Unwanted package from Amazon

[lucky penny]

I just received a package from Amazon containing a pack of 5 inexpensive ball-point pens I never ordered. No invoice or receipt inside. I recall hearing that getting an unwanted package from Amazon might be a kind of scam & I should report it to Amazon, so I did. After ascertaining that I haven't been charged for it (at least not yet), they didn't seem interested (didn't even ask who sent it) & just told me to keep it.

The sender listed on the pkg is a company in Nevada.

Is this anything I should be concerned about?

 

[bizlady]

No, typically the seller of the item orders and sends to a random address, then posts a great review for their product.

 

[Souschef]

This is a scam called "Brushing". From Amazon:
When a customer receives a package they didn't order, it may be a result of a scam sometimes called "brushing." "Brushing" scams occur when bad actors send packages to publically available names and addresses.
If you receive a package that you didn't order, check with friends and family or contact Customer Service to confirm it's not a gift to you.
You can report the package to Customer Service, and they may ask you for a photo of the shipping label on the package. Amazon investigates reports of "brushing" and will take action on bad actors that violate our policies, including suspending or removing selling privileges, withholding payments, and working with law enforcement.
You don't need to return the item. Feel free to dispose of or donate the item, whichever is most convenient.

 

[audreyh1]

Sounds like you need to tell Amazon that you suspect this is “brushing” and want to report it.

 

[Ready]

I don’t get it. How could someone use my account to write a review under my name unless they had my username and password? And if the order was not placed under my name, the item would not show up as a verified purchase in Amazon anyway. So they could just as easily write fake reviews using fake accounts without shipping any products.

 

[CaliKid]

Sounds like nothing to worry about. Your account shows no charge, you contacted Amazon, they said keep it. Free stuff! Yay!

 

[SheitlQueen]

Sounds like you need to tell Amazon that you suspect this is “brushing” and want to report it.

He did and Amazon wasn't interested, didn't even ask who sent it.

 

[sengsational]

When I got something I didn't order, I called and they said to keep it, or throw it away, with no offer to investigate anything, nor were they able to tell me who paid for it. It was a $30 laptop stand, and I figured I might be able to find a use for it. But it turns out it was ordered by my daughter and delivered here. She was in the process of moving to Charlotte and I had agreed to take delivery of a desk for her. Only after some time did I realize this was for her...glad I didn't throw it out!

 

[audreyh1]

I don’t get it. How could someone use my account to write a review under my name unless they had my username and password? And if the order was not placed under my name, the item would not show up as a verified purchase in Amazon anyway. So they could just as easily write fake reviews using fake accounts without shipping any products.

They aren’t writing a review under the recipients name.

 

[audreyh1]

He did and Amazon wasn't interested, didn't even ask who sent it.

Well, so much for Amazon actively investing brushing! I suppose it’s more haphazard.

 

[Out of Steam]

Well, so much for Amazon actively investing brushing! I suppose it’s more haphazard.

The business plan of Amazon seems largely based on the fact that production costs of huge categories of goods have fallen to essentially zero.

Sellers sending unsolicited goods simply to show sales, return processes that seem more costly to implement than the value of things returned, tolerant attitude towards counterfeits, etc.

 

[lucky penny]

Well, so much for Amazon actively investing brushing!

OP here -- Right!

Plus, they tell you to report it but not HOW to report it, & don't make it easy at all. I went to Customer Service/Contact us, but all the options asked about "which order" & there was no option for "none of the above." Using the Chat, the same thing. And when I finally got an agent, he was totally not interested once I told him I hadn't been billed.

Just seems very odd for a very cheap item to come out of the blue. I'm pretty sure that none of my relatives or friends was sending me 5 cheap pens worth a few bucks total. Who even buys that on Amazon?

 

[Car-Guy]

They tried to deliver a ~60" curved TV to me a few years ago and I refused delivery since I didn't order it and suspected "something" was wrong... (Scam of some sort?) Anyway, I got a call a few days later from the shipper... It was legit (gift) and they delivered and set it up a few days later.


Never would have bought a curved TV myself but it's pretty cool. Really gives the picture some depth... Almost 3D.

 

[jollystomper]

I don’t get it. How could someone use my account to write a review under my name unless they had my username and password? And if the order was not placed under my name, the item would not show up as a verified purchase in Amazon anyway. So they could just as easily write fake reviews using fake accounts without shipping any products.

When ordering something one can put someone else's name and address for shipment. It will still show up under the ordering account as a verified purchase. That is the account they will write the review under.

 

[youbet]

When ordering something one can put someone else's name and address for shipment. It will still show up under the ordering account as a verified purchase. That is the account they will write the review under.

