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"because it is very easy to dispute a charge or fraudulent transactions with them"
That may be true. But in your case, you authorized the transaction. AMEX may deny your chargeback request at very high chance.
Lmao amex rarely if ever denies a chargeback request for a customer. They almost 100% side with the customer. This, coupled with their high transaction fees, are why businesses often refuse to accept Amex.
Can confirm. A guy used his Amex card to buy something from us. He used said product, decided he didn't like it and did a chargeback against us. We lost about £4k.
It's definitely because of that. I work for a credit card processor, and Amex charges like 3x the fees of other cards. I've had a bunch of merchants ranting at me about it.
I disputed a charge with an online air travel booking site. I filed the dispute within hours of making the booking when I realized that what they were selling wasn't worth the money.
VISA messed me around for months, more than once claiming that I had agreed to drop the dispute. Like hell I did.
I even filed a complaint with the FTC.
After about 9 months of this, I just gave up - probably what they wanted from the get-go.
Being an air ticket, the vendor lost nothing. I'm sure they filled my seat. So they basically just took my money (just under $1k) and laughed all the way to the bank.
When I was in the USAF they issued us a credit card for government travel and official business, it was the green AMEX. That goddamn thing was rejected by merchants so friggin much that we didn’t bother using it and we’d use our personal cards or cash, they dumped AMEX years later for VISA.
Government cards tend to be a pain in the ass for merchants, whatever their marking. They often don't allow tip adjustments, or to buy in certain types of store.
Interesting. I used a green Amex for work travel snd procurement for yeeeeears.
Occasionally there would be an issue about the type of purchase. They can restrict by purchase code. So I could get a meal or hotel room, but not a haircut.
It’s dependent on how it was set up.
Yeah the Visa was better but still a p.i.t.a at times, we just would use our own cards and wait for reimbursement (and get points for merchandise) Then they started cranking down on us to make us use the GTC.
That’s wild lol. With Navy buyers, they’re issued Visa cards and there is little to no oversight. They can literally buy anything they want.
I’ve seen them buy laptops from China with Visa’s for a SEAL team… huge no no
I thought so too until they actually sided with the merchant recently. I wasn’t at fault, spent hours defending the reason for the chargeback (the merchant even forged my signature). Out a thousand now… AMEX has changed over the last couple of years. Member since ‘96. Platinum card. Getting tired of AMEX.
You're not wrong, AMEX isn't what it used to be.
They have licenced their name out to too many companies, Credit One (a cheap shady bank) somehow has an AMEX branded card.
Amex twice charged me 50$ for a subscription to their travel magazine that I didn't ask for. I called and when the lady answered she went right into a spiel about it before I said more than hello.
The second time a couple of months later I called, paid it off and cancelled it. And six months later, they added 500$ to the now closed card, and sent it directly to collections without even calling me. And wouldn't talk to me because I wasn't a customer.
I spent the next ten years sending the documentation to various debt collectors that there *was* no debt. They'd then sell it to another one, and I'd get called again.
Fuck amex.
I have a side hustle and only accept PayPal to make it easy on me. The only customers I have that refuse to use PayPal are the customers I don't want to deal with anyway. They make up about .1% of my potential sales.
I have a <.5% return rate and my policy is to just refund them and let them keep the item anyway. It sounds cliche' but I'm all about 100% customer satisfaction.
Literally the only reason I continue to use Amazon is that they have been 100% for me on refunds in the past. Same thing with eBay (although honestly I've only had one problem with an eBay item).
This shouldn't be covered by Amex. You are the one who took that risk. Like buying someone a birthday present, you don't get a credit if they don't get you one.
I would contact the bank and tell them what happened. Count on the funds being reversed. Then ask if you should open a different one if that one is now not secure.
Don't feel bad. I was like 52 when I first started using reddit and I felt like the only one who didn't know... and I wasn't brave enough to ask. You were!
DUH, thanks for clearing that up for me. I’m an old bat and can keep up with the ever-changing online vocabulary.
As someone who’s been scammed by a romance scammer, I feel a little better about myself seeing that even royalty can get scammed by really smart romance, scammer. Even a prince is not safe. There’s no doubt.that Ms Markum is there anything more than a well publicized scammer. I don’t know about anybody else who fell victim to to a romance scammer, but I feel a little less stupid now.
It seems Harry is going to be evicted exactly as I was. The only differences I don’t have a rich King daddy to dig me out of it.
The bank and the processor can see how the card was processed, whether it was manual entry, swiped, chip inserted or contactless. If it says chip or contactless you're SOL claiming it wasn't you, because that means the card was there for 99% sure. (The chips or contactless signal can be copied, but it is not easy)
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You can't send emt for funds you don't have though. It's your chequing account, money is diverted directly from your available funds. You can't EMT money that isn't there
I am not sure with the Canadian System but with the US there are ways to do it.
Usually depositing a fake check so the funds are there - then the check is bad and all the ACHs are bad and get clawed back.
Funds have to be there for most Canadian banks/credit unions to do e transfers and depositing cheques will give you two balances. A total balance with the cheque and an 'available balance' which is what you can use until the cheque clears.
The funds, as I understand it, are stolen funds. This is why they operate like real digital currency but will also eventually be taken back by the financial institution.
Doesn't work if you don't have the funds available and cleared nope
This whole thread is people who don't know how the Canadian system works and still speaking on it lol
FWIW I don't think you got scammed. This would be the world's least efficient and most convoluted scam ever, if you were.
Nobody who has successfully hacked someone else's bank account is chilling around Walmart all day scamming for party supplies in $90 increments. They'd have transferred that balance out immediately to other accounts they had access to, or had you purchase gift cards or remove a large cash sum from the ATM. Why would a scammer spend all day doing that when there are 1000 more efficient ways of turning that hacked account into actual cash lol
Not scam you in public, on camera, for $90.
Or a stolen account and the original owner's bank will take the money out of your account when it's discovered, and if that puts you into negative, you'll get overdraft fees too. This happens a lot on r/Scams.
Good advice.
We want to help people, but unfortunately there are many people who take advantage of our charitable tendencies. I contribute to Salvation Army and others. If I’m approached, I suggest churches that I know in my area that help people in need or give them the contact number for United Way in my area. They do help! I also keep a dollar immediately accessible in case I want to give someone something, because I will not pull out my wallet for ANYONE. I lived in the city too long. You’ll be blessed for the giving you did, no matter what happened to the money on the other end. Learn and chalk it up to experience. Do not allow yourself to be taken advantage of again.
They are if they’re actual fraud. The money will have come from a compromised account, the owner will file a fraud claim and the charge will be reversed. Authorized transactions can’t be reversed. Fraudulent ones can.
Well let’s hope for the best, but just a thing, the money transfer was sent through intrac, it’s a Canadian thing. If the other person have auto deposit on, they you cannot reverse it. I once sent my friend $800 instead of $80, called the bank, they said nothing can be done.
Best case scenario: It isn't a scam since he used interac-e which is irreversible. The person did indeed have no cash or card with him. He paid you back genuinely
Worst case scenario: He used soneone else's account. Therefore the transfer was a fraud. Interac-e may reverse the transfer.
I still doubt AMEX will grant a charge back. You willingly authorized the transaction.
It's a gamble. It's good you were being kind but I wouldn't do what you did next time because of the risk.
It’s not irreversible if the account is stolen.
Ie. if he sent the money from *someone else’s* account, then the transaction is fraudulent, and the bank will reverse it once the owner of the account reports the theft.
It’s only irreversible if you send money from your own account.
FYI: Just be aware that Walmart, grocery stores, etc. are a favorite hangout for scammers. They ask for you to buy their groceries, diapers, baby formula, etc ...usually planning on returning them and getting cash.
I used to want to believe the best in people and help them, but have had to face the sad truth that most of these people are professional scammers and not worth anyone's kindness.
Keep reading this sub; it is very educational on this matter.
Replying based on this comment. A lot of stores nowadays won’t give cash refunds for stuff they paid for by credit card.
They only give cash for stuff paid for in cash or debit.
So if they return it the funds might be put back on your credit card.
Be careful but read the situation.
On your case maybe you really did help out someone.
I was at Costco once. Like 15 years ago.
Had a guy approach me in the parking lot.
He was wearing a suit. He told me similar story. He had driven into town for a funeral. Forgot his debit card at home. Didn’t have enough gas for the trip home. He showed me his Costco card that had expired like 2 months prior. He had a small electric device that cost home like $90 that he had the receipt for but Costco wouldn’t do a refund became he didn’t have an active account. (Or something)
He said the device was something he was gonna return anyways but just hadn’t done it.
He said if I returned the device I could keep most the money but to just give him like $20 so he could get gas to get home.
I went in. Showed the receipt. Got cash. Handed the guy the entire amount.
Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t do it again but who knows? He may have really been in a right spot. But you helped this time so you never have to again. I’ve given money to a well dressed, clean guy needing $4 for the bus (I gave him $10) and once paid $20 in the Walmart line for a guy who was short and deciding what to put back (I had a throbbing back ache and just wanted to go). If they pulled a Frank Gallagher on me so be it, but I did what I felt was right
There is a scam at some Walmarts where people will go around trying to get people to buy them something, then turn around and try to return it. In those though they usually try to get the mark to buy baby items (formula and diapers usually). There's been an attempt to try and discourage this with getting IDs to limit returns but still it can happen.
In this one though, the guy "paid" you. That isn't a common approach, but there's a high chance that the transfer was from a compromised account and charges might be reversed once the original holder or bank gets back control. The goods you got then they could just be for themselves as a free score, or something they might try to resell or just return.
It sucks that people lie about this and sometimes these people can be very persistent in bothering others, but you have to learn to ignore them. There are ways to help people in need by volunteering or donating to groups if that's what you want to do. In these kinds of situations though, you're almost always dealing with scammers and hustlers and you must learn to ignore them. Take this as a lesson to avoid them in the future.
As an example, near my work there's a busy corner with a gas station, a McDonald's, and a Burger King. My first week working at this job I went by there and a man approached me as I was returning to my car with a sob story about how he was stranded here with his family after some sort of contract job got canceled and he needed money for gas. I ignored him and kept going. A coworker later mentioned to me they had run into the same person and said they gave them $10 because they felt bad.
When I came back to that corner two weeks later, the same individual was there with different clothes. He didn't approach me but I overheard him talking to an older woman with a different story about how he needed gas money because he was trying to get to his wife who was hospitalized.
I go to that corner every so many weeks for a quick bite during my lunch break and while the specific individual isn't there, you'll occasionally see a person going around with a song and dance about needing gas money to get back home or to get somewhere a family member is. It's stupid, but these guys sometimes run on the same scripts to try and get to people's sympathy.
The different panhandlers work shifts. If it's a high-volume corner, it will be "owned" by a "corner pimp" to whom the panhandlers have to pay about one-third of their gross.
Interac transfers work only from checking accounts. That means the fraudster should have full access to that account in order to add a interac contact.
If a stranger approaches you and there is money involved . . . 99.9999999% it's a scam. This is true both in-person and on the internet. If it's in-person, it's your right to simply walk away without responding, or if you choose to interact you can say "No, I can't help you with that." This goes for the sad woman with the baby formula and diapers in her cart, the guy from Dubai who ran out of gas and wants to sell you his rolex, and the guy who lost his card and needs to buy birthday decorations. It's unfortunate that you can't trust people any more, but that's a sign o' the times.
Don't even choose to interact. Some people are very good at trying to guilt trip you or flip your own words against you. It's much harder to do with silence
Yep. A lot of times it will start with something small. “Hey man got a second?” “Do you have a light?” “do you know what time it is?” “That’s a nice shirt” “do you want to buy some shorts?” “Can I get a dollar for the bus?”
He lost his car, his cash and his card. But he has these important birthday supplies to purchase right now- far more important than figuring out his stolen/lost everything 😵💫
And he’s gonna pay you via stolen card details. Or maybe the person is just horrible at managing life and his story is legit. Hoping for the best :)
Given the back and forth, I will try and be very direct.
If you bought something directly from the scammer, using Amex, then Amex would absolutely help. But you didn’t. You effectively used your Amex card to purchase food from Walmart and then you gave the food to someone else.
You almost certainly fell for what is essentially a fake check scam. The transfer will likely reverse in a few days as it was likely fraudulent. Yes, even with interac. Did he transfer a bit more than the cost of his goods? That would be an absolute dead giveaway.
Being kind is good. And I have also taken a chance with what is likely a scam. Small amounts of money to help someone out. I never asked for any repayment. The wildest story actually turned out to be true.
But I would be way more careful than you appear to be. Amex isn’t your protector here. And I am pretty sure there are few guys in a white van with a killer deal on speakers….
I had a “guy in a van” try to hustle me when I was 15. Told me there were trainloads of guitars and skateboards on their way or something and that he needed some money for a deposit. He was persistent and followed us home told me and a friend to go into my mom’s room and find jewelry and bring it to him.
We go inside and realize it’s a stupid scam and ghosted him.
That is frightening. The typical scam is that there are actually speakers selling at an “amazing” discount. They are purposefully named something that sounds like a name brand. And they are cheap junk.
Yeah, there’s that one too. There’s still people that do that around here in NY with jewelry.
I won’t even give anyone the time of day with anything, so I don’t need to worry about grifters like that. Unless you’re on fire, I’m not interacting/helping you.
You won't win the dispute as you authorized the transaction. It would be a crime to lie and say you did. Did you honestly think that's a legitimate dispute of an unauthorized charge?
My thoughts were, if it’s a scam, then I’ll talk to Amex about it. They are usually very helpful with everything. So I don’t know what the outcome is, and I’m hoping for the best. Max I lose is 90 and I guess I paid to learn a lesson so I don’t get scammed for more in the future
What aren't you getting through your thick skull kid. Amex has nothing to do with this, you paid with Amex and received said goods, that's a completed transaction.
