New hack tactic? Someone bought Amazon (electronic) gift cards using my Amazon credit card, and the cards went to me!

[JoeWras]

100%. Several years ago, our internet provider account was hacked. I received an email saying that the password had been changed, I remember thinking - what is someone going to do with that account, pay my bill? It didn’t have any financial info in it, as we don’t use auto pay.

I had forgotten that there was a phone number included with that account - an old land line that we no longer used. I had never canceled it because the bundle was cheaper. Whoever got into our account ported that number to another phone and called our bank. The number was a recognized number by the bank, so they authorized several transactions. The only reason I caught that was because I received a survey email from the bank about my customer service experience.

Thankfully, I was able to stop everything before any damage was done, but only because I was lucky. I was even able to get our phone number back because the thieves didn’t put any protection on it, so I found the service provider and had it ported back. Then I cancelled it.

Woah. This is a good story. People think, "Ah, I'll never be a victim of a number port out." But here ya go.

 

[CaptTom]

It’s was a cash laundering scheme. eBay seller gets my payment, uses a stolen card to send item. Do you not see how that is wrong?

I guess I was unclear on how you deduced it was a scam, too. Like, do you know that the seller didn't just find a wholesaler who was willing to drop-ship to you? Or even, through some third-party mailing service?

I thought those were common business models on eBay. Sell something you don't physically have, but can have someone else ship to "your" customer. I've heard of whole towns where lots of people do that re-shipping thing as a home business. But maybe I missed something.

 

[audreyh1]

It’s was a cash laundering scheme. eBay seller gets my payment, uses a stolen card to send item. Do you not see how that is wrong?

I had an interesting scenario where I ordered an item (a ream of A4 paper) off of Amazon from a third party seller, and got a package shipped directly from Sam’s. So obviously the seller ordered the item from Sam’s to be shipped to me after I placed the order. I looked up the item at Sam’s and the seller only charged me a small premium, and the item had free shipping. I didn’t mind as I had no Sam’s membership. But it had me wondering how many third party sellers do this - list items then order them later for direct shipment.

 

[COcheesehead]

I guess I was unclear on how you deduced it was a scam, too. Like, do you know that the seller didn't just find a wholesaler who was willing to drop-ship to you? Or even, through some third-party mailing service?

I thought those were common business models on eBay. Sell something you don't physically have, but can have someone else ship to "your" customer. I've heard of whole towns where lots of people do that re-shipping thing as a home business. But maybe I missed something.

The packing list was the clue. The item was bought for full retail price though sold to me at a fraction of that and the bill to was from a different state than the eBay seller. I thought all of that was strange, but the final proof was the item shipped was the wrong color. I contacted the seller. He told me to keep the first shipment and he would replace it. The second shipment came from a completely different retailer and a completely different bill to.

 

[disneysteve]

It’s was a cash laundering scheme. eBay seller gets my payment, uses a stolen card to send item. Do you not see how that is wrong?

How do you know that? Sorry, I’m not following your story.

 

[COcheesehead]

How do you know that? Sorry, I’m not following your story.

Read post 29

 

[disneysteve]

Read post 29

Ah. Interesting. So you ended up with the correct item and the extra one in another color. Sounds like you got a great deal. At least you weren't scammed in the process.

 

[COcheesehead]

Ah. Interesting. So you ended up with the correct item and the extra one in another color. Sounds like you got a great deal. At least you weren't scammed in the process.

No but the two retailers who sent the items were and the two people who had to get new credit cards were as well.

 

[Koolau]

There are 2.5 billion active listings on eBay. There’s no way for them to vet every listing and determine which might be fake.

If I couldn't do it with AI I'd go into another business. Should be easy.

"Hey! AI. Does it make sense that someone is selling 73 cent stamps for 25 cents?"

 

[audreyh1]

I won’t buy anything from eBay, too many sharks. I wrote them off long ago. Obviously they are doing fine without me, ha ha.

 

[disneysteve]

I won’t buy anything from eBay, too many sharks. I wrote them off long ago. Obviously they are doing fine without me, ha ha.

ebay is one of the largest online retailers in the world. Yes, they're doing just fine. Sorry you had a bad experience but ebay does have some of the best buyer protection around. It's pretty darn hard to get ripped off on ebay. I can tell you from the seller end that I constantly see other sellers complaining that ebay "always sides with the buyer" in any dispute. That's over stated but they do have a very strong guarantee that definitely favors buyers. There are scammy buyers as well as sellers so it cuts both ways, but as a buyer, you really have nothing to worry about. If you run across one of the rare bad sellers, ebay will protect you and make you whole if something happens.

 

[disneysteve]

If I couldn't do it with AI I'd go into another business. Should be easy.

"Hey! AI. Does it make sense that someone is selling 73 cent stamps for 25 cents?"

Certainly selling cheap stamps is a red flag, but they can't take down a listing for that alone. Maybe somebody's grandfather died and they had a drawer filled with rolls of Forever stamps and they just want to get rid of them quickly. People sell stuff for below market value all the time. Weeding out people selling counterfeits isn't as simple as it might seem.

 

[Koolau]

Certainly selling cheap stamps is a red flag, but they can't take down a listing for that alone. Maybe somebody's grandfather died and they had a drawer filled with rolls of Forever stamps and they just want to get rid of them quickly. People sell stuff for below market value all the time. Weeding out people selling counterfeits isn't as simple as it might seem.

Take down? Not suggesting that. I'm sure eBay (like all companies that sell things) will do what we demand of them. My phone warns of potential scams. They don't prevent me from answering.

 

[Time2]

ebay is one of the largest online retailers in the world. Yes, they're doing just fine. Sorry you had a bad experience but ebay does have some of the best buyer protection around. It's pretty darn hard to get ripped off on ebay. I can tell you from the seller end that I constantly see other sellers complaining that ebay "always sides with the buyer" in any dispute. That's over stated but they do have a very strong guarantee that definitely favors buyers. There are scammy buyers as well as sellers so it cuts both ways, but as a buyer, you really have nothing to worry about. If you run across one of the rare bad sellers, ebay will protect you and make you whole if something happens.

I had a TV with a cracked screen. I pulled the PC boards and sold them on Ebay. I feel I got scammed on one of them by a TV service shop. I think they bought my board as a troubleshooting aid. They installed it in their broken TV and it didn't fix the problem, so they sent it back. Oh well.

 

[COcheesehead]

I had a TV with a cracked screen. I pulled the PC boards and sold them on Ebay. I feel I got scammed on one of them by a TV service shop. I think they bought my board as a troubleshooting aid. They installed it in their broken TV and it didn't fix the problem, so they sent it back. Oh well.

Don’t accept returns. Problem solved.

 

[disneysteve]

I had a TV with a cracked screen. I pulled the PC boards and sold them on Ebay. I feel I got scammed on one of them by a TV service shop. I think they bought my board as a troubleshooting aid. They installed it in their broken TV and it didn't fix the problem, so they sent it back. Oh well.

Did they send back the item in the same condition as when you shipped it? If so, where’s the scam?

 

[Amethyst]

Amazon deleted the unwanted gift cards, I changed my password, and Chase sent me two new cards in place of the ones the scammer used. Changed those passwords, too. Will never get back the precious life hours the scammer stole.

 

[COcheesehead]

Can you clarify this? I don’t understand what you’re suggesting here. You made a purchase and you received the item, right? What’s the problem? What was there to report?

Just happened again today. I bought an item on eBay. $10 and free shipping. Almost too good to be true because it is. I just got a UPS shipping notification that my order from “Amazon” is on its way. So I paid the guy $10. He pockets the money, uses a stolen credit card to order the item I bought on eBay from Amazon and before you say many people drop ship, the exact item on Amazon sells for $50+.
The seller has dozens of under priced listings. It is a way for him/her to convert stolen CC numbers into cash.

 

[audreyh1]

Just happened again today. I bought an item on eBay. $10 and free shipping. Almost too good to be true because it is. I just got a UPS shipping notification that my order from “Amazon” is on its way. So I paid the guy $10. He pockets the money, uses a stolen credit card to order the item I bought on eBay from Amazon and before you say many people drop ship, the exact item on Amazon sells for $50+.
The seller has dozens of under priced listings. It is a way for him/her to convert stolen CC numbers into cash.

So are you continuing to buy these obviously underpriced items on eBay?

 

[COcheesehead]

So are you continuing to buy these obviously underpriced items on eBay?

You don’t know it’s money laundering until you buy it. The item was advertised as used so the pricing made sense. Then afterwards you realize it’s new. I am not the problem.

 

[audreyh1]

You don’t know it’s money laundering until you buy it. The item was advertised as used so the pricing made sense. Then afterwards you realize it’s new. I am not the problem.

Ah - advertised as used. Clever.

This scam is known as Triangulation Fraud.

 

[plsprius]

The best practice is NOT to click on links in text messages that claim to be Fraud Alerts from your credit card company. The only time I might respond to a text message is if I initiated the transaction just before.

The reason is that the 'fraud alert' might be a fraud itself.

So, just call the phone number on the back of the credit card...

 

[disneysteve]

Just happened again today. I bought an item on eBay. $10 and free shipping. Almost too good to be true because it is. I just got a UPS shipping notification that my order from “Amazon” is on its way. So I paid the guy $10. He pockets the money, uses a stolen credit card to order the item I bought on eBay from Amazon and before you say many people drop ship, the exact item on Amazon sells for $50+.
The seller has dozens of under priced listings. It is a way for him/her to convert stolen CC numbers into cash.

Can you either post or message me a link to that listing? I’d love to investigate that further. I’m pretty active in the eBay seller community, know how to contact eBay properly, and am friends with one or two people who work for eBay who can escalate this.

Have you received the item? Was it new?

 

[disneysteve]

Ah - advertised as used. Clever.

If the item was listed as used but you received a brand new one, open an Item Not As Described return (INAD). That might sound silly but you didn’t get what you were expecting. Maybe you purposely buy secondhand items out of concern for the environment and wanting to keep things out of landfills.

Also, drop shipping is allowed on eBay but only if it follows the policy. A seller buying the item from Amazon doesn’t meet the policy. So you can report them for that, too.

 

[COcheesehead]

Can you either post or message me a link to that listing? I’d love to investigate that further. I’m pretty active in the eBay seller community, know how to contact eBay properly, and am friends with one or two people who work for eBay who can escalate this.

Have you received the item? Was it new?

This is the same seller