Amazon scam - advice on how best to proceed

Saver73

There are other reports too and curiously in the same area.

wallofbeans

Saver73 said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-65310418

Thanks! Seems like this is happening a lot, and Amazon aren’t doing much to stop it. I’ve emailed the BBC about it, but don’t know if I’ll get a response. 

wallofbeans

Saver73 said:

There are other reports too and curiously in the same area.

Which area? I’m in south east London. 

Saver73

The BBC reports seem to be mainly in Wiltshire.

wallofbeans

Saver73 said:

The BBC reports seem to be mainly in Wiltshire.

Couldn’t that just be because it’s BBC Wiltshire that picked up on this as a story though, focusing their attention on local cases? 

p00hsticks

Saver73 said:

The BBC reports seem to be mainly in Wiltshire.

Not so sure about that - as wallofbeans says, it appears to be BBC Wiltshire that picked up on the story in response to someone in Salisbury suffering (and I also have personal knowledge of someone in that county being a victim of this type of scam) - but reading the actual article it features two people form London and one each from Leeds and  Cornwall. 

Saver73

Yes I see what you mean! There are also reports in Glasgow and Stoke.

@wallofbeans I hope you get this sorted soon.

robatwork

p00hsticks said:

Saver73 said:

The BBC reports seem to be mainly in Wiltshire.

Not so sure about that - as wallofbeans says, it appears to be BBC Wiltshire that picked up on the story in response to someone in Salisbury suffering (and I also have personal knowledge of someone in that county being a victim of this type of scam) - but reading the actual article it features two people form London and one each from Leeds and  Cornwall. 

Probably a particularly prolific criminal in the local fulfilment centre. 

datz

Fortunately something like this has not happened to me yet, but it is stories like this that have made me self-impose an upper limit on the value of items that I will order for delivery (particularly with electronics).

If I am ordering something high-value, I'll often look for alternative (high-street) retail store options - either buying in store, or ordering online for collection in store. There are usually plenty of options in my area. Even if the price is slightly higher, it still outweighs the potential inconvenience of a delivery going wrong (for me).

p00hsticks

robatwork said:

p00hsticks said:

Saver73 said:

The BBC reports seem to be mainly in Wiltshire.

Not so sure about that - as wallofbeans says, it appears to be BBC Wiltshire that picked up on the story in response to someone in Salisbury suffering (and I also have personal knowledge of someone in that county being a victim of this type of scam) - but reading the actual article it features two people form London and one each from Leeds and  Cornwall. 

Probably a particularly prolific criminal in the local fulfilment centre. 

Yes, the switch could have taken place at the Amazon fulfillment centre  but equally it could be a dodgy supplier and the real goods never reached the fulfillment centre,
 or the goods were swapped out by the courier or (not in this case) the customer could be making it all up to avoid paying.

A few years ago I came across a gaming website that was actively reporting on this as a method for unscrupulous gamers to get their hands on a console for free ....