Consumer complaint received 2025-03-18 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: Early Warning Services, LLC
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
On XXXX in XXXX of the groups I am in, they had mention that they will be giving out their laptop away with the charger for free and that its in perfect health and good as new with a few scratches. I had reach out to this person XXXX through XXXX and said that I am interested in it. They were hesitant at first asking me why I was interested and I had mention that I attend school and would be great to get my homework and school work done since I major in XXXX  and XXXX. Them saying they don't want the laptop to fall in the wrong hands and I said I needed it for my school work. Then they said congratulations and had ask me where I am located. I had said XXXX XXXX  and they mention they will need my address to be able to ship it out, and I don't send out my address like that unless I am being send out something so I provided my information. Took a bit of while for them to reach out and they send me a screenshot of choosing standard rate from XXXX, and I had chosen the one with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX which is {$130.00}. I was told I was going to cover the payment which I didn't mind because its for a XXXX XXXX. I had ask where is the best way for them to receive the money. I had mention I only have zelle or XXXX and we went with XXXX first but I wasn't able to send it well, they had provided me with an email for XXXX which was XXXX with name XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) and I wasn't able to send it out. I had ask them to email my paypal and request the money for me to send it over but then they provided me with their Zelle information. I then tried out Zelle and had ask if its with the same email or different and they provided me with a different email and a different name, the email XXXX with the name XXXX XXXX. They had mention to send out a portion of the money first and then the second and to provide screenshots of sending that information, I send out the {$70.00} dollars and received a confirmation number from zelle and I send the screenshot to them, then I send the {$61.00} dollars. They said they on their way to XXXX  and for me to stay active and I was active. They send me a video of a TV which was suppose to be where the XXXX  location was but I didn't see no sign with XXXX  since it was a short clip. They then told me it was getting packed up and I was asking for a tracking number. They said they pay for the shipping and the laptop is already packed and they were told that I have to pay for the insurance fee which is {$69.00} and the tax {$86.00} a total of {$150.00}. I said I don't have the money on me and the sender kept insisting if I can try to see how much I can put and they cover the rest. I ask why pay more when everything is payed and they said because of missing packages thats why insurance and tax is included and I said that is a lot. I said I only have {$65.00}, but they said can I do {$75.00}, and then I didn't want to owe the person money and they said its okay they understand and for me to send the screenshot when I send the money that I can. I send out {$80.00} and receive a confirmation from Zelle. The sender provided my information to them and i had continue insisting with a receipt with the tracking number but he said that the person he send the laptop too which is suppose to be the XXXX  worker will contact me. Today a XXXX XXXX me to confirm my info, and I need to pay {$75.00} to charge the ownership receipt which is when I learn it was a scam and took screenshots of all messages if need. I tried texting the person on XXXX  to send me my money back but they refuse, until I pay them so that they pay me back which is ridiculous. I tried reaching out to XXXX XXXX Customer service but they said that because I authorized these zelle transactions they can't do nothing, nor when I had mention they were fraudulent charges, XXXX still validated them as valid transactions. I even made a new account and my old bank account was closed because I had mention these transactions were fraudulent and XXXX just said that these are valid transactions and won't be disputing these charges back to my account. A total of {$210.00} dollars. The person through XXXX has been also sending me inappropriate XXXX images which I won't be putting here. XXXX XXXX I think their handle is XXXX Their XXXX info XXXX name I think XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) Their Zelle XXXX XXXX name was change to XXXX XXXX Now for the suppose XXXX Employee through XXXX the name is Loyality and number XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX Despite my dispute, I have been informed that my claim was denied based on Regulation E, stating that I authorize the payment. However, I want to emphasize that this transaction was made under false pretense and fraudulent misrepresentation. I attempted to purchase a laptop from an individual who claimed they would ship it. I was instructed to send {$210.00} via Zelle to cover shipping costs. After sending the money, I was contacted by a supposed " XXXX  Driver '' who demanded more money before I could receive the item. It became clear that this was a scam, and I was never provided with the product I paid for. When I asked for a refund, the scammer attempted to extort me for even more money. Under Regulation E, while authorized transactions are typically not refunded, the law does protect consumers from fraud and deception. Since I was misled into sending money under false pretenses, this should be considered a case of fraud. Additionally, I never received the laptop I paid for. The transaction involved a fraudulent scheme where the scammer impersonated a XXXX driver to extract more money. I have since learned that similar scams have been reported, indicating a pattern of fraud.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation