Fake tracking number scam

Locked

Discussion interactions are currently paused.

Recently bought a futon and the seller gave me a working tracking number that was sent to another address. I filed a "did not receive" item and the seller won the case because it says it was delivered on the tracking, but on my end I never received it. I contacted UPS they said the address I provided them doesn't match the tracking number's address. So I went to my local UPS store and they said they couldn't do anything nor give me a written letter because they have limited information on what they can see as far as tracking goes. Are there any other solutions I can do? All I can think of is to file a chargeback through my credit card company. Right now the seller is not responding to my messages, Ebay will not take my side, and UPS will not give me anymore information until the seller contacts them.

adva2368

15 View listings

Posted 1 year ago·Last reply 11 months ago

4 comments

kh_femi

·11 months ago

0 View listings

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.

ittybitnot

·1 year ago

18 View listings

@adva2368

Here are the links that @eburtonlab mentioned to contact CS. This is NOT the regular foreign call center reps you get in a call back or chat. From this minute forward, you need to give up on the idea of "item not received" and start thinking Fraud/fake tracking scam. Contact eBay here and explain you have a 'fake tracking scam' issue.

https://www.facebook.com/eBay/ (use the blue message button)

OR one of these:

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

https://x.com/askebay

All is not lost for you at this point, and there are other options. But it is best to start with the eBay one's first, because once you seek redress from PayPal or your c.card company, eBay will close your case for good. If you continue to use the "item not received" claim elsewhere, they will submit the information to eBay, who responds with the same phony delivery confirmation and you will lose again.

You may wish to read from the victim's list from last month to peruse other ideas, and see what not to do.

Jan. 2025

eburtonlab

·1 year ago

5547 View listings

@adva2368

Try plugging the tracking number into one of those universal tracking pages -- see if you can get any additional info. If the weight does not match your futon, or the shipping date precedes your order, that might be enough to convince someone if you can provide that link to eBay via social media direct message.

Try another UPS store -- you may find a more sympathetic ear. Keep in mind you do not need to know the actual address, you just need something from UPS that indicates the address is not yours, or the package cannot be yours. It may help to bring a copy of your order details that includes the tracking number and your address.

What kind of feedback does your seller have? If the seller is removed from eBay, that might give you another chance for a refund if you have not yet started a case with your credit card issuer.

rott-n-ink

·11 months ago

740 View listings

I have learned that the feedback about tracking scams isn't that reliable. I have just been through the fraudulent tracking number situation for the second time this year, I was refunded both times after opening the Item not received case with the first tracking number that the seller provided that never updated or could be found by the shipper website tracking lookups. After the case is opened the seller will change the tracking number to one with the status of delivered to win the initial case because it's automated and nobody actually looks at it on ebay's side. You have to appeal the case and provide the details and evidence to prove the tracking number was not sent to your address or sent from or by the seller.

I will always take screenshots of the location on the listing and all the transaction details for the tracking number that was originally sent to ebay that never worked or was able to be tracked with the history details expanded to show every date and time. Get the screenshots before you ever try contacting the seller, as soon as they're aware that you are going to get a refund from them, they will start changing things and details to make it look like they are in the right and you are wrong.

When they provide a tracking number that is delivered status at that point, call the shipper to ask them to confirm the tracking number was sent to your full address and zip code or if it just was sent to a different person with a different address and just happened to be in the same zip code as you are. They can't tell you what address it was sent to, but they can tell you it was not to you, or the same street you are in the same zip code. I will also ask them when the shipping label was created date and time, when they were in possession of the package date and time and the city, state the label was created in. Write all of those details down, compare it to your purchase date and time, the city and state location the seller had on the listing to ship from. Make a note for any discrepancies like the label was created before you ever made a purchase from the seller or the package is in the possession of the package before your purchase was made. And where it was created different from the location on the listing the seller said it would be shipped from. If you can get the tracking details on the shipping company website take a screenshot of it too. These are all individual clues that prove the seller is trying to use fraudulent tracking information to manipulate ebay's system to abuse the money back guarantee and committed fraud in connection with the money back guarantee. The seller user agreement policy says the seller will not provide ebay with content that is false, inaccurate, misleading, deceptive, defamatory, libelous or illegal.

By providing the tracking details to a package that was not sent to you or sent by them to not ship out your purchased items and also not have to refund your money is mail fraud. They do this to win the item not received case by default because ebay only sees delivered status to your zip code and the case is closed as status showing as delivered.

Once the case is closed by ebay (NEVER CLOSE IT YOURSELF EARLY OR ON THE SELLERS REQUEST OR DEMANDS) if you close it early you can't appeal, or reopen it again or open a new case on the transaction ever again and ebay will not step in.

To open an appeal it works best to use the ebay Facebook account and send them a message over Facebook messenger, you will be chatting with a live person and you can ask them to appeal case #( closed case #) and then provide the screenshots showing the details proving the tracking details the seller provided after the case was opened for INR. They used false tracking details to make it look like it was delivered when it wasn't from them or to you label was created, package was in shipper's possession before the purchase was made by you from the seller. If there's enough discrepancies to show ebay that the seller provided false tracking details to ebay they will be able to review the case again and change the original decision and they will refund you immediately. Otherwise they may make you go to the shipper office to get a statement on the shipping company letterhead saying the tracking number(insert number) was not addressed to you or sent by the seller and was someone else's to their own address in the same zip code. Have the shipping company clerk handwite that out and date it and sign their name. That will be enough for ebay to see the seller was trying to use the tracking number scam to not have to refund your money back to you and they didn't want to have a case on their records as being at fault.

When the buyer automatically loses the original case that you opened your appeal to get changed you have any negative feedback made about the seller was trying to use fraudulent tracking scam is automatically removed from the seller's feedback because they didn't do anything wrong. Ebay has no way to undo removing your feedback and you can't post the negative feedback afterwards either. Even though you are have established to ebay the seller was at fault from the start.

Also tell the ebay customer service person you are chatting with that you want to report the seller for violating policies, the user agreement and the Terms Of Service of ebay.

I had this happen the first time in February of this year, and the second time I just got my refund from ebay yesterday. I always check the items location and then I compare it to the seller location in the about details to make sure they aren't in a different country or just starting with a new account that is less than over a year old if they are not in the USA or less than a year old account I won't buy anything from them. But apparently they are lying about their location and misleading it to be in the USA and they aren't.