Straight Talk: Tracking code trick costs online shoppers
Better Business Bureau serving Canton Region and Greater West Virginia offers tips and advice for consumers to avoid fraudulent practices.
This holiday shopping season, BBB Scam Tracker has received numerous reports about shipping tricks that scammers use to steal from online shoppers. The con artists are exploiting PayPal's polices by delivering incorrect items and using stolen tracking numbers.
How the scam works
Consumers shop online and find an amazing deal, often a brand name good at a significant discount. With a legitimate looking website and product, the decision is made to complete the purchase. The site directs them to pay through PayPal, which gives more reason to believe it's safe.
After checkout, a confirmation email arrives that contains a tracking number from UPS, FedEx, or another shipping service. When the package arrives, it’s not what was expected. For example, one shopper ordered a 6 foot artificial Christmas tree, but “received a bottle brush Christmas tree no bigger than my hand.” Another shopper told BBB that they ordered “a pressured machine washer for $78...” and received “a yellow shirt that’s not worth $2.” In another common version of this scam, the package is delivered... but to the wrong address.
When consumers try to correct the mistake, they find the ecommerce site is either unresponsive or unhelpful. In some cases, the site doesn’t provide contact information; in others, no one responds to emails or calls.
Some scam victims report filing claims with PayPal in order to get a refund. PayPal's protection promise says customers can open a dispute if the package never arrives, if the item received is counterfeit or differs significantly from what was ordered. However, not all claims were resolved to the buyer’s satisfaction. For example, one shopper reported the following experience after ordering a desk online and filing a dispute though PayPal. “I was contacted by PayPal and told they had found in favor of the seller. They had apparently received confirmation of delivery of said desk to my house according to the tracking number… PayPal did not give me any option to discuss their decision, to argue why they found in favor of the seller. They just closed the case.”
BBB notified PayPal of the stolen tracking codes BBB Scam Tracker reports. After an investigation, they replied: "We notified various shipping carriers of this issue allowing tracking data to be stolen and we believe it has been closed. In addition, we made enhancements to our algorithms to identify and disable these fraudulent bad actors. In fact, we are stopping a significant majority of these fraudulent sellers at first transaction through our detection program and have refunded customers impacted by this fraud scheme even if they did not appeal our decision."
Avoid a package delivery scam
Before paying, know your rights and responsibilities. In everything from check cashing scams to cons involving new peer-to-peer payment systems, scammers take advantage of what consumers don’t know when it comes to processing payments. Never assume your purchase will be protected no matter what.
Before buying online, confirm the site has real contact information. Make sure the seller has a working phone number and real address on the website, so you can contact them in case of problems.
Don’t wait too long to file a dispute. Scammers know that PayPal and credit cards have time limits for disputes. They often try to delay the process long enough so that shoppers miss the window.
If the price seems too good to be true, there's probably something wrong. Be wary if the item is selling for significantly lower than what's been advertised elsewhere.
For more information
See BBB.org/ShoppingOnline for advice with online shopping. To learn more about scams, go to BBB.org/ScamTips. If you’ve been targeted by this scam, help others avoid the same problem by reporting your experience at BBB.org/ScamTracker.
For BBB information
Visit bbb.org/canton or call 330-454-9401 to look up a business, file a complaint, write a customer review, read tips, find our events, follow us on social media, and more!
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Straight Talk: Tracking code trick costs online shoppers
