Potential Scam via eBay/PayPal after Selling Xbox One Digital Code

ShortyX on 03/10/2018 - 19:19
Last edited 09/10/2018 - 19:36

As per this post, I posted an ad on eBay for a digital code of Forza Horizon 4 up and it sold within 10 minutes. The buyer had 229 pieces of feedback with 100%. I sent the code via eBay messages.

About an hour later, I received an email from PayPal advising that a payment reversal has been requested as the payment was apparently made without the account holder's permission or was an error. About a half hour after that, I received a MC139 email from eBay advising that the messages I received from the buyer may have been fraudulent.

I responded to the PayPal dispute with a screenshot of the code being sent.

Is there anything else I can do at this point or do I just wait it out and lodge a complaint with FOS if PayPal rules against me?

And is there a way I can check if the digital code has been redeemed?

EDIT: Code has been redeemed. :(

EDIT2: Ended up finding the buyer account on Skype and had a chat with him. It seems like he was legitimately hacked as the same game was bought twice in the space of 2 minutes. He had notified eBay that his account was hacked but I had already sent the code to his eBay account. :(

FINAL UPDATE: PayPal refunded the amount as it was eligible for seller protection! :)

Thanks

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Comments

  • altomic on 03/10/2018 - 19:24
    +2

    Leave feedback stating "digital code sold to buyer. Buyer requested PayPal reversal due to hacking".

    You are pretty stuffed.

  • HighAndDry on 03/10/2018 - 19:40

    None of the things you mention will matter - effectively the owner of the Paypal account is saying they're not the buyer, and whoever the buyer actually is hacked their Paypal account.

    You can prove you sent the code, that it was redeemed, everything - but unless you can prove the buyer you corresponded with and sent the code to was also the owner of the Paypal account the payment came from, it'll be ruled as an unauthorized transaction which will be reversed.

    • tomsco on 04/10/2018 - 09:02

      No idea why this was negged. This is spot on.

    • wangmiester on 18/01/2019 - 10:05

      How does OP 'prove' it was 'redeemed, everything'?

      • HighAndDry on 18/01/2019 - 10:07

        How to prove it was redeemed? Try to redeem it and get a message saying "This code has already been redeemed".

        As to "everything" - easy, you can get texts from the buyer saying "Got it, thanks." Or "Got it and used it, thanks." Etc.

        But it won't matter, because if the Paypal account was hacked, then payment didn't come from the buyer who admitted to receiving and using the code and will/can be reversed anyway.

        • wangmiester on 18/01/2019 - 10:18

          The code being redeemed has no bearing on the 'proof' that it was activated by the purchaser. Hence the amount of scams relating to PayPal/digital items. A screen cap of a used code does what in your opinion for this situation?

          "As to "everything" - easy, you can get texts from the buyer saying "Got it, thanks." Or "Got it and used it, thanks." Etc."

          It's hard to understand how to respond to this point. Seems fairly catch 22ish. Scammers don't care and legits don't matter.

          I sell alot digi-items and it's a tough game. PayPal favours the buyer close to 100% of the time. It's too easy of a scam for some people not to do.

          No idea why I'm talking bout this. I guess my motivation is to keep the facts in play when talking about this grey area of ebay sales and let people know about the reality of the market.

          • HighAndDry on 18/01/2019 - 10:23
            +1

            @wangmiester: Yeah fair enough. But my main point is - if the buyer is a scammer who's using a hacked Paypal account, the seller is not going to get the money no matter what. At least not through Paypal.

  • Strahany on 03/10/2018 - 19:42
    +4

    PayPal seller protection doesn't cover digital goods, so you're out of luck.

    • djkelly69 on 03/10/2018 - 20:06

      Does paypal protection cover buyers of digital goods?

      • Strahany on 03/10/2018 - 20:20

        I'm not sure; I wouldn't think so

        • hazzad on 03/10/2018 - 20:38
          +2

          Received an email tonight stating that Paypal was updating their T&C's to cover intangible items. Suspect this would come under this. Comes into effect Nov 2019 so wont be of any help to you alas.

          "Introducing Seller Protection for intangible items
          All eligible intangible items such as tickets, travel and services are now protected under the Seller Protection Policy. This expanded protection can help safeguard your business against potential losses, including chargebacks and bank reversals. Learn more about Seller Protection"

          I'm confused by the OP's issue. Even if someone had hacked their paypal account, woudnt the OP have messaged the code to the buyers Ebay account. They are 2 seperate entities. This would assume that both the buyers ebay and paypal accounts had been hacked which would be pretty unlikely. And even if it was a case of non authorized transaction, doesn't Paypal have some responsibility in the matter being the ones who are supposed to be keeping account secure. Seems a little odd to me.

