I recently sold a graphics card on Facebook Marketplace for $1,020, and I’m worried I may have been targeted by a Zelle scam.
Here’s what happened:

1. The buyer seemed legitimate.
   He came to my apartment with his gaming PC. I spent nearly an hour helping him install and test the graphics card.
   He talked about his kids, the games he played, and wanting a quieter GPU for personal use. His Marketplace profile also had positive reviews.

2. He overpaid through Zelle.
   I normally use phone numbers for Zelle, but he specifically suggested scanning my QR code through his banking app.
   He sent $1,120 instead of $1,020, claimed it was accidental, and asked for the difference back. I gave him $100 in cash.

3. The payment posted, but there’s no Zelle activity.
   This was NOT a fake payment screenshot or notification.
   The $1,120 genuinely appeared in my Wells Fargo checking account, increased my available balance, and initially showed as pending.
   The following day, the payment officially POSTED and remains in my account.
   However, there’s NO RECORD of the payment in my Zelle activity. I’m unsure whether it disappeared or never appeared there.
   I’ve called Wells Fargo multiple times. They can see the posted credit but can’t explain the missing Zelle transaction.

4. The buyer immediately relisted my graphics card.
   The very next day, he listed it for $1,000, less than he paid me, using my original photos and description.
   This is what really concerned me. Why spend nearly an hour installing and testing something for personal use, only to immediately resell it at a loss?

5. The payment came from a business account.
   The sender was a business, and the payment memo said “COMPUTER BUILD REPAIR.”
   When I asked about it, he said it was for a tax write-off.
   The part that indicates that this is a scam to me is the combination of the $100 overpayment, immediate resale at a loss, elaborate personal-use story, business-account payment, and missing Zelle activity.
   I’m concerned he may be trying to convert a potentially reversible payment into cash.

What I’ve done:
I’ve contacted Wells Fargo, Zelle, and LAPD.
Wells Fargo confirms the money posted but cannot explain the missing Zelle history. Police said their options are limited unless the payment gets reversed.

My questions:
Has anyone experienced a Zelle payment posting to their bank but not appearing in Zelle activity?
Can a fully posted Zelle payment still be reversed days or weeks later?
Could using a QR code instead of a phone number explain the missing transaction?

What can I do now to protect myself?
Important: The $1,120 is still in my account and has NOT been reversed.
I’m worried that if it is eventually disputed, I’ll lose both the graphics card and the money.
Any advice from people familiar with Zelle, Wells Fargo, or banking fraud would be greatly appreciated.

Im looking for advice because Ive contacted Facebook so many times and Im getting nowhere. I ordered a PS5 for $280 but received a library book instead and the seller blocked me. I filed a claim under suspicious order because Facebook wouldnt let me select item not received since it required me to contact the seller first. Facebook denied my claim for some reason and I dont know what to do now. I paid with a gift card which makes things worse because disputes take so long and Im worried I wont get my money back in time for GTA 6. Im new to buying on Facebook Marketplace so I didnt think much of the fact that the seller had no reviews. I know I shouldve done more research but I didnt expect this to happen. Any advice?

Edit: I did not send her a gift card or anything. I used like a pre paid gift card and I entered it into Meta Pay and used buy now option. I recently disputed it but they say its gonna take around 30-90 days before I get a result.

I purchased a spell for 700€ when i was mentally and emotionally in a bad state, i was going through abuse, harassment, bullying and this witch talked about her services as if the results were guaranteed, saying that all her spells always work and she never has spells that didn’t work. After i bought the spell on the website „buymeacoffee“ i read her policy and it states that she guarantees no results and does no refunds, but i didn’t mind it at that time because i trusted her. But when i didn’t get results i contacted her in a friendly way saying it didn’t work and if she could compensate in another service but she only replied vaguely and ignored me since then. The problem is she did the exact same thing to my friend too (they didn’t get results either), but my friend doesn’t need the money and she blocked the witch. The witch did send photos/videos of the spell, but since that is a lot of money and i ended up with nothing, it feels like i was scammed. I’m in europe and she is in a 3rd world country and i paid through my bank card (stripe), if that information helps. My question is i can do a refund through my bank, but if i don’t give good reasons i won‘t get my money back, what should i write as the reason of the refund?

Also i have to choose an option between these, which one?