Why would they send it to a stranger? Seems like they should send it to someone they know and collect the item from them or at least have done a favor for someone who'll give you credit for it. You could still write the review.

 

[jollystomper]

Why would they send it to a stranger? Seems like they should send it to someone they know and collect the item from them or at least have done a favor for someone who'll give you credit for it. You could still write the review.

Given that they are the seller it costs them almost nothing to send out these "samples". They are doing this to lots of people, so it is easier to use many, many strangers randomly chosen than friends. The items tend to be small and the cost of returning is probably more than the cost of manufacturing. From the sellers standpoint, this is just a "marketing expense" .

If they are legitimate they would send directly to people they know. One seller I had purchased some small PC parts/components from contacted and asked if they could send me a product to test. I could keep it. If I liked it could I post a review. In my review I disclosed that the item had been provided to me gratis so that folks would understand the context of the review.

 

[sengsational]

When ordering something one can put someone else's name and address for shipment. It will still show up under the ordering account as a verified purchase. That is the account they will write the review under.

If I opened 20 Amazon accounts, bought pens and had them sent to 20 random people, Amazon does nothing when people report an unordered delivery, then that enables 20, verified purchase, 5 star reviews. Seems like a perfectly reasonable marketing expense.

I wonder if there's a botnet type model here, where my collection of Amazon ID's could be "for hire".

 

[youbet]

If I opened 20 Amazon accounts, bought pens and had them sent to 20 random people, Amazon does nothing when people report an unordered delivery, then that enables 20, verified purchase, 5 star reviews. Seems like a perfectly reasonable marketing expense.

I wonder if there's a botnet type model here, where my collection of Amazon ID's could be "for hire".

Despite jellystomper's fine explanation (above), I'm still confused about the destination the product is shipped to. Why not just send all 20 to some known person? It would still show as 20 verified purchases (1 each to the 20 accounts) and that they shipped under the "ship to another address" option.

It just isn't making any sense that the sender would go to the trouble of getting 20 good, random addresses.

I guess there is something about Amazon's system I don't understand. Which would be no big surprise.

 

[JRon]

Well at least OP can just toss the pens and not worry about it.

 

[audreyh1]

Sone folks have had this happen many times.

 

[Walt34]

I wonder if there's a botnet type model here, where my collection of Amazon ID's could be "for hire".

Were you a fraud investigator in a former life? There were a couple of guys in my office when I was working in the Fraud Section who dreamed up schemes like that.

 

[clobber]

NPR/Planet Money did an episode on this. Listen or read the transcript here.

 

[jollystomper]

Despite jellystomper's fine explanation (above), I'm still confused about the destination the product is shipped to. Why not just send all 20 to some known person? It would still show as 20 verified purchases (1 each to the 20 accounts) and that they shipped under the "ship to another address" option.

It just isn't making any sense that the sender would go to the trouble of getting 20 good, random addresses.

I guess there is something about Amazon's system I don't understand. Which would be no big surprise.

Well, think of it this way: sending it to someone they know would make that person a knowledgeable accomplice, who would then be liable in this scam, or for various reasons turn snitch and rat out the seller. Sending it to strangers eliminates that liability and added comlexity. It is not too much different of what I know occurs in the drug trafficking or cash laundering trades.

 

[Jvcr]

This happened to me as well. Product arrived but I had not ordered it and had not paid for it or been charged for it.

I called Amazon and they did seem interested in digging into it a bit. Based on some information on the package, the Amazon agent told me that it was ordered by another account that had my name and address on it but the wrong phone number and no email associated with that account. I told them it was not my account and it was clearly a fraudulent account. Amazon told me that they would delete the account. I have not had any more deliveries to me since the one product. Not sure if the agent was supposed to tell me all that info, but it was good to know that they would take action against a clearly fraudulent account.

 

[lucky penny]

This happened to me as well. Product arrived but I had not ordered it and had not paid for it or been charged for it.

I called Amazon and they did seem interested in digging into it a bit. Based on some information on the package, the Amazon agent told me that it was ordered by another account that had my name and address on it but the wrong phone number and no email associated with that account. I told them it was not my account and it was clearly a fraudulent account. Amazon told me that they would delete the account. I have not had any more deliveries to me since the one product. Not sure if the agent was supposed to tell me all that info, but it was good to know that they would take action against a clearly fraudulent account.

Did this involve a cheap, throwaway item (which seem to be used for "brushing" by sellers) or something of value that someone might actually want?

The practice of "brushing" as described in the NPR article referenced above sounds downright creepy.