          • ShortyX on 03/10/2018 - 20:45
            +1

            @hazzad: They were my thoughts too.

          • dbui8743 on 03/10/2018 - 20:57
            -1

            @hazzad: That's what any decent human being would think but with Paypal and Ebay, the onus in this case just automatically falls on the seller.

            I had sold an itunes card on ebay and taken every step of safeguards possible but still the buyer could just simply claim the transaction wasn't authorised. Maybe for my case it was really a hacked account (still very unlikely that both Paypal and Ebay were hacked at the same time, or maybe same passwords perhaps) but that account pulled the same trick twice on that same transaction date.

          • Ughhh on 03/10/2018 - 21:30

            @hazzad:

            doesn't Paypal have some responsibility in the matter being the ones who are supposed to be keeping account secure. Seems a little odd to me.

            People are supposed to keep their own account secure, by not revealing passwords to anyone else, clicking and logging in into phishing sites and having a password that's not "password". PayPal (and even banks) can't force anyone to follow those rules.

            But what PayPal can do, is refund the money.

  • plmko on 03/10/2018 - 20:44

    Nothing you can do, just quickly use the code for yourself to stop them on-selling the code on dodgy forums.

    • ShortyX on 03/10/2018 - 20:51

      Code has been used. :(

  • Ughhh on 03/10/2018 - 21:12

    Old scam with digital goods.

    • ShortyX on 03/10/2018 - 21:13

      As in, the account was hacked or just a kid scoring a free game?

      • Ughhh on 03/10/2018 - 21:16

        Both really. Either way, it's a common thing with digital goods as you have no proof of postage (email doesn't count according to ebay /PayPal).

        • ShortyX on 03/10/2018 - 21:17

          So next time just post card with digital code on it?

          • hazzad on 03/10/2018 - 21:20

            @ShortyX: Not sure that would protect you in this case. Either way account holder can still claim that the transaction as unauthorized. Kinda of a sucky situation really.

            • Ughhh on 03/10/2018 - 21:25
              +1

              @hazzad: If Op has proof of postage, so the item isn't classified as digital item, op should be protected by sellers protection.

          • Ughhh on 03/10/2018 - 21:23

            @ShortyX: It sucks because with regular postage, you don't get proof either, unless you pay for registered. Whether it's worth the extra ~$4 depends on how much you're selling for. Afaik, iTunes and game codes are high risk items.

  • pegaxs on 03/10/2018 - 23:08

    Was going to buy an Xbox one X today that had two games on it as part of the deal. Asked for the games as discs, but was told they were code. Decided not to get the console because both games were garbage (fifa19 and NB19K or something) and there was no way I can sell these codes without being scammed.

    It’s an age old scam, even right up there with the “I received an empty box” or “the item I received was not working” scams.

  • Sage on 03/10/2018 - 23:47

    I actually had this happen to me too. They seem to target digital redemption codes.
    I've had my eBay account broken into as well. It's a shame this is still happening.
    At least with me I was able to resell the code before it was used. (Didn't make a profit after the fees)

  • AdosHouse on 04/10/2018 - 04:33
    +1

    In my opinion, you've lost the code and money OP. But I would be getting onto the game seller and telling them that your code was stolen, so then can at least lock it down. You still lose, but the scammer doesn't win.

    • ShortyX on 05/10/2018 - 10:33

      I am the game seller and the code has already been redeemed.

      Waiting for the outcome of the PayPal dispute - if I don't get a refund, I will follow up with eBay or FOS.

      • AdosHouse on 05/10/2018 - 14:39

        When I say the game seller, I meant the game platform developer, So Ubisoft, Origin, Steam, etc.

  • RandomNinja on 04/10/2018 - 07:21

    Can you report the code to Microsoft as 'stolen' and at least have them cancel access to the game and investigate the XBL account?

    • ShortyX on 05/10/2018 - 10:32

      I spoke to them via chat support. Nothing they can do once it has been redeemed.

  • HKS on 05/10/2018 - 10:45

    Paypal is (profanity) shit, never use it.

    it always sides with the buyer no matter if the buyer is scamming you or not. seller always loses.

  • manbearpig on 05/10/2018 - 13:51

    This has happened to me TWICE and I've posted about it before. You can get your money back, but it's a long and arduous process.

