COLLECTORS GROUP FAKE NEW MEMBER SCAM
So how does this scam work?
A new member joins the group, they say they are interested in starting or expanding a collection.
Once they have gained a bit of interest (and some new friends from the group) they begin one of two scams.
SCAM ONE. Helping their other profiles scam collectors by posting links to collections that they appear to be interested in and ask for advice on, in the hope that some collector in the group will jump in and buy them first….
SCAM TWO. They will claim to have bought some figures in a bundle that they didn’t really want and offer them for sale in the group at what appears to be a bargain price…
They will of course insist on payment by Paypal friends and family and people will be scammed out of their money….
PAYPAL FRIENDS & FAMILY SCAM EXPLAINED
Many collectors buy through social media, whether it be through facebook marketplace, a fan site or through one of the many collectors groups, but we all know that not every post is what it appears to be.
I often see posts from people who’ve sent money via PayPal friends and family (F&F) and never got the stuff they ordered, and unfortunately by the time they realise it’s a scam the seller is long gone along with their money.
It is worth pointing out that not all sellers who use friends and family to collect payments are scammers, there are many genuine sellers that use it to simply avoid paying PayPal fees.
So how do we avoid being scammed out of our hard earned cash?
Never send money through Paypal Friends and Family unless it’s to a close friend or family member that you know in person.
Even if somebody has feedback and references or you speak to them in the groups for a few months it isn’t worth the risk for the small amount it costs.
Remember that friends and family is essentially a direct payment through PayPal and as such there is no option to raise a dispute and do a chargeback. Disputes can only be raised for business purchases not person to person transactions, for example if the goods aren’t received, they are received damaged or the wrong the item is sent.
What you can do is report it to your bank as a scam, this allows your bank to contact the external bank/PayPal to inform them of a scam and attempt to recover all or some of your funds, although this is highly unlikely as in most scam cases the funds usually get removed straight away.
You could try raising a case with your bank. They will be able to review it under the contingent reimbursement model which is a process banks use on authorised push payment fraud (APP). However, they are not under any obligation to refund you and you should never expect to get your money back.
The bank will review the case to determine if they made any mistakes, if you ignored any warnings and what checks you did to validate the person and the goods you were buying. If they feel you’ve done all you could then they might refund you, but it isn’t guaranteed.
It is also worthwhile contacting Action Fraud as this allows the police to understand the scale of the fraud, and determine a pattern to the scammers activities.
Do not expect the police to be kicking in doors and making arrests, they don’t have the time or resources to deal with major crimes let alone a mug punter who has lost a few quid on a facebook scam. Even frauds for thousands of pounds don’t always get looked at.
So how do you avoid getting scammed?
Watch out for the warning signs
- New profile
- New to the group
- No sales history
- Few or no friends
- Member of random groups, with no obvious collecting theme
- No photographs
- Generic profile picture
- Poor use of English
If somebody is insisting that you pay through Friends and Family and wont allow you to pay a bit more to do it as a business transaction then chances are they are a scammer.
A genuine seller will always allow you to pay securely.