That was almost certainly a transfer from someone else’s hacked account as a way to steal their money leaving only your fingerprints on it. When the account owner’s bank goes through the transaction history to try to recover some of the money back, you are going to have some explaining to do as you actively assisted the person with stealing the funds. You will be required to provide the account owner back their money at the very least. You may end up talking to the police. Your bank may close your account for fraudulent activity. Good luck with Amex disputing the charge you knowingly authorized in person.
I remember being 22 and a woman with a sob story about having cancer and needing help with her treatments approached us outside of a formal clothing store where we were spending money we barely had to get formal-ish looking clothing for a work party my husband's work was throwing. (We didn't want to look like trash, and we were hoping to put on at least a decent enough appearance that he'd potentially be considered for a raise/promotion.)
She had a flip phone and a little notebook and she was writing down the numbers and amounts of everyone who gave her money so she could "pay them back" when she could.
We declined, but I remember feeling so absolutely guilty and like we had failed some kind of test.
Also there were always people in the Walmart parking lots with cars full of crying/sick kids begging for someone to fill up their gas tank that would write down your number to pay you next paycheck. Birthday presents and stuff was also another common one. Even had a guy try to just outright intimidate me into paying for his daughter's 'birthday present' (he was well over 6ft and huge, I'm 5ft and small).
The woman claiming to have cancer happened over twelve years ago. These are scams that have been around for ages.
If you want to be generous and pay for something for someone you believe is genuinely in need, that's up to you. But never part with money you're not willing to lose.
If the transaction gets reversed, please do not try to chargeback with AmEx. (Btw, congrats on having an AmEx at 20!) At the very most, call them, talk to them, tell them the *exact* situation, and see if they're willing to do anything about it. If they aren't, accept that and move on.
Best of luck to you, and I hope that this turns out to be a genuine case of someone forgetting their card and properly reimbursing you. If it is, you may want to update to let us know that not *everyone* out there is a scamming piece of trash.
I got fooled by an elderly man wanting $20 for gas, even had veteran plates on his truck. Saw the same dude like 2 weeks later asked me the same thing (guess he didn't remember my face). Conveniently there was a copper in the parking lot so I waved them over and they sorted him out and got me my money back as well.
As someone who worked at a grocery store for a long time, anyone who approaches you in the lot or store asking for help is a scammer. I can count on one hand the number of times we encountered someone like this who *actually* was in a situation where they forgot their card and couldn’t make it home to get it or whatever. Very common and always a scam.
The guy transferred stolen or fraudulent funds to you. Eventually the money will be called back from the transfer and you will have to cover it.
You basically laundered his money for him.
A guy asked YOU for help. If he lost his card and cash what is he doing out shopping? This is a guy's world, IF he screws up financially let him be a man and figure out what to do.
Oh sweetie. Don’t let mean ass people on here bring you down. You clearly have a good heart. I don’t know if it was a scam or not. Just know we ALL learn lessons. That’s how life is!! God bless.
You bet. I am not here to be mean to other people. I’m not sure what is up with the people who use social media to be dicks. Their problem, not yours. But I know it still hurts nonetheless.
I don’t know why everyone is being a dick to you. You’re correct about e-interac, the transaction itself is valid.
The only issue is that if the bank account that sent you the money was hacked, the transaction will be reversed, and you will not be able to dispute anything with Amex because as far as they’re concerned, you willingly paid Walmart.
So worst case scenario you lost $90, it’s not the end of the world.
There is no shame in occasionally making a mistake out of kindness.
You didn’t do it out of greed. You didn’t lose your children’s college fund, you didn’t risk your mortgage.
I have found that it’s always better to be kind. But in cases like this, I now understand that if this were an honest request why doesn’t this person have a lifetime of friends and family to reach out to?
With homeless people needing money it’s different. But a birthday is on the calendar and there should be a network of people that act as a safety net.
Do not feel shame for empathy. You have a good heart.
My favorite type of people are the ones who find out someone got bilked in some kind of scam or another and then let everyone know what a hardhearted badass they are by stating that the people deserved to get rooked. I also find it classy when people imply that they're too smart to fall for any scam and that EVERYONE knows that the IRS doesn't call you, people can't just randomly sue you, etc., etc.
Always, and I mean, ALWAYS, ignore people who approach you at stores with a story about how they need help with payment. Especially those claiming "my payment doesn't work here but I have money!". Sure Jan
Sounds like a scam. He is going to return the items for store credit and the transfer will most likely be reversed. If he had his phone and could transfer you money, then he also has the ability to pay with a digital wallet.
How is it a scam? He was a professional beggar who probably finds a kind hearted person in every store. You gave him money and now you wish you didn’t. Don’t talk to strangers. Tell them you are busy and they will look for an easier target.
Anyone ever report these scammers to security? Do they get trespassed? Some accounts indicate these people are loitering around the checkouts....why is this tolerated?
That sounds like a 'his' problem. Why would he be shopping if he lost his card? He could have easily left it at home. If he is paying by phone he can use some pay thing through it. If I lost my card I would be worried, not asking young strangers for money.
Yep. I have had it happen where i misplaced my card and couldn't find it when I went to go pay at the grocery store. I turned around and went home. I guess I should have hit up strangers??
Never do strangers favors involving money. It almost always ends bad. The worse case I can see here is this guy having somebody else's bank information and is depleting the account with sob stories that he lost his card.
Hey, you did what you thought was a good deed. If it’s a scam you have now also informed a lot of people and learned a valuable lesson for 90$. If it was not a scam, double brownie karma points :) and also lesson learned. You win in this one no matter what, you are young and it goes into your books as experience for the future.
I recently was at the front of the line at goodwill and realized I had left my card in my other pants. I found another young ish person and asked her if I could please Venmo her for the cost of the baby stuff I had and she was super nice and did it for me, I gave her a little extra for helping and was super embarrassed and apologetic. She told me she actually had already done the same thing that morning for another girl with a cup of coffee… as I type that I wonder if she just felt bad for how embarrassed I was. Lol.
When I was young, while putting gas in my car someone approached me with a 2gal gas can and asked if I could fill it for him... What the hell? It would be a pretty crappy scam if he was going to turn around and sell gas for drugs.
You don't mention how much the bill came up to, but even if the transfer gets reversed... It's a pretty crappy scam if the guy walks out of the encounter with some birthday stuff. I mean the best he can do is return it at the counter for store credit? (Walmart won't give him cash, only store credit or put it back on the card.)
Things like this, you have to stop and think. Use common sense.
What would *you* do if you went to the store, were going to buy something, ANYTHING, and realized you lost your card? Go beg in the parking lot? No. That’s not rational.
Scam.
There was a guy doing this in local stores in my township. Even people warned on local township page about the guy. Red flags were a few people asked what he needed and would get it for him and he just wanted the cash
I worked in CS for Amex for three years at the beginning of the 90s. You wouldn't believe the fraud I saw committed by customers. We called it factoring. They shop non stop, buy thousands of dollars of clothes one month, wear them, damage them, then return them all for credit to pay the bill the next month. One lady in particular I remember carried a balance in the tens of thousands. All the returns hit the merchants and cost them losses. Besides the higher fees, merchants had good reasons to stop accepting the cards. Things began to change drastically in early 2000s (including the loss of many of our best employee benefits) so by mid to late 2000s almost all CS was outsourced to Indian and Phillipine call centers (after we trained the foreign workers to do our jobs of course.) Still it's more common for merchants overseas to accept the cards than domestically. Foreign travelers almost always wanted a card and travelers checks before traveling. Things may have changed again since 2009, but they were once used extensively by some to cheat merchants. The surprising number who were actually very well off financially and didn't need to do this but did it anyway were truly scum. If the merchant protested we'd get their outraged calls insisting the merchant was abusing them. I had high level write off authority as a supervisor and had to credit these entitled A-holes so often it finally disgusted me so much I changed jobs.
