perfect crime? Here is the set up:
A seller runs an auction on Ebay. The auction closes and the buyer pays the seller using Pay Pal. The buyer then waits and waits, the item is never going to arrive. After a few weeks the buyer files a dispute with Pay Pal saying they never received the item. Pay Pal then contacts the seller. The seller at this point ships either an empty box or a Dixie cup, whatever, thereby obtaining a UPS tracking number. The seller provides this to Pay Pal. Pay Pal then closes the case as the seller has provided proof that they have shipped the item.
Clinching the fraud:
After all this, Pay Pal contacts the buyer, closing the case and saying the only alternative the buyer has is to file a police report. Is this too good to be true? You bet it is, if you are the seller. You have totally dodged the normal credit card protections offered to every consumer. You now have Pay Pal acting as your shill. Now I was the buyer in the circumstance listed above and I contacted my credit card company. Thank god they were able to cancel the transaction. But what if I had allowed Pay Pal to withdraw money directly from my account? Pay Pal encourages you to register your bank account with them to become a “confirmed member”. The bottom line? Be very aware that when doing business with Pay Pal you are offered virtually none of the protections you would get if you used a credit card anywhere else. Pay Pal offers protection to the seller only, not the buyer. Lastly, never, ever register your bank account with Pay Pal, or use it to pay for a transaction.
Ever really wonder about Ebay? They like to maintain an image as this crazy worldwide garage sale type of operation, people buying and selling stuff and generally having a great old time. Ever wonder about Pay Pal, Ebay’s credit card facilitator? Pay pal is the virtually exclusive form of payment on Ebay and they like to maintain an image as the company that allows every small seller to accept credit cards. They are nothing of the kind and I would advise everyone to be very leery of their business practices. I say this as someone who owns a mail order business that accepts credit cards. I know how an honest business operates; Pay Pal is not one of them.
So what is the perfect crime? Here is the set up:
A seller runs an auction on Ebay. The auction closes and the buyer pays the seller using Pay Pal. The buyer then waits and waits, the item is never going to arrive. After a few weeks the buyer files a dispute with Pay Pal saying they never received the item. Pay Pal then contacts the seller. The seller at this point ships either an empty box or a Dixie cup, whatever, thereby obtaining a UPS tracking number. The seller provides this to Pay Pal. Pay Pal then closes the case as the seller has provided proof that they have shipped the item.
Clinching the fraud:
After all this, Pay Pal contacts the buyer, closing the case and saying the only alternative the buyer has is to file a police report. Is this too good to be true? You bet it is, if you are the seller. You have totally dodged the normal credit card protections offered to every consumer. You now have Pay Pal acting as your shill. Now I was the buyer in the circumstance listed above and I contacted my credit card company. Thank god they were able to cancel the transaction. But what if I had allowed Pay Pal to withdraw money directly from my account? Pay Pal encourages you to register your bank account with them to become a “confirmed member”. The bottom line? Be very aware that when doing business with Pay Pal you are offered virtually none of the protections you would get if you used a credit card anywhere else. Pay Pal offers protection to the seller only, not the buyer. Lastly, never, ever register your bank account with Pay Pal, or use it to pay for a transaction.
posted by R Huse at 8:36 AM
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