Amazon keeps on sending me stuff I didn't buy!

[GlomOfNit]

Just that, really. A few weeks ago I had a mystery box, addressed to me from Amazon. Contained a Stanley tools and bits sort of storage box. Odd. No packing note. I asked my brother and my mother (both of whom live abroad) if they'd had something posted to my address for convenience, but no.

Today I got some sort of hard case for a 'JBL Charge 3' which I gather is a speaker. Can't even find it listed on Amazon but from Amazon it has come!

Nothing on my amazon account indicates I've made these orders and I don't seem to have been charged for them. I'm assuming that wires are crossed somewhere - I've certainly had orders that I did place, delivered.

I know I should contact them and return them, but I have a feeling this is a bit of a hassle - I'd have to do all the running myself, box them up, take them to an Amazon pick-up point etc.

And ... something is niggling at the back of my mind. Could this possibly be a scam of some sort? Someone testing the way, somehow??

WWYD?

[JustHereWithMyPopcorn]

I think this is a scam of some sort. I'm sure I've read about it somewhere..

[JustHereWithMyPopcorn]

Ah, here we go.. clark.com/shopping-retail/amazon-scam-brushing-warning-deliveries-you-didnt-order/

[GlomOfNit]

Thanks, JustHere. Dammit, I KNEW I'd come across this sort of thing.

I'm finding it impossible to contact Amazon through their customer firewall of 'Fuck off, we don't want to speak to you' but I'll see if there's a button for scams.

Meanwhile I suppose I have to change my Amazon account details, password etc, though I can't very well change my postal address!

[secretnutter]

I had this happen to me!!! I had two packages delivered, one 3 pack of running socks and a glucose meter!
I reported it to Amazon who told me to keep a record of everything, I could choose whether to return, sell or keep items, I wouldn't be charged!
I've changed everything on my account, email address, password and touch wood I've not received any further packages!
It's definitely a scam of some sort, but fingers crossed by changing details they can't access your info anymore.
Good luck!

[Spoonsmum]

Amazon customer service is terrible. My account was hacked two weeks ago and I I still haven’t resolved the issues. Luckily I cancelled my bank cards (easy as pie) but still have not reset my amazon account. The people who work there seem so uninterested it’s infuriatung.

[GlomOfNit]

Right, well Amazon was utterly useless. First off, she said they couldn't really do anything because someone might have sent these to me as a gift. I told her that just wasn't possible. She told me I could change my bank account details. I pointed out that I have one bank account and one card and that if I wanted to continue shopping with Amazon, I'd have to cancel my card with the bank, wait for a new one and then put in the new details. She confirmed this is true. She wasn't able to tell me how scammers might have got my details and didn't seem bothered generally. I ended up suggesting to her what I should do - change my password etc - and she vaguely agreed with me.

I do shop with Amazon a fair amount, especially before Christmas, but this is really making me think twice.

As far as I can tell, nobody has used my profile to write glowing reviews of the two things I've had so far. I'm fairly sure that I've not paid for them and they don't show up in my orders.

So next steps? Change password. Should I really contact bank and get card cancelled? Oh FUCK, the hassle.

[Muddledupme]

I had this years ago they kept sending me huge leather desk blotters it wasn't a scam just an error somewhere.

[SorrowfulMystery]

My Amazon account was hacked last year, and someone spent almost £1000 pounds on some tech equipment the first I knew of it was when I got an email telling me that said £1000 of equipment had been delivered and signed for by me at an address in London. Obviously, that's a more straightforward case, but I agree that Amazon were completely useless about it. I think I actually had to make some blameless young person in India cry (to my eternal shame, though I was only being persistent, not rude) before I got passed higher up the chain. And even then, all they did was freeze my account while I changed the email address and password, repeatedly telling me that it couldn't possible have been a data breach at their end, and that I must have done something so that a hacker was able to get my details it was my bank that ended up refunding the £1000.

[GlomOfNit]

Oh my god, Sorrowful! Just to clarify, was it your own bank account that was debited that amount? Or did they just steal your details?

[MrsMaiselsMuff]

Far less hassle to get a new bank card now, than to do it when the scammers do start using your account. Which could be a week before Christmas or some other equally inconvenient time.

