Fraudulent Seller provided forged tracking info

[scannerpro]

I just got hit with a scam and would like to find out if it has happened to others.

I purchased a lawnmower from a seller in North Carolina. More about this later as another buyer posted in his review about his transaction with the seller that he is located in China.

This was not an auction so I paid immediately during the purchase. After 3 or 4 days, I still had not received any tracking info so I wrote to the seller and their reply was that they were waiting for the carrier to provide the tracking number. Another few days went by and still no package nor any shipping info. I wrote the seller again wanting to know what was going on.

 
Their reply was that their sale was so successful that they were delayed in getting all the orders shipped, but they did not repeat the claim that the lawnmower had been shipped. They also told me that I could sit back and wait until they caught up or I could request a cancellation of the order and get a refund.

By this time about a week had passed without any evidence that they were going to fulfill their obligation. I filed a complaint with eBay and was told that I had to wait until July 6 to file since it was listed as the expected delivery date (purchase date and payment were on June 25). On July 6, I filed again. When I filed I also sent the seller another request for refund for the item and tax ($248.00 plus $19.84).

I never received the item or the refund. Then on July 8, I was notified by eBay that seller had provided them shipping/tracking info and that the lawnmower had been delivered to my address. Approximately 30 minutes later I received the tracking number saying that the item had been delivered.

The tracking number said that a package weighing 53 pounds had been delivered in my town of residence. It had been shipped via FedEx. I have an account with FedEx so I immediately went into the FedEx app to see the shipment details. If a packaged is shipped to my name at my address it automatically shows up when I enter the app. Nothing showed up so I entered the tracking number and the shipment showed up with the same info that had been previously provided to me by eBay saying that I had received the package.

I then open the complaint to tell eBay that I had NOT received a package via FedEx as claimed. The form errored out telling me to try again later. I tried several more times that afternoon to file the info that I had NOT received the package. Again, the form errored out telling me to try again later.

The next morning I went to my serving FedEx facility since I had already figured that the tracking number was fraudulent since it had not shown up automatically when I opened the FedEx app. While there the FedEx rep pulled up the Tracking Number provided to eBay claiming that the lawnmower had been delivered.

What she found was a shipment that had nothing to do with me. It was a shipment send by a pool supply company in Wisconsin to an address in Jacksonville, Alabama that is located 6.2 miles from my address to an individual named Harold Rhodes. FedEx provided me copies of all the actual shipping info giving ship time, full shipper name, address, etc. as well as the full info on the person the package was sent to which WAS NOT ME.

I don’t know how the tracking info was hacked or why I wasn’t able to file the follow-up info through the eBay reporting system. I just know two things. One, it is possible to fool eBay with forged tracking info and stop me from filing follow-up info with eBay, and two, that there are entities that know how to do this which could potentially make eBay a dangerous environment for buyers.

I don’t know if the seller being linked by another buyer to China is significant or not, but the potential is unthinkable and dangerous.

Additionally, I have the docs and contact info for FedEx supporting my claims and will provide all to aid in any investigation.

Of course, I will be filling an appeal against eBay’s original decision concerning my complaint.

I have been with eBay for twenty years with 100% positive ratings as both a buyer and seller. I do not take what I am saying lightly. This happened to me over the last few weeks.

[babclassics]

This is a scam that has increased lately with false tracking numbers, very upsetting and one would hope ebay finds a way to verify the addresses before the seller runs with your money. You are right to appeal the decision.  Now that you have proof from fedex you should win the appeal and get a courtesy refund but the seller will likely get to keep the money, really sad. Uploading the proof from fedex is what ebay needs to see.  So dont stop appealing till you win.  Ebay for business on facebook allows you to send them private messages and to upload documents.  Some people have had good luck appealing via that route.  Let us know what happens.

[scannerpro]

Yesterday, FedEx showed up at my doorstep with a brand new lawn mower exactly like the one I had ordered through eBay. The lawn mower had been drop shipped from a Walmart store in Florida to my address in Alabama. There were two names above the ship to address. One of the names was mine directly above my street address. There is a second name with no further information above my name. I know what is said about assuming something, but in this case I have to assume that it is the name of the person who placed the drop ship order via Walmart. There was absolutely nothing connecting the package to eBay or the original order I had placed for that particular make and model lawn mower. It was basically dropped in my lap from heaven righting a wrong that was being done to me.

I checked all the shipping info from FedEx but could find NO link to the original eBay order. However, when I checked the order and ship date and time on the Walmart shipment, I found the drop shipment was made within a couple of hours after a message that I had sent to the seller telling him that I had picked up the info refuting his claim that he had earlier shipped and I had received the lawn mower (the fraudulently created tracking info) and telling him that he was a liar, a cheat, and a wannabe scam artist. I also sent proof that I really did have the FedEx documentation proving these facts. I also told him that what he was doing was criminal fraud.

The only reason I contacted him was because I was frustrated for somehow being block from notifying eBay that I really had NOT received the ship from the fraudulent tracking number he had provided to eBay causing them to close the case.

This basically blocks me from making an appeal because if I appeal, I have no doubt that this new shipment tracking number will show up at eBay making me look foolish if I pursue an appeal even though nothing that I can find ties the Walmart lawn mower to the original purchase off eBay.

