Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Yesterday I was contacted by a person interested in a striped male BCI I have for sale in the KS ads. After discussion he agreed to place a down payment and make payments for the next couple of months. Not an expensive snake, only a few hundred bucks. I had him e-mail me so we could start the paper trail and more readily communicate things like addresses etc. The plan was for him to paypal the deposit then send future payments by mail. Couldn't ship the snake for a couple of months since he's in Minnesota.

He tells me he does not have a paypal account but if I send him a paypal request for payment he can pay that way. Was new to me but there is a tab on paypal to request payment. After I requested payment a reply comes in that I have received the payment but from a different e-mail address than the one I sent the request to. I was thinking that's odd but the subject and note areas were definitely about the request I had sent.

Late last night I received a call from a nice lady who's e-mail address was used. She was very polite and asked me if I knew "-----" which was the person I had been dealing with. Seems they were roommates in the past and somehow my buyer had gotten hold of her account info and had charged it to her account.

Pretty lame since it was only a down payment and of course paypal always sends a note to the e-mail address about each and every transaction.

By the time I logged into my paypal account there was a disputed hold on that transaction. I was able to click through there investigation process and refund her money. Police are involved and everything. I've volunteered to help the investigation in any way. As I understand it, charges are being pressed and this idiot is in trouble....all for $30.

So, beware of any paypal transactions that are not from the same e-mail address your dealing with.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
13.24 BRB
12.14 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

What an idiot!

Another Paypal scam people run using a stolen card or ID is, when someone paypals you, but wants you to ship to a different address than their paypal CONFIRMED address, you can loose the money. Even if it says they are a verified buyer.

We shipped to a different address because the guy said he wasn't going to be home and asked we ship to his girlfriend because she was off that day. Well two weeks later paypal comes and takes the money back out of my account and said that, that transaction was a fraudulent charge to that account. We never did get our money because we had shipped to an UNCONFIRMED address, sellers protection DID NOT apply.

Lesson here...know who you are dealing with if they want you to ship to a different address than the CONFIRMED paypal address.

Kathy

live in Bemidji or Cass lake by any chance?
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Jason Dowell

Was just called by the buyer and he says this was a oomputer mistake since they all lived together, some userid/password data was stored in the PC he was using. Could be an honest mistake, will have to wait and see how this pans out!

I for one would prefer it to be a dopey error vs a dishonest intentional action.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
13.24 BRB
12.14 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Dave,
...I have used Paypal on several different computers and using different browsers and on all of them that I remember the Paypal sign in would remember a user name but would not remember a password. I am an old guy who makes stupid computer mistakes and does not understand new technology (next time I go to the dentist I am gonna ask her if I could get bluetooth) but I cannot see how someone could make a mistake and accidentally use someone else's Paypal account. If I had used someone else's Paypal and had the police questioning me and saw that you were cooperating with them I would be all on the phone telling you what a good guy I was and this must be a mistake so you would not pursue it any further with the police.
Jeff

>>Was just called by the buyer and he says this was a oomputer mistake since they all lived together, some userid/password data was stored in the PC he was using. Could be an honest mistake, will have to wait and see how this pans out!
>>
>>I for one would prefer it to be a dopey error vs a dishonest intentional action.
>>-----
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Dave Colling
>>
>>www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com
>>
>>0.1 Wife (WC)
>>0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)
>>
>>LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
>>13.24 BRB
>>12.14 BCI
>>And those are only the breeders
>>
>>lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Hey Jeff, 100% agreed, I too feel that there is more than a strong possibility of criminal actions. And it's not for me to persue, I will however provide any and all info I have to the authorities.

My only point is I'd prefer it to have been a mistake. Just me, I prefer to see the good ..... more of a glass half full person.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
13.24 BRB
12.14 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Dave, hope (as mentioned below) that this may be a dumb error and not a criminal act. I swear some people here in Minnesota get "brain freeze" this time of year....
By the way, my BRBs are doing great!
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Kare

"keep smiling; it makes people wonder what you're up to!"