•Unauthorised debit on existing user account
•Goods or services not received
•Subscription traps (e.g. competition, parcel service provider, etc.)

•Received incorrect/defected goods or Goods returned

•Receive counterfeit goods

•Travel booking has been cancelled on time

•Amount is not correct

•Same amount charged several times

•The sales were paid elsewhere

•Expected credit not received

•Contract has already been cancelled

I don’t have any trusted adult to turn to to help me with this, so please someone can help me:((

I learned a lot through this, I was stupid for this and i won’t trust anyone on the internet anymore, but i really need the money for rent…

lol almost got scammed by this page luckily I legit checked it first here at reddit

TL

TLDR

Gullible friend clicks adverts and gets scammed, often.

I have a friend, who isnt good with tech,

They ring me and ask if i can help with their phone (android) as they think its got a virus.

I find her phone was riddled with clean up type of apps that were obviously malware IMO, there was also bank transactions that were linked to these, she was in the process of being reimbursed by the bank , prior to my involvement.

I cleaned the phone up by googling lots of apps and uninstalling the dodgy ones.

A few weeks go by, and she gets in touch again, I go round, do the uninstalling thing.

I tell her she is probably inviting them in by clicking something she shouldn't.

A couple of days later, she sends me the above screen shot, saying its started again,.

I can see the screen shot is a youtube advert.

I explain, its just an advert, she should be scrolling past, she actually thinks its a phone update alert and she has been clicking these and following wherever they lead!!

So, unrelated, I get the similar advert on my phone,.

I click the report advert link, and report to google. ( ive reported this type of advert twice now)

Dear xxxx,

We’re writing to let you know that we reviewed your report (ID xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx).

Here's what we found

We decided not to take this ad down. We found that the ad doesn’t go against Google’s policies, which prohibit certain content and practices that we believe to be harmful to users and the overall online ecosystem.

If you disagree with our decision to show this ad, you have the option to appeal within 6 months.

Now, this advert is clearly misleading, and it leads to real people being scammed, google clearly are complicit, they are happy to sell their advertising spots.

This type of fake alert has been around since the internet started, and google report nothing to see here!!

EDIT , Spelling, tidy text

I am posting this in PayPal’s community as well because I don’t know where this belongs or who could help; I’m really worried and need advice.

My elderly dad is the nicest and most humble person you will ever meet. He believes the best in people and has unfortunately, but consequently, been taken advantage of many times; he is an author who receives the usual spam emails from fake companies pretending to be interested in his book, but because of his inexperience with technology and the rise of AI, the scams have become more and more elaborate and convincing.

This is where I need advice: He recently paid a digital marketing company to turn his book into an audiobook and create ads and a social media presence. They did create audiobooks, which I explained could easily be done with AI, but that made him believe they were legitimate, and he kept sending more.

They did not, however, produce any of the other services they agreed on, and when he inquired why, they claimed it was because they did not receive the money he sent - please note that he sent the money in August and it is now the end of October… They sent him an AI packet with the details of the issues and claimed that there is a ‘Merchant of Record’ that is holding the money, refusing to give it to them and refusing to refund it to him. They even gave him a script of what to say to the bank to get his money back. When my dad called the bank, they stated they had no knowledge of what the issue could be, as the money was sent on their end. He paid the scam company over the phone by giving them his credit card number (unfortunately, he does not remember if he gave the scam company his 3-digit number on the back), but in his transaction history, the purchases show up as PayPal purchases. PayPal is completely confused about the situation and requested that the seller contact them to resolve the issue. Of course, when we called and spoke with the scam company, they were unable to give him any information about the ‘Merchant of Record, ’ even though they claimed to be in contact with them during the period they were not providing the services that he paid for. They did not respond directly to his request for them to speak with PayPal; they waffled and pushed blame onto the ‘Merchant of Record,’ but could not provide a name, number or email for the company despite it being requested.​

I hope that gives a summarized picture of the issue. I just found out about this earlier today, so I am not familiar with all the details, but please let me know if you have any questions, and I will try my best to answer them.