Bottom line: I learn some good lessons even though I had already been a eBay buyer for 20 years before this fiasco. I am not totally satisfied with how this turned out because, in my humble opinion, a criminal is not being held accountable for his crimes (I reckon that goes with the times). However, I am grateful that I ended up with the item I wished to receive for the price I was willing to pay even though I am shaking my head in bewilderment over the events. Just saying somebody or something had my back. Thank Goodness for that.

[valueaddedresource]

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@scannerpro wrote:

Yesterday, FedEx showed up at my doorstep with a brand new lawn mower exactly like the one I had ordered through eBay. The lawn mower had been drop shipped from a Walmart store in Florida to my address in Alabama. There were two names above the ship to address. One of the names was mine directly above my street address. There is a second name with no further information above my name. I know what is said about assuming something, but in this case I have to assume that it is the name of the person who placed the drop ship order via Walmart. There was absolutely nothing connecting the package to eBay or the original order I had placed for that particular make and model lawn mower. It was basically dropped in my lap from heaven righting a wrong that was being done to me.

I checked all the shipping info from FedEx but could find NO link to the original eBay order. However, when I checked the order and ship date and time on the Walmart shipment, I found the drop shipment was made within a couple of hours after a message that I had sent to the seller telling him that I had picked up the info refuting his claim that he had earlier shipped and I had received the lawn mower (the fraudulently created tracking info) and telling him that he was a liar, a cheat, and a wannabe scam artist. I also sent proof that I really did have the FedEx documentation proving these facts. I also told him that what he was doing was criminal fraud.

The only reason I contacted him was because I was frustrated for somehow being block from notifying eBay that I really had NOT received the ship from the fraudulent tracking number he had provided to eBay causing them to close the case.

This basically blocks me from making an appeal because if I appeal, I have no doubt that this new shipment tracking number will show up at eBay making me look foolish if I pursue an appeal even though nothing that I can find ties the Walmart lawn mower to the original purchase off eBay.

Bottom line: I learn some good lessons even though I had already been a eBay buyer for 20 years before this fiasco. I am not totally satisfied with how this turned out because, in my humble opinion, a criminal is not being held accountable for his crimes (I reckon that goes with the times). However, I am grateful that I ended up with the item I wished to receive for the price I was willing to pay even though I am shaking my head in bewilderment over the events. Just saying somebody or something had my back. Thank Goodness for that.

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@scannerpro  there are several red flags here that make me think this could be triangulation fraud.  The other name above yours in particular, as that could be a way to make sure the name matches the name on a stolen credit card.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Warning-Retail-Arbitrage-Credit-Card-Fraud/td-p/30822324 

[scannerpro]

This very well may be the case, and your info is very helpful. However, I don’t know how to use the info to verify this is what is going on in my case. I do agree that it is very much the possibility. The Walmart drop shipment, in this case, appears to be a CYA on the Buyer’s part since I called out his fraud in the Feedback step on the initial purchase. The timing indicates a frantic attempt, in my humble opinion, to stop my appeal to eBay to keep me from forwarding the FedEx documentation, which proves that the submitted fraudulent tracking info to eBay to be an attempt to initially keep my payment and never send me the lawn mower since they were trying to prove that I had received the item regardless of the fact that I had NOT received it.

Thanks again for your input.

[scannerpro]

I think that one solution could be, that the Buyer be require to confirm or deny receipt of an item and not leave it to a voluntary response. I could not get my voluntary denial of receipt through whatever was blocking my response. I feel that if there had been a required negative or positive response, the case would NOT have been closed so fast with the unqualified acceptance of the Seller’s fraudulent tracking info.

ScannerPro

[valueaddedresource · Accepted solution]

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@scannerpro wrote:

This very well may be the case, and your info is very helpful. However, I don’t know how to use the info to verify this is what is going on in my case. I do agree that it is very much the possibility. The Walmart drop shipment, in this case, appears to be a CYA on the Buyer’s part since I called out his fraud in the Feedback step on the initial purchase. The timing indicates a frantic attempt, in my humble opinion, to stop my appeal to eBay to keep me from forwarding the FedEx documentation, which proves that the submitted fraudulent tracking info to eBay to be an attempt to initially keep my payment and never send me the lawn mower since they were trying to prove that I had received the item regardless of the fact that I had NOT received it.

Thanks again for your input.

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You're welcome.  Unfortunately triangulation fraud is very sophisticated and specifically designed so that one part of the triangle doesn't have visibility to the other parts - so there may really be no way to verify for sure if that is what is happening in your situation.

It sounds like you are happy with the outcome, so there may not really be any reason for you to do anything else regarding this transaction.  If you were concerned about it though, I'd recommend contacting eBay support and asking for the Trust & Safety department.  Report to them what happened and that you are concerned there could possibly be fraud involved.

Shipping the item from another retail site like Wal-Mart is a violation of eBay's drop shipping and product sourcing policies, even if it isn't fraud.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/drop-shipping?id=4176 

You could also contact Wal-Mart support and give them all of the information as well.  If it is triangulation fraud, you are an innocent/unwitting piece of the puzzle and the information you could provide them like the seller's ID could be helpful to them in fighting the fraud. If it isn't triangulation fraud, or if Wal-Mart declines to look into it further, no harm/no foul.

[scannerpro]

I just might look into the reporting the incident to Walmart route. Since the shipment was not physically linked to anything to do with eBay other than the coincidences and circumstances, there really nothing I can report to eBay because they will simply deny any link between that ship and any eBay transaction.

Thanks,

ScannerPro