Consumer complaint received 2025-03-07 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: MI

Complaint narrative:
I saw a XXXX post on a friend 's account offering to sell cars and equipment. It was posed as a favor he was doing for an XXXX uncle. The original post asked for a deposit to reserve a purchase until it could be viewed at a later date. The deposit was said to be fully refundable if I decided to not purchase the cars. I reached out on XXXX XXXX, and the " friend '' said to pay the deposit via the Friends and Family feature in PayPal. I did for the amount of {$2500.00} on XX/XX/2025. There was additional money as a finance fee charged by Paypal that brought the total charge to {$2500.00} that was charged to my XXXX XXXX credit card and paid to the ultimate " seller '' via Paypal. 

The " seller '' requested more money. I became suspicious and confirmed that this was a scam. The XXXX account was hacked, and all the information was false. I can prove all these things with screenshots of the post, the friend 's wife 's post saying his account had been hacked, the promise of a refundable deposit, etc. I eventually talked to the actual friend, and he verbally confirmed on the phone that it was a scam. I tried reaching out on XXXX XXXX asking for my deposit back but was promptly blocked by the scammer. 

I submitted disputes to Paypal. There have been a few responses, documents shared since then, but little cooperation from PayPal. 

Paypal is saying that it is an " externally filed '' dispute ( to XXXX XXXX ), and that it is fully XXXX XXXX 's responsibility to remedy. They also say because the Friends and Family feature was used to " purchase '' goods, that I violated the user agreement of Paypal, and therefore have no protection. 

First, I think the user agreement that specifies these terms is difficult to find, and more importantly, vague on the point of deposits. This deposit did nothing other than act as a sign of good faith that I would look at the car ( even though it was all fiction ). There was no service or good exchanged as a result of this deposit. It was ostensibly a personal friend doing a favor for his aging family member. I don't think the position Paypal has taken regarding the Friends and Family violation is fair, and at the very least, ambiguous. 

I also argue that the " seller '' also broke the user agreement by asking for the deposit via the Friends and Family option, but from what little Paypal has shared with me, they are not being held accountable for this. 

Further, according to Paypal 's own dispute resolution system, they show that the actual " seller '' said they had refunded the money to me, which they have not. Also, when I questioned Paypal customer service about if this account had been flagged as a scammer before my transaction, they said I would have to file a subpoena to get that information. 

The scammer account is still active, and customer service was not at all inquisitive as to whether or not I had proof that it was a scam account. They only offered to accept my proof after I specifically requested that they take the information and investigate so that they can close the account and save others the trouble. 

I have no way of knowing the history of this account, or if Paypal knew this was a suspicious account before my activity. 

I've filed complaints regarding this matter with the FTC and the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation