Got scammed as buyer: Seller perpetrated a "same-zip-code" scam using a non-related tracking#

[2015_bluesky]

Beware eBay buyers! I just got scammed as a buyer. We are in March of 2021 and this scam has been around for some years now as I see online, I just learned about it the hard way. It looks like in some cases eBay doesn't know how to tell when a tracking number is a good valid one that relates to a specific purchase you made as a buyer at a specific time. 

If the seller buys and creates the shipping label on eBay (or I guess paypal) then I would assume eBay does have more knowledge and access to the label details, however if the seller just posts a tracking # that was NOT created on the eBay platform then eBay does NOT know how to check the label for validity related to your specific purchase. This tracking # can be totally irrelevant to your purchase if the seller is a scammer.

This can be a tracking # from USPS or UPS or other carriers, the bottom line is that the seller can post a tracking number that is "real"  but has no connection to your purchase at all. As long as the tracking number is kind of current in time-frame period, and it went to any random address BUT in your same zip-code, then it would look like it was delivered to YOU since the tracking will say "delivered to (your name of town & zip-code)". 

The seller-scammer has some way to get access and obtain existing tracking numbers that are in transit at the moment, from any point A anywhere to any point B but within your zip-code. (any name doesn't matter as long as the destination is in your zip-code). How do they get these tracking numbers in real time I don't know but the scammers do know how to... (do they hack UPS for getting these tracking numbers? Is there a black marketplace that sells live tracking numbers in real-time?)

They post on the sale this tracking number and then voilà,  it shows as "delivered to (your name of town & zip-code)". It looks like you got the item, that's what eBay will see and their computer system will believe.

So you, the buyer, will look like a potential fraudster since you claim you didn't get something even though it shows marked as delivered...  but in reality the tracking # that was posted has nothing to do with you and your purchase at all.

Basically to make it simple, someone really shipped something to someone in your zip code, around this same time-frame, this tracking# is then used by the scammer-seller to make it look like you got your purchased item. (this other person in your town has nothing to do with this scam and don't know anything about this whole saga).

From what I read online it looks like many many buyers ACTUALLY lost their money and eBay did NOT refund them but rather sided with the seller since it looks like they performed properly and you the buyer may be trying to scam the seller.

In my case we shall see how this unfolds? This problem for me is still current and in eBay's hands, I hope they do the right thing!

The seller "sold" me a new computer mouse, the price was too good to be true and his eBay history was just a few months old so maybe I should have seen it coming, but I have purchased good deals on eBay many time before and I never heard about this scam.

I am trying to convince eBay to refund me the funds I paid but at the moment they are "giving the seller a chance to respond". He did respond by posting again, and then again for the 3rd time, the same irrelevant tracking# that has nothing to do with my purchase at all. (Hint, I called UPS to ask and was told so).

The seller perpetrated a "same-zip-code" scam using a non-related tracking# as I explained above, hope this helps anyone who comes across this description to understand what's going on, I was confused at first.

There are 2 ways the seller-scammer can do this:

They can actually send an empty box, or full of junk or anything inside to give it some weight, and they can ship it to any random address they find online but as long as it is in your own real zip-code. (this method will cost them money to ship with UPS or any carrier and they will buy the label directly and NOT on eBay.) The person getting this box will open it and throw it away, but eBay will think you received your purchase since the tracking will say "delivered to (your name of town & zip-code)".

The 2nd method, in which they don't ship anything, is what I described above and is what happened in my case. The scammer used an existing tracking# they gained knowledge of in real time. This random other person in my town has nothing to do with this issue, he/she just bought something unrelated to me, probably unrelated even to eBay, and we just happen to share the same zip-code. The seller-scammer posts this tracking # in my purchase and Voilà, it looks like my order was delivered:  "delivered to (your name of town & zip-code)".

Now, you can call UPS and USPS etc, in my case they confirmed on the phone that this specific tracking# was for a label that did NOT go to my own address. That's good enough for me as proof. But the actual address where it went to is confidential as UPS told me so there is nothing they can give me in writing as proof.

