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I listed a dress for $300 on FB Marketplace. The buyer uses Zelle so I set up an account because D said that was the only way she sent funds. She said she sent Zelle the money. So I get an email from Zelle saying I was restricted due to a balance limit. "D" stated she would help me by sending them an additional $400. So by her doing that I was upgraded to a BUSINESS USER which gives me UNLIMITED ACCESS. She said I should see the transaction on Zelle but I see nothing but a link to my bank. There has been no activity on my bank account.

I sent an email to Zelle that I could not link them like I can with Paypal. So they ask for a $400 gift card and I sent that. Zelle then asks for $500 for a certificate form fee as insurance to my business account but I will be credited. Zelle says funds will be reflected in 12 hours. Next ZELLE informs me "that we now have an excise today regarding the release of my funds. VAT(VALUE ADDED TAX) and ZELLE charges of $800.00 USD was placed on my account". They apologize for not informing me along with the upgrade of my ZELLE account as it is a mandatory excise "We want you to known that this is the final clearance in order for your funds to be released and your account will be credited". Then the next day another notice from Zelle that they have order from IMF (International Monetary Fund) to charge $1000GBP on every transaction they do over $1000.

I don't know what to do at this point because I prefer not to sink another grand into a scam as it sounds like it is to me. How should I proceed from here?

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    Sounds like you already realized you're being scammed... What other advice are you looking for? Clearly you're not dealing with the real Zelle money transfer company, and clearly you're not going to see any money and whatever money you've spent has been lost. Anything else?
    – littleadv
    Mar 23, 2022 at 8:27
  • @TTT how is it credit card fraud? She voluntarily purchased a product, which she then received and consumed as she intended. There's nothing to dispute.
    – littleadv
    Mar 23, 2022 at 17:26
  • @littleadv It's not CC fraud. I see your point. There would be no valid reason to dispute that charge. Comment deleted. (The dispute would need to be with the gift card provider, and maybe they could do something if the gift card wasn't spent yet, though I assume it would be spent within minutes of receiving it...)
    – TTT
    Mar 23, 2022 at 18:32
  • I signed up thru my bank for zelle. I feel like I've been scammed out of $800.
    – Steven Henson
    Sep 8, 2022 at 1:19
  • I literally just had this happen to me and I filed a claim with the bank plus reported it to Facebook for the scammer. The bank said it could take 10 to 45 days to recover the funds. I kept the messenger conversation and all the emails.
    – Stephanie
    Nov 2, 2022 at 16:44

2 Answers 2

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You have not been dealing with the real Zelle. The website you were on was run by scammers, and they have been swindling money from you. It is unlikely that you will see this money again.

At each point, the amount of money that they ask for goes up. If you were to give them this $1000, the next thing they will do is give you some excuse why they need you to send them $1500.

Here is what you need to do:

  1. Stop sending them money.
  2. Contact your bank. It is unlikely that they will be able to get your money back, but they could stop further transactions from going through. If you have ever typed any bank passwords or bank account numbers into the fake “Zelle,” you’ll need to change those passwords and bank account numbers at your real bank.
  3. Contact the police. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that they will be able to get your money back, but they might be able to investigate, and they may be able to direct you to further resources to help you.
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    4. Dramatically increase skepticism in future.
    – ceejayoz
    Mar 24, 2022 at 2:31
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The real “Zelle” is a service provided by your bank.
No external websites or logins required.

You are being scammed.

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