Amazon Marketplace Scam

Please be fair and thoughtful in your opinions. No rants please.
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DaveTE
Posts: 2
Joined: 16 Mar 2017, 3:28pm

Amazon Marketplace Scam

Post by DaveTE »

Fake offer for Ican carbon wheels from Amazon Marketplace shown on trusted seller storefront page cost me £268 with no delivery or refund likely. This scam redirects you to a hidden mirror site sending you convincing Emails from the “seller” and “Amazon order Confirmation” . Payment is requested by bank transfer. If you do buy high value cycling gear from Amazon or their sellers use only Amazon approved payment methods. Beware!
Psamathe
Posts: 17650
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Amazon Marketplace Scam

Post by Psamathe »

DaveTE wrote:Fake offer for Ican carbon wheels from Amazon Marketplace shown on trusted seller storefront page cost me £268 with no delivery or refund likely. This scam redirects you to a hidden mirror site sending you convincing Emails from the “seller” and “Amazon order Confirmation” . Payment is requested by bank transfer. If you do buy high value cycling gear from Amazon or their sellers use only Amazon approved payment methods. Beware!

If you go to Amazon's web site they should not redirect you to another site (as Amazon then lose their commission (Amazon only make commission on purchases through their site). If you purchase through Amazon you can make your claim to amazon (they took your money). I have done this before in the case of a reputable Marketplace reseller who just kept saying "wait a bit longer for delivery" so in the end I went to Amazon (who had taken my money on my Amazon account) and Amazon refunded the purchase price and delivery (I've no idea if it was then reclaimed from the reseller or what but that is between Amazon and the reseller).

So I'd go back to Amazon as you presumably purchased through them on your Amazon account.

In your case it would scream "suspicious" to me as amazon only make their commission on goods purchased through them. Why would somebody selling through Amazon required a bank transfer? I've never seen Amazon do any 3rd party ads linking beyond Amazon's own web site. It would ring many alarm bells.

Ian
DaveTE
Posts: 2
Joined: 16 Mar 2017, 3:28pm

Re: Amazon Marketplace Scam

Post by DaveTE »

Thanks Ian. In this case it was through a legitimate Marketplace seller not Amazon themselves. It would appear from contacting the seller this is not the first time fake offers have been inserted on their storefront page. Amazon and the seller blame each other for the problem but neither offer any refund. Once redirected from the Amazon page, which you are not aware of, you are in the control of the scammers. You are correct to emphasise using approved payment method as Amazon would not permit bank transfers. I was first alerted to the problem when the order did not show on my Amazon account but by then too late. Believe me this is a convincing scam.
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