[the-facts-machine] Komando: Are mysterious Amazon packages part of an elaborate scam?
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <the-facts-machine@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2018 16:18:40 -0500
BlankAre mysterious Amazon packages part of an elaborate scam?
By Mark Jones, Komando.com
© Julie Clopper | Dreamstime.com
Shopping online is one of the major conveniences to have come from the creation
of the internet. No more time wasted searching for parking and battling angry
crowds at the mall. Unless of course, you like that sort of thing.
Nowadays we simply log on to our favorite site to purchase everything from
clothes, electronics and even groceries. It can add some excitement to life
when
that package you've been waiting for arrives.
Most of the time, receiving a package is a good thing. However, there's a
strange phenomenon happening with Amazon packages that might creep you out. Is
it all a part of an elaborate scam?
Strange packages keep arriving
This situation started out harmless enough. A Massachusetts couple, Mike and
Kelly Gallivan, received a package last October from Amazon that they did not
order. The problem is, the packages have not stopped coming.
The couple has received nearly 25 packages to date that they never ordered.
Most
of them contain inexpensive items like phone chargers, plastic fans that
connect
by USB, a lithium-battery powered hand warmer, and more.
The Gallivans contacted Amazon to find out what's going on and they were told
the items had been paid for by gift card so there's no need to return them.
Amazon had no information as to who the sender is or a sender's address.
However, one of the packages did have an originating address from China.
Although the couple has never been charged for the packages, they told the
"Boston Globe" that they're creeped out by the situation and want it to stop.
They are also concerned that they're accomplices in some type of scam.
So why is this happening? According to a couple former Amazon employees, it's
an
elaborate manipulated review scheme.
What's happening is, third-party sellers, most likely from China, are
purchasing
items from themselves and sending them to random people in the U.S. This allows
the buyer to write a glowing verified review of the product, which in turn
boosts the items' ranking on Amazon.
The entire purpose is for the seller's items to have higher rankings. As you
know, products that are well-reviewed sell better than products with poor or no
reviews at all.
That's why this is considered an elaborate scam. Amazon users could be duped
into buying low-quality items based on fake reviews.
There have already been problems with counterfeit items being sold by
third-party sellers on Amazon. Which is why it's a good idea to know who you're
buying from before you make a purchase.
Know who you're buying from
Most likely the phony review scam is for items being sold from third-party
sellers. It's probably a good idea to avoid buying directly from them since
there has been an ongoing counterfeit product issue with third-party merchants
for some time now.
If you don't know who is selling an item on Amazon that you're interested in,
here is how to tell. These are the three ways that Amazon fulfills orders:
1.. Amazon Direct - products are sold and shipped by Amazon.
2.. Amazon Fulfillment - items are provided to Amazon by a third-party. They
are then warehoused and shipped by Amazon. These are safe to purchase since
Amazon is the shipping party.
3.. Amazon Marketplace - products are sold and shipped directly from
third-party sellers. These are the ones to avoid since items are shipped by the
third-party merchant.
As I said earlier, people like the Gallivans who receive packages they didn't
order aren't doing anything wrong and probably won't be negatively affected by
this. Except for all the clutter. The real victims here are those who end up
buying a piece of junk item because they read a fake review. Not good!
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- » [the-facts-machine] Komando: Are mysterious Amazon packages part of an elaborate scam? - Steve