    These 'hackers' or scammers (whichever they are) will target digital goods that sell for high prices. I've found that lower priced items ($20 or so or less) don't get targeted, but this is just in my experience.

    See below:

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/236300

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/334943

    The second time it happened, I ended up cancelling the sale and didn't send the codes. The buyer never contacted me. However, a couple of weeks later, my code sold to a buyer in Australia. I was a fool and thought, 'Oh, he's in Australia so it should be Ok'. Chargeback happened a month later. I was pissed, but I just did what I did the first time and got my money back.

  • joeyy17 on 05/10/2018 - 19:49

    I was about to do this for NBA 2k19. I asked ebay first if I should send it via email, but they suggested I send the whole card unscratched so I did. Transaction was safe and smooth

    • ShortyX on 05/10/2018 - 22:23

      Did you put tracking on the mail? They can still claim that they didn’t receive it and redeem the code.

      • joeyy17 on 05/10/2018 - 23:05

        Yes it came with tracking, which helped a lot. Also made sure I got a receipt from Aus Postal office near me. They wanted it emailed to them but told them sorry I have to play it safe. Guess everyone should do this!

  • Flanders on 06/10/2018 - 22:52

    When I sold digital code for nba 2k19 recently (on ebay) . At first, when I tried to list it as digital item, I was told that I was not allowed to sell digital goods. You need some special permission etc to sell 'digital goods' on ebay.
    If you don't have an account where you are authorized to sell digital goods on, then you are probably screwed. If there is something on the xbox digital forza 4 that says not for resale etc, again, that could be an issue .
    You're essentially trying to get a decision in your favour, based on your' delivery of digital goods which you technically not meant to sell .
    Even though you can prove you sent the digital code, I cannot see how paypal can let you keep the money. I think they have seller protection, but if you are not allowed to sell digital goods, well you wouldn't be protected by paypal buyer protection. Paypal would still have to refund the buyer whose bank card/account was used without consent. So what you are seeking is to have PayPal give the money out to you. Surely you dont want someone whose bank card/account was hacked to pay you do you ? That would not be right.
    I would contact microsoft, tell Microsoft the code is not working, show them the physical card, even offer to send them the physical card you still have possession of. Show them receipt of purchase of whatever bundle that came with forza 4 code.. Then reasonably, xbox should honour the code somehow for you They would probably cancel it on the other account, then give you a new code. They kind of would have to, just to be fair and reasonable, if you send them the physical card and show proof of purchase, then surely that is enough evidence for them to cancel the code on whatever device it has been used on. The person/account who used the code could argue, but you having the physical evidence of the actual card,should be sufficient for you to convince Microsoft of your' right to the game on your account.
    Sadly, the scammer may have onsold that code to someone else, so potentially then they are getting scammed, when Microsoft deactivates it due to the fraud.

    • ShortyX on 06/10/2018 - 23:08

      Thanks - already contacted Microsoft as noted earlier. They can’t do anything once it has been redeemed. I will contact FOS as PayPal will understandably rule in the buyer’s favour.

      • Flanders on 07/10/2018 - 00:04

        I would definitely follow up with Microsoft. Dont tell them you sold the code though.
        Just tell them you entered the code and it does not work. Offer the physical card as evidence of ownership and show purchase receipt .
        I would persist. Im sure that they would have some way of cancellation on the account the code has been added. And you have sufficient evidence to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that you are the owner of the code (and the digital content) .
        Maybe 1 person at Microsoft said they cannot help, but there sure be someone higher up that can fix this. Maybe a manager at Microsoft or something. Unless you told them you sold it, and they have taken your details ? Then yoi are screwed, if it says not for resale (which it probably does).

  • ShortyX on 09/10/2018 - 19:37

    FINAL UPDATE: PayPal refunded the amount as it was eligible for seller protection! :)

    • freoleo on 10/10/2018 - 18:37

      Really? did you end up sending it out via post?

      I got scammed the other day and just took the loss, maybe should've tried fighting it

      • ShortyX on 10/10/2018 - 18:51

        There was no point sending the physical card because the buyer’s account had been compromised and the code had already been redeemed.

        I’m assuming the buyer was refunded as well so eBay/PayPal may have taken the loss.

  • JuryWheel on 01/07/2019 - 08:44

    Hey all. Just a note that the exact same thing just happened to me last night. Wish I had of seen this post earlier.
    Anyway, I have sent details to PayPal already, hope it goes through smoothly. Do I need to cancel the eBay sale too?

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