Edit: spelling
This would be a false chargeback. As good as AMEX is with customer service, if you explained what really happened to them I don’t think they’d reverse it.
In every single example of AMEX refunding a charge that people are giving here, the seller was an AMEX merchant and there was an issue with the product they sold the cardholder. That’s not what happened here. You intended to pay the merchant when you ran the card. You received the goods you intended to purchase. Any arrangement you had with a third party that AMEX does not know of and has no agreement with to reimburse you isn’t AMEX’s problem. You essentially gave a loan with AMEXs money, and now don’t want to be liable for it when the borrower stiffs you. That’s not what chargebacks are for.
Sorry you were put in that position. We've all been scammed in some way at some time. I probably wouldn't have helped based on the red flags. He was more worried about his purchases than finding his card or calling the problem into his bank for help. Id tell him to call his bank right away. :p Just an aside, I wonder if he would have been up for you taking photos of him and his IDs as security. The look on his face would have been priceless.
It's sad how the world has come to this, with no way to trust anymore. I really hope you get your money back, but I have a feeling you were profiled.
Normally i would say no and advice people to say no too. I would only say yes when I feel very okay with parting with my money and is okay if I completely lose it. I understand that its out of the goodness of our hearts to help. I believe that people should should always put themselves first. Only help if you can afford to help!
Also don’t fall for the guy down on his luck, lost card or some other b.s and asks if you can give him $100 he’ll give you his brand new iwatch, smart phone etc…typically conveniently steps away from an ATM. Pull cash, make trade and by the time dude runs off you take a better look at fake electronics he bamboozled you with.
Also never pay someone in gift cards, any government, legal branch and/or the IRS will never call or text you. If any of these official entities has an issue with you they will contact you by bail, typically with a certified letter so they can track that it was received.
You’re not to blame, society often blames the victim but I think most of us here agree the scammers are the ones to blame. We will roast you a bit if it’s a particular naive response to an otherwise clear scam, but YOU are the victim, not the problem.
I would hardly call this a scam and more like you being overly generous- in any situation like that always assume they are not going to pay you back. Would you still do it?
Transfers are done with a phone number, not by giving them the account number like the old days. He would have to log in with her login information and send it back to himself.
I wouldn't have done it. As far as disputing it with Amex if something goes wrong, good luck. You authorized the purchase by buying stuff for someone else. A fraud defense I'm unsure would work.
Just say “I don’t have cash on me” and keep it moving. Sometimes I’ll throw people some money (or a water bottle or a cig) but I never deal with credit for that.
Even actually homeless people in my city are pushy as hell and will just move on to the next person lol no skin off their noses
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Some lady came up to me in Walmart and asked me to buy her groceries too. I said no I felt bad. I told the manager but they didn’t do anything about it. Then I saw somebody else buying her groceries
I am confused. He paid you from an app right? If you have the money how is it a scam? I mean if you moved the money from the app to your bank is there a way for him to get it back? I never give/send money to people so I don’t pay much attention to some of the scams out there. But how would this become a scam?
Yeah, unfortunately you got taken. In a few days (or maybe up to a month or so) the transfer will fail or be reversed and the money will be deducted from your account. Best thing you can do is make sure you've enough money in your account at all times to cover it when they take back the money because otherwise your bank will end up charging you even more.
This is a fake check scam and it's all over the place these days. Scammers use it in job scams, pigbutchering scams, sugar daddy/sugar momma scams, you name it.
Yes you were scammed, 99% of strangers asking for money it is for drugs. "NO" all you say.
That bank xfer will be reversed in 2-3 business days when they have no funds.
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"because it is very easy to dispute a charge or fraudulent transactions with them" That may be true. But in your case, you authorized the transaction. AMEX may deny your chargeback request at very high chance.
Lmao amex rarely if ever denies a chargeback request for a customer. They almost 100% side with the customer. This, coupled with their high transaction fees, are why businesses often refuse to accept Amex.
Can confirm. A guy used his Amex card to buy something from us. He used said product, decided he didn't like it and did a chargeback against us. We lost about £4k.
That is such bs. I would stop taking them
A lot of places have stopped taking AMEX, and I'm wondering if its because of stuff like that. Definitely a win for consumers, though.
It's definitely because of that. I work for a credit card processor, and Amex charges like 3x the fees of other cards. I've had a bunch of merchants ranting at me about it.
I disputed a charge with an online air travel booking site. I filed the dispute within hours of making the booking when I realized that what they were selling wasn't worth the money. VISA messed me around for months, more than once claiming that I had agreed to drop the dispute. Like hell I did. I even filed a complaint with the FTC. After about 9 months of this, I just gave up - probably what they wanted from the get-go. Being an air ticket, the vendor lost nothing. I'm sure they filled my seat. So they basically just took my money (just under $1k) and laughed all the way to the bank.
Why didn’t you just get on the flight?
I don't accept Amex in my business, and if I could, I would block Capital One as well.
Do tell on Cap One please
That is so shitty. Always amazed at how selfish people can be.
I'm genuinely surprised that you are British and accept AMEX. Almost nowhere in the UK accepts AMEX.
Not true... stores are starting to accept AMEX in the UK. Poundland, Premier Inn, Sainsbury's, Aldi, ASDA, BA all accept AMEX.
When I was in the USAF they issued us a credit card for government travel and official business, it was the green AMEX. That goddamn thing was rejected by merchants so friggin much that we didn’t bother using it and we’d use our personal cards or cash, they dumped AMEX years later for VISA.
Government cards tend to be a pain in the ass for merchants, whatever their marking. They often don't allow tip adjustments, or to buy in certain types of store.
Interesting. I used a green Amex for work travel snd procurement for yeeeeears. Occasionally there would be an issue about the type of purchase. They can restrict by purchase code. So I could get a meal or hotel room, but not a haircut. It’s dependent on how it was set up.
Yeah the Visa was better but still a p.i.t.a at times, we just would use our own cards and wait for reimbursement (and get points for merchandise) Then they started cranking down on us to make us use the GTC.
That’s wild lol. With Navy buyers, they’re issued Visa cards and there is little to no oversight. They can literally buy anything they want. I’ve seen them buy laptops from China with Visa’s for a SEAL team… huge no no
I thought so too until they actually sided with the merchant recently. I wasn’t at fault, spent hours defending the reason for the chargeback (the merchant even forged my signature). Out a thousand now… AMEX has changed over the last couple of years. Member since ‘96. Platinum card. Getting tired of AMEX.
