I was informed yesterday morning about a PayPal chargeback scam being perpetrated against unsuspecting ACR players. Please beware.
I do not want to post this individual's name yet, because the PayPal investigation is ongoing, and it can hurt people affected. I am not personally involved in this, though I did give advice to the victims.
The perpetrator's initials are "M.P.". His screen name on ACR starts with "da" and ends with "79". If this individual attempts any financial dealings or trades with you, REFUSE TO DO SO.
The scam was as follows:
M.P. was a part of a 2,000-member Facebook poker group, and frequently did Paypal-for-ACR transfers with people there, for 1-to-1 exchange. This was attractive to people who wanted quick cashouts, as you would send M.P. your ACR funds and get the equivalent amount back on PayPal.
M.P. did have one notable blemish on his record. A few months ago, he started doing chargebacks on PayPal. However, he blamed it on his wife, whom he claimed didn't understand the charges on their bank statement for the PayPal transfers, and erroneously reported it as fraud. Most people bought this explanation, and continued trading with him, supposedly without issue.
Two days ago, M.P. got into a (likely manufactured) argument with someone in the group, who was questioning why M.P. hadn't yet sent him the $50 that was owed. M.P. pretended to be so insulted that he said he would charge back the entire amount ($31,782) collectively traded with the group over the past 3 months.
He then proceeded to do so.
Countless people have shown up to the group to post the PayPal chargeback messages they got. Some were charged back for transfers as low as $10, while others suffered losses of near $1000.
This was clearly an intentional scam (presumably because M.P. went busto), and not an emotional overreacton to feeling insulted. Scammers often manufacture phony reasons to "punish" their victims, so as to make their victims feel as if they somehow caused the situation. This is straight outta the Scammer 101 playbook.
If you were a victim of this, or any other PayPal related poker/gambling chargeback scam, call PayPal, tell them IMMEDIATELY about being a victim of a chargeback scam, and explain that the individual requested money via another service, and they sent you PayPal in exchange (which is what happened here).
If you know there were multiple victims, DEFINITELY tell PayPal about this, as they will be much more likely to believe you. This is a common scam which PayPal is used to handling.
DO NOT MENTION POKER OR GAMBLING, or it may complicate things. Simply stick to the (true) story that you were asked to send him money using another service, in exchange for Paypal, and now he's charging it back.
When PayPal suspects gambling transactions (even legal ones), they will freeze the money for 6 months, and close the account.
Also, if you were a victim of this, report the situation to ACR.
Please do not post this guy's name here, until the PayPal investigation is complete.
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