Will eBay call UPS to ask them where it went to? Will eBay know how to check this tracking # and see it had nothing to do with me?

I do hope so and we shall see... somehow I don't see the eBay rep calling UPS to ask about this tracking# like I did, also if the decision is made by an eBay computer system will it know how to understand this scam?

In addition to me as the buyer, others that are scammed are: eBay, Paypal, my credit card co, probably other entities. Chances are that after I, hopefully, get refunded this scammer-seller will still walkaway with the money and may be long gone by now. It's a shame but it degrades my eBay experience and will make me more hesitant on future purchases. Do eBay and Paypal really have no good way to weed out these scammers? (he sold 8 of these items so I am sure many others are dealing with this guy as we speak).

eBay, please do the right thing!!! 

Hope this helps someone else...

[davjo369]

I think this is what happened to me too, only twice in the last week. One shipment was from UPS and the other from fedex. I already posted about this and will post my original below. But since I posted that last night I noticed the feedback from the sellers.

One person posted this negative feedback for the seller-

Seller is a big fake and a scam!!! Listed a fake tracking number with fed ex!

This was listed as a positive feedback, probably so ebay won't delete it because tracking said package was delivered--

Did not receive the package said it was left on front pouch but it wasn't there

And my package was supposedly left at the back door.

The second seller had this listed a positive feedback (probably for same reason)--

Never received this item--

But then I noticed this was for a complete series DVD set of the Waltons for the same price that I paid the first seller. Could it be that they are the same seller, just using different accounts. I don't know if the first seller had the item I thought I was buying from the second (a James Bond 50th anniversary DVD set) It just seems odd that I would get scammed twice in one week from sellers selling the same items.

I got a delivery from UPS today and asked the guy if he delivered anything yesterday and he did not.

Neither seller has any new listings. I opened a tracking claim with fedex the other day, but have heard nothing back. I tried to open a claim through UPS, but you have to have an account with them to do so, and they say the sender must open the claim from their end. I contacted both sellers to see if they will initiate tracking procedures from their end, but after reading this I think I've been scammed too. I don't really know what to do about it other than what I already have. It seems that I am out of luck anyway because they were listed as delivered. I tried to contact someone at ebay to explain things, but it was almost impossible, kept telling chat help was available and then it wasn't. The automated forms basically just told me to contact the sellers.

I really don't know what more to do about it, but would appreciate any advice. I put my original post below that I did last night when I thought this was a problem with the delivery services.

*****

In the last week I received notices from fedex and ups saying that my packages were delivered, but I didn't receive them. I've checked around, and my packages were not left elsewhere. There have never been any problems in my neighborhood with packages getting stolen. I started a claim with fedex to search for the missing package and have heard nothing back. UPS seems to be difficult to start a claim without having an account. I've never had problems with deliveries before, so this is very strange that two shipments from two different shippers would be marked as delivered when they were not.

I tried to go through the automated ebay help process to see what I should do, and it just said to start a claims process. The UPS website said the same, that I should contact the seller to start a claims process. But if the sellers sent the packages, and both fedex and UPS said the packages were delivered, but they were not, then it would seem that the problem would be with fedex and UPS. And yes, I checked that the address was correct.

This just seems strange that two different shippers would say two different packages were delivered. They must have been delivered somewhere. I've lived at this address for over twenty years. Most of my neighbors have lived here longer than that. No one around here has ever had a problem like this. I'd hate to contact two sellers for information about the same thing and make them think I was trying to con them for a refund.

Has anybody had this happen or heard of this happening? Is there an easier way of getting information from UPS? I understand that both UPS and fedex have insurance for packages of up to $100 dollars. But I think the sellers need to file a claim. I'd hate to bother the sellers when they must have sent the items, only for the shippers to deliver them both to a different address.

Sorry for the long post, but this is a weird thing. I would appreciate any advice from anyone who has had a problem like this. Thanks.

[2015_bluesky]

You write that:

"And yes, I checked that the address was correct."

So what your are dealing with therefore is a different kind of situation than what is described here in this post which is a "same-zip-code" scam.

