A stranger claims to have sent you money by mistake via PayPal? Be careful not to return the money randomly, otherwise you risk being scammed!
If, like millions of French people, you use PayPal services to pay for purchases or carry out transactions with friends, be very careful at this time! Over the past few weeks, many users have been surprised to receive payments from strangers that they absolutely did not expect. Unexpected and rather welcome transfers in this period of economic crisis, but which hide a trap. Because it is obviously not a gift from a generous anonymous donor, but a scam! And well shown.
Its principle is as simple as it is clever. First, you receive a small amount of money from an unknown source in your PayPal account. Then, the person behind the transfer contacts you and explains that they paid you this amount following an error. She appeals to your honesty and asks if you can return the money, which seems completely legitimate. But that’s where there’s something fishy. In fact, it asks you, to complete the transaction, to use the “Friends and family” option.
If you are unfortunate enough to accept the request and make the reimbursement this way, you can say goodbye to your money! In fact, the scammer will then report to PayPal that the initial payment was an error, that there was a problem. However, as he made the payment through the “For goods and services” option, he benefits from buyer protection. This is why the payment service cancels the first transfer and withdraws the money from your account and returns it to its original owner. Here’s your crook reimbursed, and twice! The problem is that, as your transfer was made via the “Friends and Family” option, you do not benefit from buyer protection. Result: unlike the scammer, you will never get your money back.
If someone sends you a transfer by mistake and asks you to refund it, don’t choose the “Friends and Family” option. PayPal has a function for securely return payments made in error. Simply select the payment you wish to refund and click “Issue Refund”. In this way, the return transfer is not considered a new transaction and therefore cannot be credited a second time.