Gf's brother making money online but not legit

LegacyUser

Gf told me about what her brother is doing.
He is running an online business of sorts and getting paid through paypal. Of course he is not declaring he runs this officially... just for the record he lost his job and on the social welfare. In these times I cant blame him. He is not some scum scamming the system. Just making a bit extra to get by.

But she asked me for advice cause I know abit about the web, HOWEVER i know nothing with paypal etc.

Shes worried for him that he will get caught, and i guess i am too.

So is he likely to get caught doing this?
From what I was told its not like he is making big money. But doesnt paypal transfer money to your bank account? and this means he is likely to get caught?

thanks.

TheZohanS

It's really hard to say without more details, however if he keeps at it for long enough he'll get caught. If he's supplying a service chances are that someone will submit a receipt etc to revenue at some stage.

DarrenDay

worried_for_bfs_bro wrote: »

He is not some scum scamming the system. J

thanks.

But he is.

LegacyUser

DarrenDay wrote: »

But he is.

What I meant was he isnt a career social welfare merchant while making money on the side not giving two tosses at the same time.


But to give more info, without giving it all away, he runs a site in which he sells things. Uses paypal to to recieve money. Dont know if its paypal checkout or just a regular paypal account (dont know the difference to be honest)

I've warned him myself. But as I say, i dont know much about the whole paypal/making money online process.

OS119

DarrenDay wrote: »

But he is.

it depends - if he's selling his own things on ebay (say for instance he has a huge record collection or the worlds supply of climbing gear) sufficiantly regularly that the number of transactions mean that, in effect, its a business, then he's not a scamming git. its his stuff, and he's no more a scammer than someone selling their stuff at a car boot sale is.

if he's either selling things on ebay - or whatever - that belong to other people (perhaps he's reasonably savvy and has a decent ebay rating from when he was a 'real person' with a job) and taking a percentage for his service, or using the SW money to buy things which he then sells on for a profit, then maybe he is scamming. personally i think it depends on how much we're talking about - if its €20 a week then tbh its more hobby than business, and imv probably a valuable tool for keeping him sharp and involved with life.

if he's flogging 'herbal highs' and making €200 a week then yes, he's a scammer.

OP, yes, paypal payments go to a bank account.

sheesh

first off how is he getting the money from his paypal account?

Is he just using the money to pay for stuff online?

to transfer the money from a paypal account you would need a bank account if it comes into that bank account while he is on welfare then there is a possibility that he can be caught.

Zaph

Regardless of whether this guy is a serial Social Welfare cheat, or whether it's just a little sideline to make a few quid while he gets over his bad patch, the fact of the matter is that it is Social Welfare fraud and is therefore illegal. I've already deleted a couple of posts, so the next person who suggests a way for him to avoid detection will find themselves banned from this forum for a week.

aidan24326

Stay out of it. What he's doing may be wrong in a way, but in the current climate I wouldn't knock him in the slightest and would have no hesitation in doing exactly the same myself if needs be.

Mind your own business would be my suggestion.

Festus

If he is selling stuff he bought over the years with after tax money, as in the example of an extensive record collection, he can sell as much as he likes.

The only problem that might arise is if he is making a profit on it. Regardless of how the stuff was acquired if he sells at a profit he would be required to declare it and pay his fair share of tax if the profit is sufficently high.

He's probably better taking to an accountant about sole trader issues if he wants to be on the safe side.

Essentially it's his problem. One day someone will notice something, hear something, whatever.

AnonoBoy

Better off staying out of it.

Tell them you don't know anything about Paypal (which you don't) and stay away.

wonderfulname

It depends entirely upon what he is doing as to whether it is illegal.
I'm going to have to phrase the next bit quite carefully as it is not meant as advise but as an example; someone who's pretty darn good at online poker can have a large amount of money filtering into their account via paypal and that doesn't constitute income in the same way - so I doubt he will be caught.

I do sympathise though, the last thing anyone wants to be in this economy is self employed, bye bye social welfare safety net and all that, owning up to a fledgling internet business is not exactly the best idea in the world from that perspective, however just because the system is flawed doesn't mean you should have a licence to work outside it.