By definition the same zip-code scam does NOT have the correct address at all except for the zip-code.

(different location within the same zip-code).

Hope you get a good resolution, good luck!

[somanystoressolittletime2007]

Well, just great, something to give buyers a bad experience and scare them away from future purchases.  

[2015_bluesky]

Good news, at least for me, and hopefully some hope for others who are dealing with this issue...

I was able to successfully get this scam resolved and fully refunded by eBay!

It took phone calls, lots of aggravation and followup. Maybe I was also lucky that the seller in my case wasn't the smartest scammer on the block or may have made some rookie mistakes.

I believe that this specific type of scam should not be something that can be perpetrated and should be stopped by the authorities of eBay/Paypal/UPS/Fedex etc etc. If they put their heads together there are ways I'm sure to end the ability of scammer-sellers to just post  non-related tracking numbers that happen to be going to your same zip-code. I am sure this can be eliminated one way or another.

For now I am still trying to figure out how to safeguard my next eBay purchase from this possibility. (sometimes there are good deals to be had from new sellers without a long history on eBay, assuming they are honest of course).

Hope honesty prevails for all!

[stephenmorgan]

Good for you, I am glad this worked out in you favor.

Maybe you could post how you were able to convince eBay to decide in your favor?  This could be very useful for someone else who may become a victim of this scam.

[2015_bluesky]

Well, the problem is that I was lucky in the way the seller dealt with it in my case, I could see how it could have ended badly for me if a few things would have been different. However the seller in my case was not the sharpest scammer on the block, or a rookie in the trade, so he/she/it kind of screwed up in the execution of the scam in a way that gave me an opening to make my case successfully and convincingly.

If I were to layout exactly what they did wrong then I worry it would be making it easy for them to improve the next time around and in essence this would become a guide on what not to do when executing this particular scam...

Basically the only actionable advice I can give is the following, not sure if this would be helpful or not:

I did not initiate the case myself on the eBay system, instead I called eBay CS and explained the whole thing clearly on the phone and then the lady opened the case for me and made some notes on the issues involved. Maybe that helped? Also, I made several followup calls to eBay and each time asked that they make notes in the system as I understood more and more what was happening here exactly.

I also spoke with a Paypal CS person and was advised NOT to open a case with Paypal since there was one underway with eBay (she was able to see that on her end in their system so they still do have some lines of communications going on between them despite the separation). She told me that opening a Paypal case would automatically close my eBay case. However she made some notes about our conversation details and I asked her to do anything she can to safeguard other innocent paypal users from getting hurt by this scammer in the meantime while eBay is still looking into it.

Lastly, I started this conversation thread to explain how this scam works, at first I was confused and didn't understand what I was dealing with. I wasn't sure the eBay CS folks were familiar with this scam either. At one point during this saga I pointed them to this thread so they can read it to understand more, maybe that helped. I do hope it helps others who are dealing or will be dealing with such situations.

One last note: It feels kind of scary to deal with a scammer like this, I was calling them out and pointing to their criminality.

Who knows where they are located and what kind of people they are?

To me the worst part is not losing money potentially but rather the uneasy feeling of dealing with this while knowing that the seller-scammer-criminal knows my full name and address since I actually purchased something from them on eBay, one can only hope it ends here and now.

[stephenmorgan]

Good, so you resolve it by talking with eBay directly and explaining the situation in detail rather then relying on a computer generated answer.  I think many people will receive a favorable decision if they talk with eBay directly.

Several years ago I purchased a pay as you go phone.  In the description it just said TracFone LG800 phone in good shape.  In the pictures it showed the phone was activated with over 2000 minutes and several months of service.  When I received the phone all of the services had been extracted off of it.  

I file claim Item Not as Described.  Buyer reply that only phone was being sold and not services.  eBay found in favor of buyer.  I called eBay and explained why their decision was wrong.  

First I had eBay search for Tracfone LG800's for sale.  The were dozens for sale at $5 to $15 used and  new in the package.  I then show them several other used TracFone's that were for sale with services on the phone at higher prices.  I explained that the services add value to the phone as compared to without services.