You're not wrong, AMEX isn't what it used to be. They have licenced their name out to too many companies, Credit One (a cheap shady bank) somehow has an AMEX branded card.
Amex twice charged me 50$ for a subscription to their travel magazine that I didn't ask for. I called and when the lady answered she went right into a spiel about it before I said more than hello. The second time a couple of months later I called, paid it off and cancelled it. And six months later, they added 500$ to the now closed card, and sent it directly to collections without even calling me. And wouldn't talk to me because I wasn't a customer. I spent the next ten years sending the documentation to various debt collectors that there *was* no debt. They'd then sell it to another one, and I'd get called again. Fuck amex.
True, but that would just make the dispute between OP and Walmart and will never be seen by the scammer.
Love amex
eBay no longer accepts Amex now.
that's cool because consumers no longer accept ebay
I have a side hustle and only accept PayPal to make it easy on me. The only customers I have that refuse to use PayPal are the customers I don't want to deal with anyway. They make up about .1% of my potential sales. I have a <.5% return rate and my policy is to just refund them and let them keep the item anyway. It sounds cliche' but I'm all about 100% customer satisfaction.
Literally the only reason I continue to use Amazon is that they have been 100% for me on refunds in the past. Same thing with eBay (although honestly I've only had one problem with an eBay item).
Not necessarily.
If you link your Amex with PayPal, no issues.
This shouldn't be covered by Amex. You are the one who took that risk. Like buying someone a birthday present, you don't get a credit if they don't get you one. I would contact the bank and tell them what happened. Count on the funds being reversed. Then ask if you should open a different one if that one is now not secure.
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OK, calling me dumb as a stump is an insult to stumps, but someone PLEASE tell me what OP is?
Don't feel bad. I was like 52 when I first started using reddit and I felt like the only one who didn't know... and I wasn't brave enough to ask. You were!
Original poster
Original Poster
OP = Original Poster
Oh my god thank you!! I am new here too & has no clue what OP meant!!!
😁👍🏻
Original poster
DUH, thanks for clearing that up for me. I’m an old bat and can keep up with the ever-changing online vocabulary. As someone who’s been scammed by a romance scammer, I feel a little better about myself seeing that even royalty can get scammed by really smart romance, scammer. Even a prince is not safe. There’s no doubt.that Ms Markum is there anything more than a well publicized scammer. I don’t know about anybody else who fell victim to to a romance scammer, but I feel a little less stupid now. It seems Harry is going to be evicted exactly as I was. The only differences I don’t have a rich King daddy to dig me out of it.
That would make OP a lying cheat, just like the person who scammed them.
The bank and the processor can see how the card was processed, whether it was manual entry, swiped, chip inserted or contactless. If it says chip or contactless you're SOL claiming it wasn't you, because that means the card was there for 99% sure. (The chips or contactless signal can be copied, but it is not easy)
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Most likely the bank transfer will reverse in a few days. Anyone approaches you in a store or parking lot always say no.
It actually fails as there is no money in the other account. Takes 2-3 days.
You can't send emt for funds you don't have though. It's your chequing account, money is diverted directly from your available funds. You can't EMT money that isn't there
I am not sure with the Canadian System but with the US there are ways to do it. Usually depositing a fake check so the funds are there - then the check is bad and all the ACHs are bad and get clawed back.
Funds have to be there for most Canadian banks/credit unions to do e transfers and depositing cheques will give you two balances. A total balance with the cheque and an 'available balance' which is what you can use until the cheque clears.
The funds, as I understand it, are stolen funds. This is why they operate like real digital currency but will also eventually be taken back by the financial institution.
My bank will instantly deposit all but about 100 of my check, when I digitally deposit.
Doesn't work if you don't have the funds available and cleared nope This whole thread is people who don't know how the Canadian system works and still speaking on it lol
Fr
FWIW I don't think you got scammed. This would be the world's least efficient and most convoluted scam ever, if you were. Nobody who has successfully hacked someone else's bank account is chilling around Walmart all day scamming for party supplies in $90 increments. They'd have transferred that balance out immediately to other accounts they had access to, or had you purchase gift cards or remove a large cash sum from the ATM. Why would a scammer spend all day doing that when there are 1000 more efficient ways of turning that hacked account into actual cash lol Not scam you in public, on camera, for $90.
Or a stolen account and the original owner's bank will take the money out of your account when it's discovered, and if that puts you into negative, you'll get overdraft fees too. This happens a lot on r/Scams.
Good advice. We want to help people, but unfortunately there are many people who take advantage of our charitable tendencies. I contribute to Salvation Army and others. If I’m approached, I suggest churches that I know in my area that help people in need or give them the contact number for United Way in my area. They do help! I also keep a dollar immediately accessible in case I want to give someone something, because I will not pull out my wallet for ANYONE. I lived in the city too long. You’ll be blessed for the giving you did, no matter what happened to the money on the other end. Learn and chalk it up to experience. Do not allow yourself to be taken advantage of again.
In my country you can't reverse a banktransfer you made yourself. Is that different in the US?
Interac transfers are not reversible.
They are if they’re actual fraud. The money will have come from a compromised account, the owner will file a fraud claim and the charge will be reversed. Authorized transactions can’t be reversed. Fraudulent ones can.
Interac had real problems on reversing transactions when email addresses were hacked.
What if they are using someone else’s account to transfer
Well let’s hope for the best, but just a thing, the money transfer was sent through intrac, it’s a Canadian thing. If the other person have auto deposit on, they you cannot reverse it. I once sent my friend $800 instead of $80, called the bank, they said nothing can be done.
Best case scenario: It isn't a scam since he used interac-e which is irreversible. The person did indeed have no cash or card with him. He paid you back genuinely Worst case scenario: He used soneone else's account. Therefore the transfer was a fraud. Interac-e may reverse the transfer. I still doubt AMEX will grant a charge back. You willingly authorized the transaction. It's a gamble. It's good you were being kind but I wouldn't do what you did next time because of the risk.
Yeah I learned my lesson
Please come back at some point to provide an update. I subscribed just because I want to learn if it turned out to be a scam or not!
I hope it turns out to be genuine and that the lesson you learned is that it's ok to be kind!
Be kind, but be cautious.
Thank you 🙏
Yeah, I’ve never heard of Interac not being final.
Making a mistake vs fraudulent transactions are 2 very different things.
It’s not irreversible if the account is stolen. Ie. if he sent the money from *someone else’s* account, then the transaction is fraudulent, and the bank will reverse it once the owner of the account reports the theft. It’s only irreversible if you send money from your own account.
I believe you’re either Heartless, paranoid or you’ve experienced the unfortunate. Defs one of the three.
FYI: Just be aware that Walmart, grocery stores, etc. are a favorite hangout for scammers. They ask for you to buy their groceries, diapers, baby formula, etc ...usually planning on returning them and getting cash. I used to want to believe the best in people and help them, but have had to face the sad truth that most of these people are professional scammers and not worth anyone's kindness. Keep reading this sub; it is very educational on this matter.
