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I am sharing my experience — it's a very real and alarming issue, and many domainers are vulnerable to such scams:
Warning to Fellow Domainers: Beware of New-Age Domain Scams Involving PayPal Chargebacks
Hello NamePros Members,
I want to share my personal experience — a bitter lesson that cost me valuable domain names — so others may stay alert and avoid falling prey to unscrupulous buyers and chargeback scammers who are now actively hunting in our community.
I believe NamePros should conduct an internal review of Buy Request threads from the last 6 months. Are these buyers genuine, or is there a growing trend of people playing games with our trust?
Here’s how I got scammed — not once, but twice:
* A buyer responded to my sales offer and paid promptly via PayPal.
* Once I received the funds, I transferred the domains to his registrar account, as agreed.
* Everything seemed smooth — until a few days later, PayPal sent me a notification: “The buyer has initiated a chargeback — reason: item not received.”
* My appeals and proofs didn’t help. PayPal reversed the payment.
Later, I discovered the harsh truth:
The payment I received was not directly from the scammer (let's call him Mr. Cheat) — it was from an unsuspecting third party (Mr. X), who had paid Mr. Cheat for an entirely different product, like a computer device.
Mr. Cheat gave my PayPal ID to Mr.X to send funds for the computer device that Mr.X ordered with MrCheat. After getting the funds, I transferred the domains to MrCheat's account.
Mr. X, not getting his goods from MrCheat, files a chargeback — and PayPal refunds him from my account.
Mr. Cheat disappears.
Mr. X is happy.
And I lost my domains — forever.
My registrar couldn’t help either because the domain transfers were done with my approval.
Moral of the story: As sellers, we are completely exposed in such scams. The system favors buyers. And these scammers are becoming smarter, faster, and more organized.
My Advice to Fellow Domainers:
* Be extremely cautious with PayPal payments, especially from new or unknown buyers.
* Consider safer escrow options like Escrow\.com, Dan, or Atom\.com Afternic, where buyer verification and payment protection are more robust.
* Verify the sender’s email and identity thoroughly before transferring domains.
* Avoid sending domains immediately, especially for high-value names — give some buffer time to detect red flags.
I urge NamePros moderators and admins to look into this issue seriously. @Alfa Mod Team. These scams not only harm individual sellers but also damage the integrity of this otherwise great marketplace.
Stay alert, and protect your hard-earned assets.
Sincerely,
Haroon Basha
Warning to Fellow Domainers: Beware of New-Age Domain Scams Involving PayPal Chargebacks
Hello NamePros Members,
I want to share my personal experience — a bitter lesson that cost me valuable domain names — so others may stay alert and avoid falling prey to unscrupulous buyers and chargeback scammers who are now actively hunting in our community.
I believe NamePros should conduct an internal review of Buy Request threads from the last 6 months. Are these buyers genuine, or is there a growing trend of people playing games with our trust?
Here’s how I got scammed — not once, but twice:
* A buyer responded to my sales offer and paid promptly via PayPal.
* Once I received the funds, I transferred the domains to his registrar account, as agreed.
* Everything seemed smooth — until a few days later, PayPal sent me a notification: “The buyer has initiated a chargeback — reason: item not received.”
* My appeals and proofs didn’t help. PayPal reversed the payment.
Later, I discovered the harsh truth:
The payment I received was not directly from the scammer (let's call him Mr. Cheat) — it was from an unsuspecting third party (Mr. X), who had paid Mr. Cheat for an entirely different product, like a computer device.
Mr. Cheat gave my PayPal ID to Mr.X to send funds for the computer device that Mr.X ordered with MrCheat. After getting the funds, I transferred the domains to MrCheat's account.
Mr. X, not getting his goods from MrCheat, files a chargeback — and PayPal refunds him from my account.
Mr. Cheat disappears.
Mr. X is happy.
And I lost my domains — forever.
My registrar couldn’t help either because the domain transfers were done with my approval.
Moral of the story: As sellers, we are completely exposed in such scams. The system favors buyers. And these scammers are becoming smarter, faster, and more organized.
My Advice to Fellow Domainers:
* Be extremely cautious with PayPal payments, especially from new or unknown buyers.
* Consider safer escrow options like Escrow\.com, Dan, or Atom\.com Afternic, where buyer verification and payment protection are more robust.
* Verify the sender’s email and identity thoroughly before transferring domains.
* Avoid sending domains immediately, especially for high-value names — give some buffer time to detect red flags.
I urge NamePros moderators and admins to look into this issue seriously. @Alfa Mod Team. These scams not only harm individual sellers but also damage the integrity of this otherwise great marketplace.
Stay alert, and protect your hard-earned assets.
Sincerely,
Haroon Basha
