How to avoid card scams online: red flags and protection
Red flags behind common online card scams, which ways to pay carry buyer protection as PayPal and the marketplaces describe it, and what to do next.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 7 min read
Two patterns run through the scam warnings that the marketplaces and US consumer advice publish: a payment by a method that is hard to get back, and a deal moved away from the marketplace that would have protected it. So pay through the marketplace’s own checkout, or through PayPal’s goods and services option, and keep every message on the platform. Then you have a claim window to fall back on: 30 calendar days after the estimated delivery date on TCGplayer, 7 days after delivery for cards on Whatnot (or 30 days from purchase, if that comes first), and 180 days from payment for a PayPal purchase that never arrives.
What are the red flags?
Each of these is a reason to stop before you pay.
- A request to pay or talk off the platform. On Whatnot, every transaction must go through a live show or its marketplace, never direct messages or a third party, and purchases made outside Whatnot are not eligible for refunds. Misleading listings meant to lead buyers off the platform are barred too.
- A request for a friends and family payment. PayPal’s Purchase Protection doesn’t cover personal payments, which are meant for gifts, split bills and shared living costs. Paying for a card is a purchase.
- A request for gift cards. US consumer advice is blunt: only scammers tell you to buy a gift card and send them the numbers on the back. Whatnot never asks for gift cards or payment details by email or direct message.
- A payment app to a stranger. Consumer advice on payment apps warns that scammers favor them because money sent is hard to get back. Check the recipient before you send anything.
- A message that claims to come from the platform. Whatnot’s emails come only from the @whatnot.com address, and it never passes instructions through another user. Watch for lookalike addresses (Whatnot’s own example swaps the letter o for a zero), threats that your account will close, and links that look off when your cursor rests on them.
- A copied username in a live show. Whatnot warns that scammers copy a real buyer’s name after that buyer leaves a stream. Sellers should check they are dealing with the original buyer and never change an order because of a chat message.
- A check for more than the price. If a buyer sends a check for too much and asks for the difference back on a gift card, consumer advice says the check will be fake.
- A price far below the market. Stop and think when someone offers cards, especially in bulk, at a huge discount. Check what the card usually sells for with our guide to finding what a card sold for, or for English Pokémon cards the card price lookup.
- No photos of the actual card. Whatnot requires photos of the actual item, and stock photos alone are not allowed. On TCGplayer, a seller may not cover a photo listing with lines such as “cannot guarantee authenticity”.
Which ways to pay protect a card buyer?
Read the program’s full terms before you rely on one.
| How you pay | What it covers | Time to report |
|---|---|---|
| TCGplayer checkout | Orders that don’t arrive or aren’t as described, and a full refund for any card it confirms is counterfeit | 30 calendar days after the estimated delivery date |
| Whatnot checkout | Orders that don’t arrive, arrive damaged, aren’t what you bought or aren’t authentic | Sports and TCG cards: 7 days after delivery, or 30 days after purchase if that is sooner. Suspected fakes: 30 days from receipt |
| eBay checkout | The item price plus original shipping on eligible purchases, under its Money Back Guarantee, when certain payment methods are used | Set in eBay’s full policy; contact eBay if the seller hasn’t fixed it within three business days |
| PayPal goods and services | Eligible purchases: the full price plus original shipping if PayPal decides in your favor | Not received: 180 days from payment. Significantly not as described: 30 days from delivery or 180 days from payment, whichever is sooner |
| PayPal friends and family | Not covered | None |
| Gift cards and payment apps sent to a stranger | Consumer advice: money sent by app is hard to get back, and a gift card company might return money if you report it right away | Report straight away |
A few conditions are easy to miss:
- PayPal and resale. PayPal’s Purchase Protection doesn’t cover items intended for resale. A dealer buying stock to resell may not be covered.
- PayPal’s clock. A dispute can usually be escalated to a claim only after at least 7 days from the payment, and it closes on its own after 20 days if you don’t escalate it.
- Whatnot and your bank. Whatnot lists chargebacks, meaning disputes opened with your bank or card issuer, among the cases it will not refund, so use its own process first.
- Whatnot and signatures. Some high-value US shipments need a signature. A buyer who opts out loses refund coverage if the parcel is later reported lost, stolen or missing.
- Swaps. A trade arranged directly between two collectors isn’t a marketplace purchase, so these programs may not apply. Our guide to trading cards explains how to protect both sides.
How do you check a slab before you pay?
A slab adds one more thing to check: whether the holder and the label are real. Look up the cert number on the grader’s own site, and make sure the card, grade and label in the record match the photos. Our guide to spotting a fake slab walks through the holder and label checks, and how to buy graded cards online covers the listing.
On eBay, eligible single cards from $200 go through its Authenticity Guarantee. The seller ships the card to an authentication facility run with PSA, eBay’s partner. The inspection checks a graded card’s holder and label for signs of tampering, and a raw card’s authenticity and condition against the listing. If the card fails, the money goes back in full to the original payment method. Only slabs from PSA, SGC, CGC and BGS are accepted.
What should you check before you buy?
- The checkout. Buy only through the marketplace’s own checkout or PayPal goods and services.
- The photos. Look for the actual card, front and back, and the label on a slab. Ask for more if anything is hidden.
- The price. Compare it with recent sold prices for the same card and condition.
- The seller. Read the feedback and how long the account has been selling.
- The window. Note the date your claim window closes before the package arrives.
For raw cards, our guide to buying raw cards online explains what each condition label promises.
What should you do if a deal goes wrong?
Act inside the window, keep every message, and photograph the card and the packaging when it arrives.
- TCGplayer. Message the seller from your order history. If there is no reply after 24 hours, TCGplayer contacts the seller, and after 2 business days you can contact TCGplayer. For a suspected fake, the deadline is the same 30 calendar days after the estimated delivery date. TCGplayer sends a prepaid label, and the card must reach its team for checking before a refund.
- Whatnot. Open the order and choose Get help with this purchase, then describe the problem and add photos. The request goes to the seller or to Whatnot support. If an item must come back, Whatnot sends a prepaid label and asks you to ship within 5 business days.
- eBay. Contact the seller from your purchase history. If the problem isn’t solved after three business days, contact eBay, which replies within 48 hours.
- PayPal. Open a dispute from the Resolution Center using Report a Problem, and escalate it to a claim if you and the seller can’t settle it.
- A gift card. Report it to the gift card company straight away and ask for your money back. Keep the card and the store receipt.
If a scam came through a fake site or a rip site you don’t know, our guides to checking a rip site before buying and whether rip site cards are real cover the checks to run next time.
Frequently asked questions
Will TCGplayer ever ask a seller to refund an order because of fraud?
No. TCGplayer never contacts sellers asking them to refund an order over fraud, so a message that does is a warning sign.
Does a TCGplayer refund change if the card's price moves?
No. TCGplayer refunds the amount you originally paid. A seller can't ask for more money after the sale if the market price rises, or cut the refund if it falls.
What if a seller takes no returns on an eBay Authenticity Guarantee card?
Then the sale is final, though a card damaged in transit can still be reported within 3 days of receiving it.
Can an Authenticity Guarantee card ship to a P.O. box?
No. Listings that offer only local pickup, or that ship to a P.O. box, are not eligible. Once the card passes inspection, it travels by tracked shipping, with a signature required for cards over $1,500.