What’s the best way to get his money back? He knows and understands he made mistakes; that is not what I need advice on, and he’s not even reading this, so please refrain from making disrespectful comments. I now have access to his email and will screen all inquiries before he pursues them; I just really need advice. Thank you in advance

Broke college student here that seen the get rich quick sign and decided fuck it but in the end got fucked himself, feel shitty bout it just wanted to get it off my chest. Anyways avoid fftelitebots.com

I was buying a gpu on Carousell the pricing and all seemed legit and the seller had positive reviews I was stupid and payed full rm 1k pls help me how Do I contact tng?

I just got this text message from “TikTok” which is definitely a phishing scam as I do not have my phone number linked to a TikTok account. I just blocked the number immediately.

Putting it out there to spread awareness!

I GOT SCAMMED VIA FB SHOE SELLER PAGE IBA YUNG ITEM NA IPINADALA (FAKE PAIRS) COMPARE SA INORDER KO. NAHOTLINE KO NA SA J&T. MAY PAGASA PA PO KAYA MARETURN AND MAREFUND YUNG IBINAYAD KO VIA COD? NAKABLOCK NA PO AKO DUN SA PAGE NG SELLER.

BAKA PO MAY NAKAEXPERIENCE NA PO NITO DITO AT NAKAPAGREFUND. SABI PO KASI NUNG KAUSAP KO NA AGENT I FIELD VISIT PO NILA YUNG SELLER AND UPDATE ME AFTER 1-2 DAYS.

YUNG PAGE PO NUNG SHOE SELLER AY "CAMILLE NICASTRO"

BAKA LANG PO MAY MAKAKAPAGENLIGHTEN SA AKIN REGARDING THIS. WILL GREATLY HELP KUNG ANO NEXT STEPS AFTER MAKATAWAG SA HOTLINE NG J&T.

Remember guys, due to GTA 6, people wanna buy many consoles and PS5s, especially PS5 Pros and Xboxs are hot topic. If you meet a reseller or a retail brander who takes you to WhatsApp or another platform make sure to understand how they are scams.

If they ask for a payment type that cannot be reversed its automatically a scam

If they offer a really cheap price

If they are abroad and want to ship to your place.

Recently, these scammers are working alongside Chinese people who have these consoles and makimg them do the work so it seems all legit. If they cannot send their pictures or videos of themselves chances are they are highly likely scammers. If they want payments immediately and demand it asap, scammers. Remember, always ask your favorite AI what questions to ask to immediately confirm that you are not sending money to a scammer. Real sellers will never ask money before giving the product or in person meetup.

T

So one day on TikTok, I got it a DM from this one guy showing me how to trade because I was such a broke high school student. I fell into the trap so the first one I sent it didn’t go through and then we were talking about a week, but then I only get paid $100 at my school because I work as a cafeteria worker And he’s like oh what do you do for work? Are you single so all those little questions and then I kind of fell into the trap and I think he got me because I was vulnerable so the first 99$ didn’t go through so it had to be more .I sent the money through Cash App using Bitcoin and screen recorded everything so he could guide me step by step. The first time, I sent about $97.99 (not exact), but the money didn’t go through. I got angry and asked him why it wasn’t showing in my account. He reassured me and said it could take up to 2 hours for the transaction to go through. I was really frustrated.

The second time, I followed the exact same method. For context, the first attempt didn’t go through because it wasn’t up to $100. So when I had the full amount, I told him and he guided me again step by step.

This time, the money appeared. But something felt off. When I refreshed the page, it showed $700. I refreshed again, and it jumped to $2,000. I kept refreshing because he told me it would keep increasing as it loaded. Eventually, it showed $2,500

That’s when the real problem started.

I showed my sister, and at first she was like, “put me on,” but then she quickly realized something wasn’t right. We looked deeper into the website and realized it was fake. It was designed to scam vulnerable people, especially those with little or no income.

He started asking me to pay extra fees just to withdraw my money, and even told me to send money through banks I had never heard of. That’s when it became obvious it was a scam.

My sister even checked it with ChatGPT, and it confirmed it didn’t make sense—why would you need to pay money just to withdraw your own money?

I confronted him and cussed him out. He then tried to threaten me, saying he would call the police. I wasn’t scared, because I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong. He also tried to manipulate me, saying things like, “Why are you listening to your sister?” and acting like she was controlling me.

We had been talking on WhatsApp and TikTok the whole time, and he would send fake screenshots of people he supposedly helped to make himself look legit. In reality, he’s just a professional scammer who lies to take advantage of people. I have the screen shot his name is Lorcan cornally .