ApolloXVII - SCAMMER - Multiple Victims

How do you see if I used "Goods and Services"? I just paid the PayPal invoice he sent to me.

I did not making any choice when I received the invoice - I just accepted the invoice, and paid the full amount (4.300 Euro - which was the price on the watch). I enclose a copy (in Danish).

Can you out from this description say if im covered by PayPal - and if I get my money back?

Thanks.

Thank you so much for your help - I will report the scam to PayPal after your recepie

Thanks a lot.

When thinks are to good to be true...

I bought his grey side if the moon listed for 4500€. I saw the positive feedback posted by two members plus he offer paypal goods and services so i pulled the trigger. Basically same story here...package is stuck in romania since 2 weeks. I reported to paypal yesterday.

Hoping for a good end for all of us!

Hi all,

I've been scammed in the same way also 🙁. I purchased the Omega moonphase and paid via paypal. A tracking number was provided and it seems to have stopped at Romania postal services.

. I checked his posts on the Forums and he seemed genuine with previous sales and posts so "assumed" him to be genuine. I've opened a dispute through paypal just now and praying that we all get a refund.

If anyone is successful with a refund, can you please let us know so we know which process to best follow.

Thanks!

Ugg, Stories like this gives me agida, so I'm thankful to seldom hear them here.

Not sure if any of those scammed have reached out to members who had positive experiences but it would be interesting to see what narrative might be provided by them.... assuming those are legit members. One thing I always loved about the private sales forum was the idea that scammers would have to work hard to sell here and wouldn't last long if they did.

Does anyone recall the worse scam like this to have been perpetrated here?

I have also been scammed for the grey side of the moon, same pattern. I've opened a refund request on PayPal and will let you know if and when there's hopefully any progress.

Hi guys, #me too 🤦
Here‘s the link: https://omegaforums.net/threads/ome...ch-with-box-and-cards-price-3200-euro.147305/

i hope we all get refunded by PayPal…

Hi Caracal25/ all,

This is the response I got from paypal. Was yours the same or something different?

View attachment 1441984

Yeah, I got the same response, it's the generic process as I understood, If any of you have experience with PayPal refunds, I'd much appreciate if you could share.

I’ve read both threads about the scammer. Speaking as someone who was scammed earlier this year by buying a watch online and paying by PayPal goods and services I’d urge caution to people who say “the price was too good to be true so I took a chance in the knowledge that I’d be covered by PayPal.

I paid €3,100 plus €90 postage for an Omega Speedmaster 3570.50. I bought it from a guy in Italy. The transaction was drawn out and it was pretty clear when I got one essentially empty box in the post that this was a scam. I ended up with two boxes sent by registered post from Italy and I got an Omega service card in one box and an empty tatty Omega box in the second package.

I’ve been on PayPal since 2003. The first time I called them about this fraud they were very reassuring and said that all I’d need to do was sign an affidavit. But it got far more complicated to resolve. They insisted that I needed a report from my local law enforcement agency (police). However, my local police were resolute that they would not open a case as apparently the crime did not happen in this jurisdiction (Ireland) and they said that PayPal never cooperate with the police once a case is opened so they would end up with a case that couldn’t be progressed. While all this goes on (in addition to working long hours and looking after a family) the PayPal clock keeps ticking. The case was found in favour of the seller (I had recordings of both packages being opened and being empty and had provided stills of the videos as videos can’t be up loaded to PayPal.

You can imagine the upset caused when I woke to read that email from PayPal. My wife found the name of a PayPal Vice President here in Ireland where PayPal have their European HQ. I reached out to her and I finally got a refund.

Taking account of all the time spent on calls with PayPal, the police and other crime prevention units, time travelling to and waiting at the police station (multiple visits), all the admin (reading and replying to mails, printing, scanning) i must have spent the equivalent of a week’s work trying to resolve this fraud and get my refund. Add to thjs the stress and anxiety.

So I finally got a refund (and by the way it wasn’t a “refund” so I expect the thief pocketed the €3,190) but I wouldn’t wish my experience in anyone here. So I would strongly urge you to not assume you’ll be looked after by PayPal. In the current case I’d be more confident they all the victims will be fine and refunds issued promptly. My case was different: I was the only person claiming the fraud and secondly I did receive a package (two empty ones).

I hope the above reads okay and it helps someone avoid enduring what I experienced.

Sorry to hear about your awful experience Paddymoran. It's a shame that Paypal are not forthcoming in protecting buyers in the way they advertise. Really hope we don't have to go to such lengths for ourselves, but given the amount of money transacted to this guy, I'm feel anxious about how Paypal responds.

Thanks - I’d hope that the number of cases in this theft (which is what it is) will substantiate each individual’s claim.

In case anyone used Paypal Friends and Family, ive read some reports of people successfully getting their money back after calling their credit card companies to open a dispute/chargeback on these types of scam transactions. I doubt it will be without plenty of back and forth with the credit card company but it's another avenue that might be worth trying.

Yes, i have heared this as well from a friend, who managed to resolve a case through his Credit Card company, it took however a long time to resolve.

I myself, just had a case with PayPal over the past few weeks, after mistakenly using a "Friends and Family" transaction for 200,-EUR.
Mistakenly - sounds a bit stupid, but in this case there was no possibility to pay using the PayPal protection, i was a bit confused, since i have never experienced this before, and pressed "Send", as i thought they might have changed the navigation or something.

I reacted very quickly as i suspected the seller is a fraudulent, since my friend was discussing the same watch/deal with him, although the seller already confirmed me that the payment transaction was successfull. so i knew he must be a scammer.

PayPal said at first that the transaction is through arleady and that they can not do anything to help my, du to me using the F&F transaction.
I called my bank and asked them to block any transaction with PayPal. I had no idea what consequences this might have. But at this moment it felt like the only reasonable thing to do.
When PayPal didnt manage to pull the funds from my Bank account, they put a negative balance on my PayPal account, plus the fees for rejected transaction...
So my -200,-EUR was already a -207,70 EUR debt.

I called several times more with PayPal and explained them that i would like to know the reason, why i was not able to select "PayPal protection" as a payment method. Strangely they told me that they can not provide me with this information.. 😕 weird..
So i told them, that if a seller is aware of the fact that his/her Account is restricted to "F&F transaction only", then they can use it as a "fraud scheme" -> Scammer says to the buyer that he accepts PayPal, and unaware buyer (like myself) sends them without protection.
Finally they agreed that is was a clear "fraud scheme" and they wouldnt want to support the wrong person.
So eventually, i got a full refund including the fees for rejected transaction 👍
In my case it was not a terribly high amount, so maybe they thought its easier to pay me then deal with all my calls 🤦 🫨
So buyer be aware!