Weird Amazon scam - money gone for good??

nice2nettles

The other day my brother came home to a mystery Amazon parcel - 2 circular saws he didn't order. He looked at his bank and saw he'd been charged, nearly a week's wages. He looked at his Amazon account (which he hasn't used in over a year) and there was no record of it in his order history. It looks like a legit Amazon order - Prime tape, tracking no. on the label etc. But no paperwork.

He emailed Amazon, who said that because they can find no trace of the order it would need to be taken up with the bank, they can do nothing. It was a no-reply email address, so he couldn't counter the response.

The bank have cancelled his card and passed it along to their fraud department, but because the money's gone they said they can't get it back. 

He took the box to the police station this evening, but was told to call 101 instead.

It's very weird! What's the best course of action for him to get his money back? It seems no one is willing to help. 

Aylesbury_Duck

The first thing he should do is change his amazon login details and the login details of any other accounts or sites he's using.  Someone has got hold of his payment details and address, so goodness knows what other information they have.

He won't get his money back until it's established what exactly happened and that he wasn't part of the deception - otherwise it would be an easy stunt to pull for anyone minded to do so.

Sandtree

The box will have either tracking or order number details on it from which Amazon can advise which account the order has been made from. I assume he has already looked in the archived orders section as its common for people to try and hide unauthorised transactions like this.

If its an unauthorised purchase then its fraud and the bank will refund the monies but surprised amazon cannot instruct to return for full refund anyway.

Ectophile

While he's chasing up the bank for a refund, if anyone turns up on the doorstep asking for the parcel that was delivered by accident, he should be very careful before handing it over.  Whoever ordered the package will know where it was delivered, and it's easy to pose as a courier sent to collect something.

cono1717

You can I believe hide orders on Amazon (not sure why...smacks of the Internet explorer advert of the fellow using "Private Browsing" to look for wedding rings...) so it could be the scammer has placed the order then hidden it.

As above change the password and see if any transactions marry up to here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/cpe/yourpayments/transactions

Jenni_D

cono1717 said:

As above change the password and see if any transactions marry up to here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/cpe/yourpayments/transactions

Off topic ... Is it just me or does the above link take anyone else to a "You are leaving MSE" page? (I've checked the quoted part and the original does not have anything in it to go to MSE). Is this something new MSE have just implemented?

Edit: It's deliberate. 🙄 Just found this: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6275202/you-are-now-leaving-mse-when-clicking-on-a-link

born_again

nice2nettles said:

The bank have cancelled his card and passed it along to their fraud department, but because the money's gone they said they can't get it back. 

What a load of rubbish.. Just which team said that & which bank?

If he did not make the transaction then he gets the money back. That is as per Payment Services Directive that covers fraudulent payments.
Amazon get a chance to contest, but if he did not order the goods then it's not a problem.