[ 2021 ] Received empty USPS package - Scam?

[DaveNV]

So, somehow someone got my credit card number and security code. Perhaps some company with our cc on file got hacked or perhaps someone wrote down my card number at a store when I was buying something. So, we cancelled the card.

About 10 years ago I made a purchase online with a California company. Within two days there was about $200 worth of fraudulent charges placed on the account. I tend to keep a close eye on my accounts, so I noticed things were wrong, and I called the bank right away. It turned out the fraudulent charges were for a video game tech support line - in Europe. I explained I had nothing to do with any of that, and the bank took care of the rest. The money was immediately returned to my account, but then about a month later I was notified that their investigation showed it was a fraudulent charge, and appropriate actions had been taken against that company. The California company was likely the source of the card number getting sent out to the people who used it to buy tech support time for their video game. Nothing else made sense at the time.

You need to keep an eye on your credit cards, and how they're used. It doesn't take much for things to get out of hand. I'm hoping this issue is the end of this situation for you.

Dave

 

[Paumavista]

Poshmark is a resale listing type of site. People list gently used brand name apparel items for resale.

I have a number of friends who like this site (I haven't used it yet). I purchased a LOT of items recently from Face Book Marketplace during their free shipping period......I paid via PayPal (Buy it Now). A few of the items were "cancelled by seller" prior to shipment....I have no idea why but lucky for me they all refunded my purchase money. I received all the other items (about 20) from all over the country (and I had some items delivered directly to other family members around the country.....so I wouldn't have to resend). Purchasing on-line like this from private sellers seems to be catching on (like renting your timeshare to someone you don't know)......there is a chance it could be fraud or a hoax but the vast majority are just good people making a good deal for both people.

 

[isisdave]

I have read that the source of the fraud is likely to be some transaction you made a month or two ago ... they wait in the hope that you will blame someone you had a more recent transaction with. I've had a few incidents over many years, but never was able to identify the source.

 

[Hfstewart]

Getting weird things in the mail isn't particularly unusual. Be sure to save the envelope. You may need it. Here's why:

I ordered two very cool, folding patio chairs last year, for about $40 each. It was an online sale, from a legitimate-looking company I'd found. I'm usually pretty cautious about such things, and I know fake websites exist. This one seemed okay.

I received the usual emails with the progress of my order, up to the point where they said my order had shipped. Then nothing. No tracking number, no further emails from the company. About a month went by, and still no chairs. I went back to the company website and sent a "Where's my order?" message. Nothing. This went on for awhile, until my "I've been scammed" hackles started to rise.

One day I received an envelope in the mail with two tiny crank-type music boxes. They were cheap trinkets, nothing I'd ever have purchased, certainly. But I saved them, and the envelope, thinking it was sent to me accidentally, and that at some point the company might want them back, or something. I didn't know. But I saved them anyway.

The next time I went back to the folding chair website, it said my order had been delivered. Um, no. Not to my house, anyway. So I again sent messages, and again, I had no reply. That's when I got Paypal involved. I like using PayPal when ordering things like this, "just in case." In this example, it paid off. Where the company wouldn't reply to me directly, they replied to PayPal immediately. They claimed I had received the folding chairs they'd shipped, and listed the tracking number and shipping details as proof.

Well, well, whattaya know? That mysterious envelope with the 50-cent crank music boxes had a label on it - with that exact tracking number. I sent PayPal a photo of the envelope showing the tracking number, and the two music boxes I'd received. I immediately received a full refund of the full amount of my order.

If I'd tossed out the envelope with the music boxes as the junk they are, I'd have had no proof of anything. The only place that tracking number showed up for me was on the label attached to the envelope. My story had a good outcome, but how many people get something they didn't expect, toss it out, and later find out it was part of the scam being perpetrated on them?

Dave

View attachment 43748

I just got a package in the mail today with nothing in it but the back of a UPS sticky label. I opened it because I ordered a copy of my birth certificate and I thought that was what it was. I looked on Google Earth and the address is a blank lot. Shouldn’t the post office know that? There is a scam going on with Amazon (some) sellers sending out blank packages to create a tracking number in order to be able to write phony reviews.
In response to the scam you mention, I had almost the same issue with a printer that I ordered. I was looking for a sublimation printer and was looking on Google to find one. I found this company (can’t remember the name) who was selling the printers for $75 each. Since they were so cheap I ordered one for myself and my sister. As soon as I ordered them something told me to look at the reviews for the company. I started thinking that the price was too good to be true. Lo and behold, all of the reviews said that the company was a scam. I immediately contacted PayPal to tell them about the scam. They said they would have to contact the merchant. The next day (I just ordered it the day before) PayPal contacted me and told me that the merchant had already sent the item and that it was delivered. I asked for the tracking number because there was no way that I ordered the printers and received them the same day. I called UPS with the tracking number and they told me that the package with the tracking number was delivered to a different address and person. I called PayPal back with this new information and they immediately refunded my money. When I order something online now I make sure that I research the company first.

 

[Talent312]

... You need to keep an eye on your credit cards, and how they're used. It doesn't take much for things to get out of hand.

This may be OCD, but I visit our CC websites nearly every other day.
I use a spreadsheet to record charges and estimate pending rewards.
It's been quite awhile, but I see bogus charges quickly that way.

 

[artringwald]

This may be OCD, but I visit our CC websites nearly every other day.
I use a spreadsheet to record charges and estimate pending rewards.

It's been quite awhile, but I see bogus charges quickly that way.
When travelling, we carry multiple cards in case one needs to be cancelled.

With Quicken you can download CC activity automatically every day which makes it easier to spot bogus charges. Even if you didn't use Quicken to reconcile, it shows payments too. We have several credit cards that we use regularly because they all have good rebates for different purchases.

 

[SmithOp]

I've set up text alerts on my credit and ATM cards, I see all the charges instantly.

 

[DaveNV]

This may be OCD, but I visit our CC websites nearly every other day.
I use a spreadsheet to record charges and estimate pending rewards.
It's been quite awhile, but I see bogus charges quickly that way.

Not OCD at all - it's smart management. I run $zero balances on my credit cards, so any charges at all are easy to track. Since Covid started and I retired, most of my cards are locked, and I only carry or use one card. So it's even easier to spot something out of line.

Dave

 

[DeniseM]

Beware: Hfstewart just registered YESTERDAY to post this message on a timeshare forum.

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[dioxide45]

Beware: Hfstewart just registered YESTERDAY to post this message on a timeshare forum.

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Perhaps they were doing a Google search for this type of thing, found the forum and registered. Stuff happens.

 

[DeniseM]

It's also a common ploy used by spammers.

 

[sue1947]

It's also a common ploy used by spammers.

Especially with an old thread.