SCAM WATCH OUT , Google this: EBay false tracking number scam.
After you've googled the above, showing hundreds of victims for years and years, here is what happened to me 5/9/25. I ordered a big, 99 lb. home storage battery from an ebay seller. Using UPS online tracking, a couple of days later it showed "delivery completed" of a package that weighed 1.1 ozs., not 99 lbs. Only thing is, for privacy reasons, UPS only provides the time, city, and state. NO street address is provided. Someone else's signatures. I received nothing. Checked my 24/7 front cloud camera recordings for 107 pm, nothing.
I contacted the seller, who after stalling his response, finally said he would send another 99 lb battery even though his ebay site stated clearly he only had 1 to begin with.
Couple of days later, same thing, the new UPS tracking number online showed that an 8 lb package was delivered . But again no street address. Not my signature. Ebay denied my claim stating that "all they can go on is that UPS says it was delivered to my city, state, and address. We don't know anything about the weight" (The 99 lb. weight of item pictured is very easily verified online by a third grader. ) Well, despite UPS' privacy policy I talked with 3 agents on the phone who said these packages were NOT shipped to my address , but they could not disclose anything else. Finally, I called UPS Corporate Headquarters and a sympathetic agent emailed me proof of the actual addresses of the deliveries. Nothing was ever sent to my address. They were real orders that other people had placed for real items. The scammer/seller/ebay hijacked these UPS tracking numbers and gave them to me. I have provided this proof to Ebay several times and they just act dumb and helpless. They hope I'll give up, but right is might.
ittybitnot
·1 year agoEbay denied my claim stating that....
@welco28
Any time there is a "delivered" status associated with your order, you are going to lose any eBay claim for "item not received ". This crime can be traced back here for over 15 years, and there is still no published policy on eBay to help victims. Their main "go to" solution still seems to be DENIAL. If you file INR with PayPal or your credit card, you have good a chance of losing there as well.
Though it is message #6, you may wish to read it as selected as a Best Answer in this thread. It will outline some of the choices you DO have when this happens to you, and what NOT to do to make matters worse:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Seller-is-a-Liar-and-Cheat/m-p/35108131#M522799
Good luck, and do come back for more specific advice if needed. Also let us know how it worked out for you so we can advise others.
roccotacodad54
·1 year agoCould try INAD ?
mam98031
·1 year agoIt is unfortunate, but this scam has been around for years. I'm sorry you had a run in with it.
house*of*paws
·1 year agoHi @welco28
I've been hit with the 'fake tracking number scam' on eBay, Amazon, and Walmart ... using UPS, FedEx, and USPS shipping. It's an extremely popular scam.
If you've been told by UPS that the package didn't have your address on it ... even if you can't get UPS to send you a statement to that effect ... you still should be able to get refunded. Just phone your credit card company and ask to be connected with their Fraud Department. Tell them what happened, and request a chargeback. Your CC company should be able to get the 'evidence' they need from UPS without any problem.
eBay has been extraordinarily slow in developing a process for their customers to file a claim when they've been victimized by this scam. I intend to go straight to my CC company the next time it happens to me.
tex-421
·1 year agoDepending how much you are out, you might consider filling a police report.
bonjourami
·1 year agoYes, the fake tracking scam should have been addressed by Ebay a long time ago. What kind of proof did the UPS give you? Just a list of the addresses the pkgs went to? Usually they will give you a statement to the effect that the item was not delivered to your address, and that does the trick with Ebay.
kensgiftshop
·1 year agoNo need to Google it, we hear about it every day.