DTtuner 21 Posted June 14, 2012 I know that Paypal is pretty safe, in terms of consumer protection. However, since Paypal doesn't approve of firearms purchases, I usually send money as a "gift" to avoid having my account locked. Is this "safe," and are my Paypal consumer protection services still applied? Any other way to exchange money for internet purchases? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pizza Bob 1,488 Posted June 14, 2012 Is this "safe," and are my Paypal consumer protection services still applied? Any other way to exchange money for internet purchases? I doubt it once they find out what the "gift" was. Internet lore seems to think that a USPS money order is the best way, because if a fraud is perpetrated, supposedly it becomes a federal issue due to the use of the gov't money order and the use of the postal service. Whether that is true or not, I have no idea. I have never heard of anyone that has pursued a scammer using this as a basis. Sounded good, and I usually use a USPS MO - but that is more out of convenience than anything else - the PO is right up the street. I try to verify adresses etc, before sending the money off. Never send to a PO Box. Good luck with whatever you choose. Adios, Pizza Bob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DirtyDigz 1,812 Posted June 14, 2012 The USPS supposedly takes mail fraud seriously and actually has their own police/investigators, the US Postal Inspection Service. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
this_is_nascar 162 Posted June 14, 2012 You probably don't know this, but you wave pretty much all your rights and PP protection by sending funds via the "GIFT" option. Throughout they years, I've bought/sold/sent/received tens of thousands of dollars through PP. Most of that was via the gift option to avoid various fees, etc. It was only fairly recently I learned of the potential issue if you received damage goods or no goods at all and was looking for help from the PP folks. In my opinion, the safest form of payment is always with a credit card. Most of the larger companies protect you against fraudulent activities, etc. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
farfromahero 1 Posted June 14, 2012 As long as you send it as something other than guns, you'll be fine. Sporting goods seems to work well for me and I can still send it as an actual payment not gift Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kasanova 2 Posted June 15, 2012 Usually when I send/receive money I send/receive it through my chase account, for some reason I have been lucky to deal with a lot of people with chase, I send/receive money instantly and safe. Oh yeah, chase has a quick/easy pay option when sending money to other chase accounts. I use that when I deal with individuals. When dealing with actual stores I use PP or intuit. And with face to face transactions I could use my credit card swiper to receive money if the individual wishes to pay by CC, money received instantly and safe and also protects the buyer as well. So there are lots of ways to send/receive money the safe way to individuals and stores/ corporations. Hope I helped. Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GRIZ 3,369 Posted June 15, 2012 The USPS supposedly takes mail fraud seriously and actually has their own police/investigators, the US Postal Inspection Service. This is true. However don't expect the Postal Inspectors to launch an investigation if you lose a few hundred dollars. Its not that they wouldn't want to but every office I've dealt with has no shortage of major narcotics, kiddie porn, and multi million dollar mail fraud cases and only so many Inspectors to handle the deluge. I'm not saying not to report it to them as there are times they'll make a phone call and the guy who screwed you will be convinced to settle up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites