Scam Type
Online Purchase Scam
Business Name Used
Peter Schantl and Mignon Borchert
Date Reported
Oct 31, 2022
Victim Postal Code
80440
Total Dollars Lost
0
Scam Description
I had listed a drone on Facebook Market Place for $315. Peter messaged me about it- the issue came when he said he zelle’d the payment. I received an email from Zelle Support addressing that the payment was on hold- the email stated that they couldn’t credit the $315.00 because my account is not a business user which makes your account have limits. The email went on to say “to fully expand your account into a business account, you have to contact your last payer to send in an additional payment of $200 into your Zelle account to expand your limit. Soon as this is done, will credit your account with the total sum of $565.00 and a free $50 USD bonus from Zelle user administration.” The seller, Peter messaged me about this email he received as well, and asked for my word I’d refund him the $200 if he sent it. Then became extremely insistent that I send the $200 first when the money had not been posted into my account via Zelle. The address for his Zelle account was @gmx.com (GMX Mail is a free advertising-supported email service provided by GMX.) I let him know I was contacting my bank before I sent the refund would be sent, he became more and more insistent. After talking to my bank who knew nothing of limits on Zelle or business acounts, they informed me to tell him that under their advice this is a scam and that I will be reporting it to the BBB. He left that chat and blocked me shortly after.