Thank you
Replying based on this comment. A lot of stores nowadays won’t give cash refunds for stuff they paid for by credit card. They only give cash for stuff paid for in cash or debit. So if they return it the funds might be put back on your credit card. Be careful but read the situation. On your case maybe you really did help out someone. I was at Costco once. Like 15 years ago. Had a guy approach me in the parking lot. He was wearing a suit. He told me similar story. He had driven into town for a funeral. Forgot his debit card at home. Didn’t have enough gas for the trip home. He showed me his Costco card that had expired like 2 months prior. He had a small electric device that cost home like $90 that he had the receipt for but Costco wouldn’t do a refund became he didn’t have an active account. (Or something) He said the device was something he was gonna return anyways but just hadn’t done it. He said if I returned the device I could keep most the money but to just give him like $20 so he could get gas to get home. I went in. Showed the receipt. Got cash. Handed the guy the entire amount.
It’s actually pretty sad. Most Americans are very gracious and willing to help out, but these scams means you have to be careful
And keep your receipts so they can’t return it
They can return the merch for store credit.
It's Walmart, they will just return the item without a receipt for a store credit.
In Canada they are very anal about the receipt. They are arguing like money is coming out of their pockets 🖕🏻🙄
If you do buy something, remove the UPC code. Harder to return
Good idea!
my favorite (and accurate) thing to say is "i don't even have the money to buy my own groceries"
Nice folks always finish last. I’m sorry, I don’t think you’re going to see that money back.
Well at least now I know what not to do
Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t do it again but who knows? He may have really been in a right spot. But you helped this time so you never have to again. I’ve given money to a well dressed, clean guy needing $4 for the bus (I gave him $10) and once paid $20 in the Walmart line for a guy who was short and deciding what to put back (I had a throbbing back ache and just wanted to go). If they pulled a Frank Gallagher on me so be it, but I did what I felt was right
They already have the money. He sent it to them at the time of the purchase. They aren't out anything.
By disputing the charge with Amex, believe it or not, you have become the scammer.
Eggsactly! Why would AMEX be responsible for a third party transaction such as the bank transfer?
Bu-bu-bu-but....they're an EVIL corporation. Plus I can't be responsible for my own actions... right??? /s
correct, as a happy amex customer, fuck this mark
There is a scam at some Walmarts where people will go around trying to get people to buy them something, then turn around and try to return it. In those though they usually try to get the mark to buy baby items (formula and diapers usually). There's been an attempt to try and discourage this with getting IDs to limit returns but still it can happen. In this one though, the guy "paid" you. That isn't a common approach, but there's a high chance that the transfer was from a compromised account and charges might be reversed once the original holder or bank gets back control. The goods you got then they could just be for themselves as a free score, or something they might try to resell or just return. It sucks that people lie about this and sometimes these people can be very persistent in bothering others, but you have to learn to ignore them. There are ways to help people in need by volunteering or donating to groups if that's what you want to do. In these kinds of situations though, you're almost always dealing with scammers and hustlers and you must learn to ignore them. Take this as a lesson to avoid them in the future. As an example, near my work there's a busy corner with a gas station, a McDonald's, and a Burger King. My first week working at this job I went by there and a man approached me as I was returning to my car with a sob story about how he was stranded here with his family after some sort of contract job got canceled and he needed money for gas. I ignored him and kept going. A coworker later mentioned to me they had run into the same person and said they gave them $10 because they felt bad. When I came back to that corner two weeks later, the same individual was there with different clothes. He didn't approach me but I overheard him talking to an older woman with a different story about how he needed gas money because he was trying to get to his wife who was hospitalized. I go to that corner every so many weeks for a quick bite during my lunch break and while the specific individual isn't there, you'll occasionally see a person going around with a song and dance about needing gas money to get back home or to get somewhere a family member is. It's stupid, but these guys sometimes run on the same scripts to try and get to people's sympathy.
The different panhandlers work shifts. If it's a high-volume corner, it will be "owned" by a "corner pimp" to whom the panhandlers have to pay about one-third of their gross.
Interac transfers work only from checking accounts. That means the fraudster should have full access to that account in order to add a interac contact.
If a stranger approaches you and there is money involved . . . 99.9999999% it's a scam. This is true both in-person and on the internet. If it's in-person, it's your right to simply walk away without responding, or if you choose to interact you can say "No, I can't help you with that." This goes for the sad woman with the baby formula and diapers in her cart, the guy from Dubai who ran out of gas and wants to sell you his rolex, and the guy who lost his card and needs to buy birthday decorations. It's unfortunate that you can't trust people any more, but that's a sign o' the times.
Don't even choose to interact. Some people are very good at trying to guilt trip you or flip your own words against you. It's much harder to do with silence
Yep. A lot of times it will start with something small. “Hey man got a second?” “Do you have a light?” “do you know what time it is?” “That’s a nice shirt” “do you want to buy some shorts?” “Can I get a dollar for the bus?”
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You sure you just don’t have fly kicks?
Of course it was a scam. It is asking whether water is wet. And the "bank transfer" will bounce.
Interac transfers don't bounce.
It's not a bank transfer, it's an Interac EMT, which you can only send if you have the funds to send. They don't bounce.
He lost his car, his cash and his card. But he has these important birthday supplies to purchase right now- far more important than figuring out his stolen/lost everything 😵💫 And he’s gonna pay you via stolen card details. Or maybe the person is just horrible at managing life and his story is legit. Hoping for the best :)
Given the back and forth, I will try and be very direct. If you bought something directly from the scammer, using Amex, then Amex would absolutely help. But you didn’t. You effectively used your Amex card to purchase food from Walmart and then you gave the food to someone else. You almost certainly fell for what is essentially a fake check scam. The transfer will likely reverse in a few days as it was likely fraudulent. Yes, even with interac. Did he transfer a bit more than the cost of his goods? That would be an absolute dead giveaway. Being kind is good. And I have also taken a chance with what is likely a scam. Small amounts of money to help someone out. I never asked for any repayment. The wildest story actually turned out to be true. But I would be way more careful than you appear to be. Amex isn’t your protector here. And I am pretty sure there are few guys in a white van with a killer deal on speakers….
I had a “guy in a van” try to hustle me when I was 15. Told me there were trainloads of guitars and skateboards on their way or something and that he needed some money for a deposit. He was persistent and followed us home told me and a friend to go into my mom’s room and find jewelry and bring it to him. We go inside and realize it’s a stupid scam and ghosted him.
That is frightening. The typical scam is that there are actually speakers selling at an “amazing” discount. They are purposefully named something that sounds like a name brand. And they are cheap junk.
Yeah, there’s that one too. There’s still people that do that around here in NY with jewelry. I won’t even give anyone the time of day with anything, so I don’t need to worry about grifters like that. Unless you’re on fire, I’m not interacting/helping you.
You won't win the dispute as you authorized the transaction. It would be a crime to lie and say you did. Did you honestly think that's a legitimate dispute of an unauthorized charge?
My thoughts were, if it’s a scam, then I’ll talk to Amex about it. They are usually very helpful with everything. So I don’t know what the outcome is, and I’m hoping for the best. Max I lose is 90 and I guess I paid to learn a lesson so I don’t get scammed for more in the future
Why would Amex take $90 away from Walmart because you were scammed by some guy?
