Tracking number scam suspicion
Hi, I just bought a camera that was too good to be true (of course it was a mistake but I thought that I was protected by eBay's buyer protection). After I bought the camera (for 500 USD) I regretted it almost immediately and cancelled my order. I thought that -as in other sites- given that it was only 7 minutes after my order would be cancelled immediately. Then I started reading online and found out about this type of scam that I didn't know of.
I already called eBay and they said that they've messaged the seller so they cancel the order, and that I just have to wait (up to 3 days) for them to cancel. Now I have to wait for the seller (who is 99% a scammer) to approve said cancellation. What if they reject my cancellation and go on with the order?
Is there something else I can do? Why can't eBay just cancel the order if they haven't send it? In the meantime I'm just preparing to call eBay about each development, but I wonder if there's something I can do before this gets worse.
dela4206
OP5 months agoUpdate: I got my money back!
TL;DR: Because the user was banned (the day after I made the purchase, apparently) the didn't reply to the cancellation request but I was able to get a refund for "Item not received" even before the estimated delivery date.
So I contacted eBay customer service via Instagram. Told them about the cancellation being rejected and the seller being banned on eBay. CS told me to go and ask for a refund under "Item not received". I asked if I had to wait until the estimated delivery date or if I should do it immediately and they replied this:
"Because the cancellation was closed without a response from the seller, and with the change in the seller's account, our system should allow a case to be opened before the estimated delivery date has passed. An item not received claim is what allows us to refund on the seller's behalf, so this will be the best way to move forward."
I went and did as they told me and a few minutes after I got this message:
"Perfect, thanks! Typically with an item not received claim, we give the seller 3 full working days to issue a refund themselves. Given the circumstances, we are able to skip this timeframe today. I was able to close the case in your favor, and a full refund will go back to your original payment method. No further action will be required on your part from here. I hope that this resolution helps put your mind at ease!"
Thanks to everyone who helped and I hope this experience may help others. For me it was useful to talk here in this community and with CS on Instagram before every move, so I had a backup for my decisions in case of any issue.
soh.maryl
·5 months agoWhile you're waiting for your issue to be resolved, how about taking some time to read eBay's Money Back Guarantee for buyers?
dela4206
OP5 months ago@soh.maryl they have not shipped the item, there's no tracking id. This is the info I have:
Order info
Time placedMar 24, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Order number XXXXX
Total$648.42 (1 item)
Sold bysavol39
Delivery info
Arrives Mar 28, 2026 - Apr 1, 2026
On my "cancel details" this is the info I have:
"We'll check to see if the seller can still cancel this order, and we'll get back to you. It will take no more than 3 days for the seller to confirm. In the meantime you can check MyMessages for the seller response."
Given that I requested to cancel minutes after the purchase, they have until today at 10pm to accept, I suppose that if they don't accept it will be cancelled automatically, or at least I hope so. If not I guess I'll have to wait till April 1st. Either way I'm contacting customer service tomorrow if the order doesn't cancel automatically.
Thanks!
soh.maryl
·5 months agoThere is no eBay requirement that a seller agree to cancel a transaction if/when a buyer requests it.
And, do not assume that the transaction will be cancelled automatically. That does not happen.
And you will be contacting Customer Service because . . .?
All eBay buyers are covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee. ALL eBay buyers need to read it carefully, preferably before they begin buying or selling on eBay.
There was an estimated delivery date in the listing. If you've not received the purchase by that date, you can open an item not received case.
If you do receive it, but it's not as described, you can open an item not as described case.
dela4206
OP5 months ago@soh.maryl it seems like the opposite happened, because I reviewed my cancellation at 72 hours and it said pending, but at 73 hours it was rejected, so probably instead of autocancelling if the seller doesn't respond the system autorejects it.
After checking I went to my messages just to ask the seller what was happening and the following message appeared:
"This user cannot receive messages because their account has been suspended or terminated. Please use caution before taking further action."
I guess that means that I'll get my money back? @house*of*paws should I wait for April 1st to make a claim or should I call customer service?
Thanks for all the help!
soh.maryl
·5 months agoIf your seller has been "suspended or terminated", you may or may not get a refund automatically.
Again, there was an estimated delivery date in the listing when you made your purchase. Once that date has passed and you've not received your item, you have 30 days after that date to open an item not received case. According to one of your messages here, that last EDD is April 1st.
house*of*paws
·5 months ago@dela4206
I don’t think buyers get an automatic refund when a seller has been suspended, since it’s always possible that the item was shipped.
I would either file an ‘Item not received’ claim on April 2nd with eBay … OR do a chargeback with your credit card company on that date if you haven’t received any shipping info.
