Making a purchase online can be stressful, especially if you’re making a purchase on a website that you are unfamiliar with. This is because scammers are on the loose, coming up with ways to scam their victims as they are online shopping. Sometimes, they get their victims to use PayPal for their purchases thinking that their victims won’t be able to get their money back. This has left us wondering, “does PayPal refund my money if I’m scammed?” The answer is yes. 

PayPal Refund Purchase Protection if You Did Not Make the Purchase

If someone hacked into your PayPal account and made a purchase using your funds, then you are eligible for a refund. PayPal does not want to hold anyone liable what-so-ever if their customers did not make the purchase. However, you need to file a claim within 60 days from the transaction date.

PayPal Refund Purchase Protection if You Made the Purchase

If you ordered an item and did not receive it or it is different from what you ordered, PayPal offers PayPal Purchase Protection. If you let them know within 180 days that there was an error with your purchase, they might be able to refund you for your order including shipping. However, there are only certain eligible purchases that PayPal covers if you knowingly made the purchase but received something different or didn’t receive anything.

What’s covered within PayPal’s Refund Purchase Protection?

• You bought a book but instead received a DVD.
• You bought something that was listed as “new,” but instead it came used.
• You bought three items but instead received two.
• The item was damaged when it was shipped.
• The item is missing parts that the seller did not report.
• The item was listed as “authentic,” but instead you received a knockoff of the item.

What’s not covered within PayPal’s Refund Purchase Protection?

• Real estate purchases that you have made.
• Motor vehicle purchases that you have made.
• Custom-made products that significantly did not match what was described.
• Industrial machine purchases.
• Prepaid card or gift card purchases.
• Items that may violate PayPal’s purchase policies.
• Anything that was bought in person and not over the Internet.
• Sending money to your friends and family.
• Disputes that were filed more than 180 days after the purchase date if you made the purchase
• Disputes that were filed more than 60 days after the purchase date if someone else made the purchase on your account.
• Items that were described accurately by the seller.
• Donations that were made on crowdfunding platforms.

How to Report Suspicious Activity to PayPal

You can report any suspicious activity, scam, identity fraud, or phishing email/message to PayPal and they will help eliminate the suspicious activity. All you need to do is forward the scam email or message to spoof@paypal.com.

How to Open a Dispute on PayPal and Receive a Refund

You need to go onto the PayPal Resolution Center and sign in to your account. Then follow the steps to dispute any charges that were made on your account.

Social Catfish is Here to Help with Scammers While You Request a PayPal Refund?

At Social Catfish, we want to help you verify the identities of those who might seem suspicious to you. If you have their name, email address, phone number, social media username, or image, you can reverse search and see who the suspected person was that you’ve been in contact with if you’re trying to figure out: does PayPal refund my money if I’m scammed?

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