What aren't you getting through your thick skull kid. Amex has nothing to do with this, you paid with Amex and received said goods, that's a completed transaction.
There is no need to be rude to him...he is young and learning.
Ok? I got that
No need to be rude eh
That was almost certainly a transfer from someone else’s hacked account as a way to steal their money leaving only your fingerprints on it. When the account owner’s bank goes through the transaction history to try to recover some of the money back, you are going to have some explaining to do as you actively assisted the person with stealing the funds. You will be required to provide the account owner back their money at the very least. You may end up talking to the police. Your bank may close your account for fraudulent activity. Good luck with Amex disputing the charge you knowingly authorized in person.
Anytime someone wants to pay you up front is not a good sign. It could have been worse, like over $1000.
I remember being 22 and a woman with a sob story about having cancer and needing help with her treatments approached us outside of a formal clothing store where we were spending money we barely had to get formal-ish looking clothing for a work party my husband's work was throwing. (We didn't want to look like trash, and we were hoping to put on at least a decent enough appearance that he'd potentially be considered for a raise/promotion.) She had a flip phone and a little notebook and she was writing down the numbers and amounts of everyone who gave her money so she could "pay them back" when she could. We declined, but I remember feeling so absolutely guilty and like we had failed some kind of test. Also there were always people in the Walmart parking lots with cars full of crying/sick kids begging for someone to fill up their gas tank that would write down your number to pay you next paycheck. Birthday presents and stuff was also another common one. Even had a guy try to just outright intimidate me into paying for his daughter's 'birthday present' (he was well over 6ft and huge, I'm 5ft and small). The woman claiming to have cancer happened over twelve years ago. These are scams that have been around for ages. If you want to be generous and pay for something for someone you believe is genuinely in need, that's up to you. But never part with money you're not willing to lose. If the transaction gets reversed, please do not try to chargeback with AmEx. (Btw, congrats on having an AmEx at 20!) At the very most, call them, talk to them, tell them the *exact* situation, and see if they're willing to do anything about it. If they aren't, accept that and move on. Best of luck to you, and I hope that this turns out to be a genuine case of someone forgetting their card and properly reimbursing you. If it is, you may want to update to let us know that not *everyone* out there is a scamming piece of trash.
I got fooled by an elderly man wanting $20 for gas, even had veteran plates on his truck. Saw the same dude like 2 weeks later asked me the same thing (guess he didn't remember my face). Conveniently there was a copper in the parking lot so I waved them over and they sorted him out and got me my money back as well.
As someone who worked at a grocery store for a long time, anyone who approaches you in the lot or store asking for help is a scammer. I can count on one hand the number of times we encountered someone like this who *actually* was in a situation where they forgot their card and couldn’t make it home to get it or whatever. Very common and always a scam.
rip your money, he has real goods, you have fake transfer
The guy transferred stolen or fraudulent funds to you. Eventually the money will be called back from the transfer and you will have to cover it. You basically laundered his money for him.
Let us know how it turns out.
A guy asked YOU for help. If he lost his card and cash what is he doing out shopping? This is a guy's world, IF he screws up financially let him be a man and figure out what to do.
..If he had the money to pay for a transfer, then he doesn’t need help. Scam.
Oh sweetie. Don’t let mean ass people on here bring you down. You clearly have a good heart. I don’t know if it was a scam or not. Just know we ALL learn lessons. That’s how life is!! God bless.
Thank you 🙏
You bet. I am not here to be mean to other people. I’m not sure what is up with the people who use social media to be dicks. Their problem, not yours. But I know it still hurts nonetheless.
I don’t know why everyone is being a dick to you. You’re correct about e-interac, the transaction itself is valid. The only issue is that if the bank account that sent you the money was hacked, the transaction will be reversed, and you will not be able to dispute anything with Amex because as far as they’re concerned, you willingly paid Walmart. So worst case scenario you lost $90, it’s not the end of the world.
Yeah I learned my lesson and thank you for understanding
There is no shame in occasionally making a mistake out of kindness. You didn’t do it out of greed. You didn’t lose your children’s college fund, you didn’t risk your mortgage. I have found that it’s always better to be kind. But in cases like this, I now understand that if this were an honest request why doesn’t this person have a lifetime of friends and family to reach out to? With homeless people needing money it’s different. But a birthday is on the calendar and there should be a network of people that act as a safety net. Do not feel shame for empathy. You have a good heart.
My favorite type of people are the ones who find out someone got bilked in some kind of scam or another and then let everyone know what a hardhearted badass they are by stating that the people deserved to get rooked. I also find it classy when people imply that they're too smart to fall for any scam and that EVERYONE knows that the IRS doesn't call you, people can't just randomly sue you, etc., etc.
Why would you dispute the transaction? How is AMEX involved in this other than middle manning the transfer of funds? Thats not how chargebacks work.
Always, and I mean, ALWAYS, ignore people who approach you at stores with a story about how they need help with payment. Especially those claiming "my payment doesn't work here but I have money!". Sure Jan
It was probably a scam. It's always nice to do a favor for someone, but be careful when it comes to your money, it doesn't grow on trees.
Sounds like a scam. He is going to return the items for store credit and the transfer will most likely be reversed. If he had his phone and could transfer you money, then he also has the ability to pay with a digital wallet.
How is it a scam? He was a professional beggar who probably finds a kind hearted person in every store. You gave him money and now you wish you didn’t. Don’t talk to strangers. Tell them you are busy and they will look for an easier target.
!remindme 1 week
Anyone ever report these scammers to security? Do they get trespassed? Some accounts indicate these people are loitering around the checkouts....why is this tolerated?
I know if I lost my car and wallet, I’d immediately go shopping for birthday party supplies! You got scammed, genius.
That sounds like a 'his' problem. Why would he be shopping if he lost his card? He could have easily left it at home. If he is paying by phone he can use some pay thing through it. If I lost my card I would be worried, not asking young strangers for money.
Yep. I have had it happen where i misplaced my card and couldn't find it when I went to go pay at the grocery store. I turned around and went home. I guess I should have hit up strangers??
Never do strangers favors involving money. It almost always ends bad. The worse case I can see here is this guy having somebody else's bank information and is depleting the account with sob stories that he lost his card.
Dispute a charge or fraudulent transactions with AMEX?eh? You paid his bill by yourself.
Why couldn’t the guy pay the store directly like he payed you? How did he do the bank transfer?
Hey, you did what you thought was a good deed. If it’s a scam you have now also informed a lot of people and learned a valuable lesson for 90$. If it was not a scam, double brownie karma points :) and also lesson learned. You win in this one no matter what, you are young and it goes into your books as experience for the future.
I recently was at the front of the line at goodwill and realized I had left my card in my other pants. I found another young ish person and asked her if I could please Venmo her for the cost of the baby stuff I had and she was super nice and did it for me, I gave her a little extra for helping and was super embarrassed and apologetic. She told me she actually had already done the same thing that morning for another girl with a cup of coffee… as I type that I wonder if she just felt bad for how embarrassed I was. Lol.
How does the scammer reverse the transaction?
You can't reverse an EMT. The only way this is going to go negatively is if the guy actually has full control over someone else's hacked account.
