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LETTER: Online payments carry risks

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I meant to add a comment to a recent article in the paper regarding scammers and payment methods.

In addition to what was said in the recent article about scams involving e-transfers about due diligence, etc., one should also be aware that when it comes to PayPal, there is also a need for caution.

If a seller asks you to pay using the Friends & Family feature of PayPal you must be very sure you know the person to whom you are sending money and trust them implicitly.

Monies sent using this feature are not retrievable under the normal PayPal rules.

PayPal sees these as person-to-person transactions between people who know and trust each other as opposed to business-to-business transactions, and none of the normal protections apply.

Monies sent by Friends & Family cannot ever be recovered.

Alex Currie

North Saanich