[I wouldn’t try to contact eBay’s CS … only because of the difficulty involved.]
tinsoldierunderground
·5 months ago@dela4206
To reach a point of clarity, you have one feedback left for the past year, it ID's as left in the past month.
Is this the seller you're concerned about? If so, I'm not sure why you labeled them a "99% scammer". They have a pretty strong 99.6% feedback rating, with only 3 negatives. They seem to deal in a lot of open box items, and the few unhappy buyers are commenting along those lines.
dela4206
OP5 months ago@tinsoldierunderground maybe I didn't express myself correctly, the seller has not sent the product yet, and my cancelling request is still pending, so they won't appear on my past purchases.
As to why I think it's 99% probably a scam:
1. The account was created 2 days before my purchase
2. The account had no feedback
3. The product was 50% off its market value and branded as new.
4. The same product, with the same price, description, and photos was offered by other sellers that were also created a few days ago.
5. He has not answered any message.
As to why I bought it:
1. I am a little dumb
2. It's not that I regret purchasing that camera at that price point is that after researching I realize it was probably a scam. So it's not me regretting the purchase and blaming the seller, it's me not feeling comfortable with the seller.
3. I didn't know about the tracking number scam and I thought my worst case scenario was not receiving the product and getting my money back, I didn't know it could become this tricky.
4. I am a little dumb.
A little update, it's been 36 hours (out of the 72 they have to respond) and the seller has not accepted neither rejected my cancellation so I'm guessing it's probable that they won't send the product and just let the timer run out, which is my best case scenario right now.
Thanks to the ones that tried to help (:
tinsoldierunderground
·5 months ago@dela4206
" the seller has not sent the product yet, and my cancelling request is still pending, so they won't appear on my past purchases."
Please be aware that many sellers leave automatic feedback the moment you purchase. That said, when members post with a buying issue, and there are some information gaps, we often have to try and seek out what type of seller they're
dealing with. It's usually quite helpful when people post the ebay item number along with their issue.
dela4206
OP5 months ago@tinsoldierunderground thanks, the item is 377055195946. I have not had any response by the seller, so their 3 days to send the product are running off.
soh.maryl
·5 months agoJust double checking: You do know that, if you do not receive the item, you can open an item not received case the day after the last estimated delivery date, right?
And have you actually received a tracking # indicating that the package is moving?
dela4206
OP5 months ago@soh.maryl Thanks, yes I'm aware, but I've also read that some people have had trouble getting the money back because the tracking number (being fake) would show that the product was delivered.
They still haven't sent the item so I haven't received a tracking number. Let's hope they don't send anything.
soh.maryl
·5 months agoGoing back to your listing, what was the last estimated delivery date?
And I am not sure about that 3 days to send the product.
My impression is that there's no deadline on SENDING the product, as long as it can get to the buyer on or before the last EDD.
powell-collectibles
·5 months agoYes, there is a deadline for sending items. Sellers sign up for a certain handling time. This can be done on an item by item basis.
there really is no deadline for when something arrives to a buyer. Those are estimated delivery dates. If you send on time, no ding from eBay. And it’s not like the buyer can get a refund for an item not received request one day after if that item is still moving. not unless the seller just wants to refund.
the way that some buyers on these boards present the MBG, you think that they do get refunds so easily. It just isn’t true.
soh.maryl
·5 months agoHow is this a scam on the part of the seller?
You made a purchase, changed your mind shortly after and requested to cancel. The seller did not accept your request to cancel.
There was an estimated date of delivery in the listing, which you've not shared with us. Once that date passes by one day, you can open an item not received case.
You've not mentioned tracking information either, but if no tracking has been shown, how is this a tracking scam?
Best of luck to you. Hope you'll re-read the Money Back Guarantee for buyers.
dela4206
OP5 months ago@soh.maryl that's why I said "suspicion" on the title. Everything points to this being a scam, if I'm wrong I'll be very happy but this is 99% a scam, I'm trying to prepare for it so I don't lose that money.
kibble-net
·5 months agoLet me get this straight. You ordered a product. Then you changed your mind. But somehow the seller is the scammer here?
purplepmw
·5 months agoI ordered a generator and the seller sent a tracking number which seemed standard. The tracking now says that the item was delivered. I went to UPS and they have a photo of someone else's house with a much smaller package. I called UPS and they say that they delivered the package and can do nothing because they did their job, take it up with the seller. The seller has ghosted Ebay and so I cannot get ahold of them. They delivered a fake tracking number with a fake address and fake phone number (none matches my order). I'm stunned that Ebay, the bank, UPS - none will help with the situation. The seller ghosted with $3500!!!! Federal regulations should say that online ordering companies have a customer service phone number to speak with someone to stop the payment immediately. I am not paying for this!!!
house*of*paws
·5 months ago@purplepmw
As soon as someone verifies that their name and address weren’t on the delivered package associated with the tracking number they were given … they just need to contact the Fraud Department of their credit card company and tell the agent that they are the victim of the ‘False tracking number scam’ and request a chargeback.
I would bypass eBay’s claim system entirely … but only in this single situation.
kensgiftshop
·5 months agoRight now, there's nothing to do but wait until after the estimated delivery date.
dela4206
OP5 months agoThanks Ken, yes, it's a shame that there's no "window of repent" like 20 minutes to cancel your order without depending on the seller's intent. I'll wait and document everything (and learn, again, to not buy on an impulse).
soh.maryl
·5 months agoEven bad experiences can teach us lessons. Yours has not yet proven to be bad, but at least now you should be comforted by the fact that you'll know what to do if it goes sideways.
house*of*paws
·5 months agoI'll go further and say ... Only bad experiences can teach us lessons. [And it sure took me a long time to learn that lesson. 😉]
gosimus
·5 months ago@dela4206
That's a good idea, but you already have it. The only difference is that the window of repent on eBay is before you make a purchase, not after. If you had taken the earlier-mentioned seven minutes to reflect on whether or not you really wanted to buy the item, all this gnashing of teeth would have been avoided. For longer windows of contemplation, you can add a listing to your Watchlist, and think it over for hours or days. Good luck.
simba6
·5 months agoThe best outcome is they never send it. Then you can get a refund. The big worry is they will send a cheap item to an address in your zip code. That is good enough for eBay. Do not file an item not received case if tracking shows delivered. I hope you paid by credit card.
Too good to be true listings always are.
dela4206
OP5 months agoYes, I know I was dumb haha, it was late at night, I googled "eBay scams" and nothing like that showed up, it was an impulse buy and as soon as I sat and thought about it I realized I had made a mistake, that's why I cancelled almost immediately (it was my first time cancelling an item I didn't know it fell on the seller to accept or reject the cancellation).
I read about not filing an "Item not received" if the tracking shows delivered and try to file a "Item not as described" claim instead. But what is the listing says "Seller does not accept returns". Either way, it seems I just have to wait.
Thanks for your message, it helped calming me down.
kensgiftshop
·5 months agoIt's up to the seller if they want to cancel the order or not.
The MBG overrules the sellers no return policy.
If you receive a message saying it was delivered, but it wasn't, contact the carrier.
Ask them if the package was addressed to you?
If they say it wasn't ask them to send you a letter stating that the package with that tracking number was not addressed to you.
dela4206
OP5 months agoThanks Ken, I will do as you say, have a wonderful day too!
dela4206
OP5 months agoOh and yes, I did use a credit card, so I guess that gives me another layer of security.
soh.maryl
·5 months agoWould like to remind you that a seller's "Seller does not accept returns" statement has no meaning if/when a buyer opens an item not as described case.
house*of*paws
·5 months agoHi @dela4206
Buyers can only request a cancellation. eBay leaves it up to the seller whether to cancel or to ship the item.
You are completely covered by eBay’s Money Back Guarantee … but you have to wait until you have an actual problem. [Right now you are afraid of having an eventual problem.]
You will be able to file an ‘Item not received’ claim one day after the Estimated Delivery Date arrives.
You will be able to file a return request for 30 days after receiving the item if it turns out to be ‘not as described’ in some way.
In the meantime, it’s okay to chill for awhile. Reading eBay’s Money Back Guarantee might help to relieve your mind. [There’s a link to the MBG in every listing.]
dela4206
OP5 months agoThanks house*of*paws, your message really helped me to calm down, I was panicking a little bit. Yes, right now I'm just afraid but it seems so obvious now that this is a scam or something sketchy. Thanks for the emphasis on the "you are completely covered".
I will chill for a while.
Lots of thanks!
house*of*paws
·5 months agoYou’re very welcome @dela4206.
Come back here should you ever discover you actually are the victim of the ‘False tracking number scam’. There’s an easy way to handle it. 🙂
dela4206
OP5 months ago@house*of*paws I will come back!
I really appreciate your help, I was feeling pretty dumb and nervous, now I'm feeling calmer, I will be very careful going through and will seek help to avoid making mistakes and losing money or time, have a wonderful day!
purplepmw
·5 months agoHow do you get out of the false tracking number scam? I was scammed too!
dela4206
OP5 months ago@purplepmw
I'm sorry about what you're going through, what have eBay said about your case? I'm no expert, but I've read some advice, did you pay with a credit card?