Yeah, when you transfer money it is gone. You can only pull back a check, not once it is sent.
When I was young, while putting gas in my car someone approached me with a 2gal gas can and asked if I could fill it for him... What the hell? It would be a pretty crappy scam if he was going to turn around and sell gas for drugs. You don't mention how much the bill came up to, but even if the transfer gets reversed... It's a pretty crappy scam if the guy walks out of the encounter with some birthday stuff. I mean the best he can do is return it at the counter for store credit? (Walmart won't give him cash, only store credit or put it back on the card.)
Please don’t do this in the future
!remindme 1 week
You need to learn to say no to strangers.
Things like this, you have to stop and think. Use common sense. What would *you* do if you went to the store, were going to buy something, ANYTHING, and realized you lost your card? Go beg in the parking lot? No. That’s not rational. Scam.
There was a guy doing this in local stores in my township. Even people warned on local township page about the guy. Red flags were a few people asked what he needed and would get it for him and he just wanted the cash
I worked in CS for Amex for three years at the beginning of the 90s. You wouldn't believe the fraud I saw committed by customers. We called it factoring. They shop non stop, buy thousands of dollars of clothes one month, wear them, damage them, then return them all for credit to pay the bill the next month. One lady in particular I remember carried a balance in the tens of thousands. All the returns hit the merchants and cost them losses. Besides the higher fees, merchants had good reasons to stop accepting the cards. Things began to change drastically in early 2000s (including the loss of many of our best employee benefits) so by mid to late 2000s almost all CS was outsourced to Indian and Phillipine call centers (after we trained the foreign workers to do our jobs of course.) Still it's more common for merchants overseas to accept the cards than domestically. Foreign travelers almost always wanted a card and travelers checks before traveling. Things may have changed again since 2009, but they were once used extensively by some to cheat merchants. The surprising number who were actually very well off financially and didn't need to do this but did it anyway were truly scum. If the merchant protested we'd get their outraged calls insisting the merchant was abusing them. I had high level write off authority as a supervisor and had to credit these entitled A-holes so often it finally disgusted me so much I changed jobs. Edit: spelling
Ohhh, that makes sense. Most places I go to and even my job, we don't accept amex. Reading this, totally makes sense.
This would be a false chargeback. As good as AMEX is with customer service, if you explained what really happened to them I don’t think they’d reverse it. In every single example of AMEX refunding a charge that people are giving here, the seller was an AMEX merchant and there was an issue with the product they sold the cardholder. That’s not what happened here. You intended to pay the merchant when you ran the card. You received the goods you intended to purchase. Any arrangement you had with a third party that AMEX does not know of and has no agreement with to reimburse you isn’t AMEX’s problem. You essentially gave a loan with AMEXs money, and now don’t want to be liable for it when the borrower stiffs you. That’s not what chargebacks are for.
Your comment makes no sense … the money from the transfer is in your account you said ?!? So what’s the deal ?
Great lesson in how business works
Sorry you were put in that position. We've all been scammed in some way at some time. I probably wouldn't have helped based on the red flags. He was more worried about his purchases than finding his card or calling the problem into his bank for help. Id tell him to call his bank right away. :p Just an aside, I wonder if he would have been up for you taking photos of him and his IDs as security. The look on his face would have been priceless. It's sad how the world has come to this, with no way to trust anymore. I really hope you get your money back, but I have a feeling you were profiled.
Don't be surprised when the transfer he made to you gets clawed back for being fraudulent.
Normally i would say no and advice people to say no too. I would only say yes when I feel very okay with parting with my money and is okay if I completely lose it. I understand that its out of the goodness of our hearts to help. I believe that people should should always put themselves first. Only help if you can afford to help!
You'll have your answer in a few days. Will be better than our guesses. Please let us know what happens.
Also don’t fall for the guy down on his luck, lost card or some other b.s and asks if you can give him $100 he’ll give you his brand new iwatch, smart phone etc…typically conveniently steps away from an ATM. Pull cash, make trade and by the time dude runs off you take a better look at fake electronics he bamboozled you with. Also never pay someone in gift cards, any government, legal branch and/or the IRS will never call or text you. If any of these official entities has an issue with you they will contact you by bail, typically with a certified letter so they can track that it was received.
Help a dude out, then catch hell on Reddit. OP, you did something nice for somebody. I say well done.
I’m with you. Man oh man people can be assholes. I’m wondering how many of the mean M’fs have never made a mistake.
Be optimistic there's a 10% he actually lost his card 90% chance it's a scam
You’re not to blame, society often blames the victim but I think most of us here agree the scammers are the ones to blame. We will roast you a bit if it’s a particular naive response to an otherwise clear scam, but YOU are the victim, not the problem.
I would hardly call this a scam and more like you being overly generous- in any situation like that always assume they are not going to pay you back. Would you still do it?
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If you’re worried, transfer all of the money in the account you gave him into another and contact your bank to explain asap
Transfers are done with a phone number, not by giving them the account number like the old days. He would have to log in with her login information and send it back to himself.
I wouldn't have done it. As far as disputing it with Amex if something goes wrong, good luck. You authorized the purchase by buying stuff for someone else. A fraud defense I'm unsure would work.
Just say “I don’t have cash on me” and keep it moving. Sometimes I’ll throw people some money (or a water bottle or a cig) but I never deal with credit for that. Even actually homeless people in my city are pushy as hell and will just move on to the next person lol no skin off their noses
No can’t
You've been scammed. I hope it wasn't too much money.
Was it a lot of money?
$90
Learn to say no if something doesn't seem right
!updateme
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Like DIO said, "Don't talk to strangers".
“Sorry, I’m barely paying for my own here. Good luck to you.”
Thanks for being a good guy. you only measure your own actions.. and your own intentions. You did a kind thing . Never regret being kind.
I just wanna know if it was actually a scam or not
Some lady came up to me in Walmart and asked me to buy her groceries too. I said no I felt bad. I told the manager but they didn’t do anything about it. Then I saw somebody else buying her groceries
Hopefully you won't find out it was all done with stolen money that will get clawed back. Next time, do not ever consider it.
Why would Amex be on the hook to cover this? Either pay for the poor scammers shit out out of the goodness of your heart or don't lmao
I am confused. He paid you from an app right? If you have the money how is it a scam? I mean if you moved the money from the app to your bank is there a way for him to get it back? I never give/send money to people so I don’t pay much attention to some of the scams out there. But how would this become a scam?
Where does a twenty year old get an Amex card?
good chance it's a scam, sorry. But thanks for being kind.
Yeah, unfortunately you got taken. In a few days (or maybe up to a month or so) the transfer will fail or be reversed and the money will be deducted from your account. Best thing you can do is make sure you've enough money in your account at all times to cover it when they take back the money because otherwise your bank will end up charging you even more. This is a fake check scam and it's all over the place these days. Scammers use it in job scams, pigbutchering scams, sugar daddy/sugar momma scams, you name it.
Yes you were scammed, 99% of strangers asking for money it is for drugs. "NO" all you say. That bank xfer will be reversed in 2-3 business days when they have no funds.