I then take them back to my purchase and direct them to the pictures.  A close up photo of the phones screen shows the date and services remaining on the phone.  Even though the description did not say there were any services on the phone the pictures implied the services were there and include with the sale.  

I paid $50 for a used phone that I could have purchased new with all the accessories for less than 1/3 of the cost.  I only purchased the phone and paid a premium for it because of the services that were on it.

eBay reversed their decision and refunded me.  

[2015_bluesky]

Wow what a great story with a great ending! (I was in suspense till the end worried that perhaps it didn't change their mind...)

What a great way laying-out the examples of actual listings to compare, good job, the eBay person saw the light and was willing to hear you out and follow the logic!

[ariggs2]

I think I just purchased an item from this scammer.  They also only have 2 positive fake reviews. Many people have ordered from them within the past two weeks but none are leaving feedback. They're probably all in the process of fighting for their money. 

[sin-n-dex]

When I worked at the post office (in Canada) I had a customer who was trying to scam Apple calling me on the phone to find out "examples of tracking numbers" so she could "find the tracking number for her parcel since she lost the receipt". She called me twice. I told her the second time I'm not going to help her perpetuate fraud.

I think these fake numbers are given out by insiders. I had someone try to buy gold from the B&M store where I work by giving me two stolen credit cards (which were sequential, except the last four digit pin). I denied his purchase and he gave me two new sequential credit cards. I found out from our payments processor that the cards belonged to Barclay's bank in England and got busy notifying them that someone who works in their credit card department is stealing numbers before the customer receives their card.

So yeah, someone on the inside is supplying these crooks with this information.

C.

[azaz_8302]

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@sin-n-dex wrote:

So yeah, someone on the inside is supplying these crooks with this information.

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It's not an insider. All those tracking websites taking UPS, FedEx, and DHL tracking numbers. Those 3 because they pre-announce where they're headed.

So now the tracking websites have a list of all FedEx tracking numbers about to be delivered in Topeka KS, or UPS tracking numbers for Salem MA, or DHL for ..., and sells them one at a time out the back door.

[pureinnocenthelp]

report the seller and call police or fbi to deal with the scammer.

[dailysubscriber]

Just got victimized by this currently and ebay sided with the scammer having 16 negative feedbacks currently using exact same method after I bought item. They closed the case siding with the seller. Been with ebay for more than a decade and a scammer opens up a new account and gets rewarded. This is depressing. Can't sleep because of this and I get the run around from CS. I know it's just money but ebay betrayed me.

[gwgw-73]

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@dailysubscriber wrote:

Just got victimized by this currently and ebay sided with the scammer

They closed the case siding with the seller.

I get the run around from CS. I know it's just money but ebay betrayed me.

---

Don't file an appeal @dailysubscriber because if you do, it will be eBay paying the refund, while the scammer still gets away with your entire original payment.

Instead, after you lose an Item Not Received case, eBay allows you to click "Return this item" to open a second case.

See here for guidance on starting a return request even though there is nothing to return.

This falls under our return reasons. There's a couple use cases where a return is the appropriate case type even if the person technically has nothing to return, such as when they receive an empty package, because there was 'delivery'.

Click SHOW MORE and select the "Missing Parts or Pieces" reason.

After 3 business days, if you still don't have a refund, or a prepaid return label, come back and click Ask eBay to step in, to get eBay to help. If you get a return label, enclose exactly what you received and nothing more in a box or padded envelope, affix and mail the label. Then whether the label is delivered or returned from the seller, eBay will issue  a full refund back to you.

[highscoreusa]

When this had happened to me before, I was able to overturn and win the case by receiving a photocopy of a picture of the shipping label / package, sent to me from USPS.

Nowadays, USPS machines seem to photograph almost all packages / shipping labels sent through their system, and calling the post office with the tracking number should be able to get you a photocopy of this info.

USPS can now tell you the exact address it was delivered to, unlike years ago. So this scam should not work against anyone anymore if you are able to dig up this information.