Buy a game for me, will you?

paypalThere is a new scam in town where people befriend young men, primarily, and ask them to purchase a game using PayPal.

The so-called “friend” deposits money into the PayPal account, the game is purchased, the licence codes handed over and then the “friend” issues a chargeback with PayPal. The “friend” now has his money back and can sell the licence codes for the game to somebody else.

The young man now has a negative balance and PayPal and, because of his age, he can’t report this to PayPal because he has opened account fraudulently. If he doesn’t pay the money back there are long term ramifications regarding his credit history and his ability to get finance in the future. The consequences are potentially far-reaching.

It is incredibly important that we talk to young gamers about the friends that they make online and how even if you feel like you know somebody not to get involved in this kind of deal with them.

The scam is small fry compared to some of the other scams that go on but it’s really important that we teach our young people not fall for them.

Ref:

Other, similar scams:

2 comments

  1. And still it goes on.
    https://forums.digitalpoint.com/threads/i-need-help-and-advice-for-negative-balance.2783090/

    I need som of ur guys’s help and advice.
    So, Yesterday i sold item in a game and got paid thru paypal. I sold stuff for about 450$. I sent the money over to my brothers bank acc since im only 17 and can’t send money to my bank acc. I removed the CC from my paypal the after 2-3 hours.
    Next morning i wake up and i see that my balance is -450$. I had only my Real name info. My number was on paypal but i changed the 4 digit numbers. The adress i typed in is only the area where i live. Not the exact adress. Now my question is.
    I am obviously not looking to pay back the 450$ since i got scammed. What can paypal do against me? I live in Sweden if that matters. What are the consequences? Can they send people to my house? If i dont pay the 450$, will it affect me in the future? Is there any chance they’ll sue me or take me to court. I heard some stuff about agency and shit.

    This is the bit that really pisses me off… why do they think the bank/Paypal should take the fall because of their poor decisions?

    I am obviously not looking to pay back the 450$ since i got scammed.

  2. My son had a game friend for over ten years…. then last year the friend scammed him. He was mortified that an online friend would steal his account after such a long term friendship. He had never met this person in person, but they practically grew up together online, spending a lot of time and sharing through the internet. You just never know who is going to turn on you, but in your article, those are the ones you should be especially suspicious of. I’m gonna pass this on to my son, he’s still a little gullible and reckless.

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