Legal Question in Technology Law in California

Re: Internet fraud

Sending a box of papers instead of the camera you were promised sounds like fraud to me -- especially since he insists he did send you the camera.

Talking to PayPal is a good start. Since you used a credit card to make the PayPal payment, you should complain to the credit card issuer, too. They might not get involved, claiming that they only handled a transaction between you and PayPal and that the seller wasn't a party to their transaction, but it's worth a shot. Also complain to Yahoo auctions. They also might not want to get involved since you made a direct purchase rather than going through their regular process, but they also likely won't appreciate someone using their site to pull a stunt like this -- especially someone whose bill said you had won his auction.

If you know where to find the seller and he is local, then you might also try small claims court. (Was there a return address on the package or on any of his emails?) It probably won't be cost effective to do this unless you know where he is, given the modest amount at stake here.