Scammed - is there anything I can do?

[Ettie]

Hi all, my DS (16) really wanted a certain concert ticket (that were sold out) and found someone selling it on Twitter. They msged back and forth, agreed face value, saw proof of tickets etc, and we made the payment via PayPal. The seller asked us to use "Friends and Family" as opposed to "Goods and Services" so the money would arrive straight away. Should have been a red flag I know. So we did. Then DS was blocked on Twitter, and I, and DD was blocked too. Is there anything we can do? I opened a Dispute on PayPal but I'm not hopeful as it was not an unauthorised payment. He's devastated as it was hard earned money ☹️

No, this is exactly what "goods or services" is for. You'll have passed the warning page on pressing "friends and family" telling you that there's no buyer protection and carried on. Unfortunate as it is, this just needs to be chalked up as a hard lesson learned for you. You wouldn't give someone money in the street on the promise they'll "be right back with the tickets." This is the Internet equivalent.

Sorry but sadly PayPal protection won't cover you for this. Scammers often persuade people to pay using the friends and family option which has no protection. Best thing you can do is talk to your bank where the funds came from and see if they can help, but no guarantees.
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They never refund if you pay via friends and family unfortunately. I know from experience.

Thanks all, and thanks for not making me feel stupider than I already do! Should have known better. A lesson learned for both of us.

How much was it? Was it debit card or credit card through PayPal? If it was 100 quid or more and on CC You could go to the CC company, less chance with debit card

Unfortunately the pp is incorrect. A section 75 credit card charge back doesn't apply if there's a third party payment processor such as PayPal. There must be a direct payment between you and the person you're paying. Using PayPal means this isn't the case, which is why goods and services is given as an option.