Paypal Scammer Jeff Smith jeffsmith@check-ride.com

By | March 16, 2011

It never ceases to amaze me when people who use Paypal think they can stiff over sellers of goods on the internet. If the seller is abroad, they think they become even more faceless and hope the seller will just roll over and accept a fraudulent chargeback.

Jeff Smith is a guy who bought a book on a particular niche in internet dating. In fact, he liked it so much he bought two. Then he got greedy and decided that having bought one, he should be able to buy one and get another free. Um… mistake Jeff. This ain’t Wal-mart!

He bought his first copy on the 10th October. Book gets sent, all is well. On the 28th of November, same guy buys another book (I didn’t notice it was the same guy until I actually checked). Book gets mailed………

On December 1st, I get a credit card chargeback for the first one claiming non receipt. If you bought one and didn’t receive it (which is highly unlikely), why would you buy another from the same place two days before you file a chargeback for the first? Makes no sense to me……… clearly a chargeback scammer our Jeff. So I sent him an email:

Jeff,

Why are you trying to scam me with a credit card chargeback for the book you bought only three days ago? A book you know was posted already from the UK and will take 7-10 days typically to arrive?

This is attempted fraud.

I shall be fighting your chargeback. I suggest you reconsider your actions.

At this point, I saw the name and hadn’t checked the dates. I assumed he had charged back the one bought only days earlier. Well, Jeff didn’t like to be busted. Here is the first reply:

I am not scamming, I first bought a book 2 months ago and paypal never paid you so look carefully and you will see that the chargeback is not for the current order.

Hmm. Investigation needed. You know when Paypal pay you. You get an email and your balance goes up. How dim must I be to swallow this. So I looked for his earlier transaction and found it. So I sought clarification from our Jeff:

Jeff,

I have looked at it again. I see you have bought two.

Why are you charging back the first one? Why didn’t you get in touch in the event of a problem? Why buy another if you claim non-receipt of the first? Doesn’t really stack up does it?

All I got back from this one was a few insults and “Don’t contact me again”. What…. maybe I should just lie down and be ripped off by a Paypal scammer? Most people take the line of least resistance but I decided Jeff wasn’t going to get away with it. I trawled my receipts and found the proof of posting, submitted it to his bank via Paypal together with the emails we had exchanged and the circumstantial evidence surrounding the second transaction.

Well, as with many such things, it takes months and months to resolve. You forget about it. Then out of the blue a surprise email:

We are pleased to inform you that we have successfully disputed chargeback
case no.PP-XX-XX-XX. The buyer’s card issuer has decided in your
favour and within seven days you will receive reimbursement for $X USD.

Looks like Jeff’s bank agreed with me. All that remains is inform anyone sensible enough to Google Jeff Smith before doing business with him what kind of guy he is. To do that, they will be Googling his details. Here they are:

Jeff Smith (Check Ride)
13632 NE 177th PL
Woodinville, WA 98072
United States

jeffsmith@check-ride.com

Do business with this man at your own risk guys!

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