It's far more likely that this has happened due to a security breach at your end, so you do need to change your passwords on all accounts.

[SorrowfulMystery]

Yes, it was off of my credit card. In fact, when I phoned my bank, hyperventilating, they froze that transaction, and I filled in a 'disputed transaction form' and sent the email trail where I'd disputed the transaction with Amazon. Amazon's position was a shrug and 'You must have done something that allowed a hacker to get your details -- see your bank to talk about the money stuff.'

[Spoonsmum]

For your own piece of mind I would cancel your card like I did. And to be honest my new card only took three days to arrive so I knew that even though I couldn’t (and still can’t!) log into my own amazon account at least I wouldn’t lose any money. I very nearly shouted at the amazon person on the phone. They didn’t understand at all what I wanted doing and I’ve guven up. It’s actualky made me think twice about online shopping altogether. Worse with amazon than most because the account has email address l, password, bank details, address and phone number all stored on it.

[blartysartfast]

I had this a couple of times last year. Sent as gifts so no paperwork. Used Amazon chat, they wouldn't say who sent them but I managed to convince them it wasn't me or anyone at our address who ordered them so they took them back. Reviews in my account name for both items were on Amazon but were taken down when I flagged them up. No harm done in the end, my account wasn't hacked or anything, just rascals from China inflating review scores.

[AmethystWoodstar]

To be fair to amazon, if you have a spyware virus on your computer a hacker can easily get your log in details and hack your account. This happened to my DH except with Ebay, and someone bought a playstation using his account.

[LittlePickleHead]

Oh crikey - had this last Christmas, a weird bath tray that holds and iPad and a glass of wine turned up. Amazon said it must have been a gift but I could not trace it to anyone. The package even had a our usual 'leave with neighbour at X house' instruction on it, but wasn't showing up at all on our account.

I just put it down to an Amazon error and didn't think much more of it. Haven't noticed any dodgy activity since but this is making me think we should change our passwords etc

[cometothinkofit]

they kept sending me huge leather desk blotters

Proper lol at this

[newhousestress]

I had this too and was massively freaked out by it and so did change my card. Now have a separate card and account for Amazon purchases that I transfer money into when buying something from them so there's never enough money in it to skim or buy something big.

[ticking]

@SorrowfulMystery although they are actually right - mostly it is the customer's details which have been stolen. Often from a clever e-mail link, or much more common is people have similar passwords, so lets say Linkedin gets breached (it did) people forget they used "Tilly2015" as the password for both and when that password is out there the hackers just try every site until they find duplicated ones

You can check here.

haveibeenpwned.com/

I can guarantee your email will be on there!

[ticking]

I should just say they will also try the common alterations to passwords, so they have a bot which checks "Tilly2005" then "Tilly2005!" etc etc on Amazon, Paypal, ebay, etc etc etc

[JustHereWithMyPopcorn]

Ticking I just checked that site for one of my emails and it says its been pwned by data breach on two sites that I've never used in my life!

[Elementalillusions]

I had this a few months ago, it was random stuff but it massively freaked me out as it kept coming, it was a package or two a week for a few months.

It turned out to be innocentish.
Apparently strangers can send gifts to anyone on amazon with a registered gift list, any gifts not just stuff on their gift list and then the sender reviews the gift.
Companies take advantage of this loophole by ‘gifting’ their stuff to random amazon users and then reviewing the items as the sender to bump up their own rating.

[CircleCircleOverUnderTurnAroun]

Just checking, we had this- turned out my DP's DS has unknowingly ordered a lamp through Alexa when trying to get her to turn on a lamp...

[ticking]

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn yes - don't forget many businesses have been taken over by others, so BA/Iberia, Micorsoft/linkedin - Equifax lost data in 2017 and they have banking/finance data.... you may find just because you don't remember using that company it may have been another company!

[Saladd0dger]

This has happened to my dad a couple weeks ago. He doesn’t even have a amazon account anymore he got rid of it a few months ago when it got hacked. He has received a Chinese mobile phone and next a gaming controller to attach the phone to. Amazon have no idea about it and told him to keep it

[ActualHornist]

Remove your card details and don’t save them on there. No point changing your card details if someone is getting into your account!