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Strange parcel arrived. Is this a scam?

12 replies

Plastictattoo · 17/02/2020 19:54

I've received a cheap and nasty XXL men's tracksuit through the post from China. It had the Caterpillar logo on but is obviously a fake. Noone in the house has ordered it but its addressed to me.
On the label, it has my first name twice as the name, my full correct address and then my mobile number which is only a couple of numbers out.
I've checked my bank and there are no strange payments. I spoke to the bank's Customer Services who didn't have any advice.
Any ideas oh wise women? Should I be worried?

OP posts:
UhKevin · 17/02/2020 20:04

This is ringing bells - there’s a known scam for this that someone posted about a few months back (think it was being done by Amazon sellers) so there may well be other threads as well.

Wallywobbles · 17/02/2020 20:05

We've received a couple of fakes but really really good ones that no ones ordered and no funny payments either. Sizes are wrong for us so we give them away.

YogaLite · 17/02/2020 20:11

I recall a scam to do with mobiles, that someone was supposed to come to collect them... can't recall the whole story..

Seventyone72seventy3 · 17/02/2020 20:13

I think it's to do with a company boosting their online reviews/ratings.

Lucked · 17/02/2020 20:15

From an article about “brushing scams”

A seller acquires the actually name and address of a real e-commerce user and creates a fake account for them on the platform they’re selling on. They then make what appears to be an order of their product from the victim’s fake account, ship out a package that is either empty or contains a low-value, light weight item, and then, after the delivery has been confirmed, leaves a 5-star review to boost their rankings and attract more sales. To the platform and other users, these faux reviews appear to be from legitimate and verified sales. Beyond the benefit of favorable reviews, simply having additional sales is often enough to raise a product in the rankings of some e-commerce sites, such as Amazon.

Queenoftheashes · 17/02/2020 20:16

Yeah I think people buy shit on amazon so they can leave verified reviews - report to a
Amazon.
conversation.which.co.uk/money/amazon-prime-brushing-scam-explained/

minou123 · 17/02/2020 20:16

It might be the 'Brushing Scam'

conversation.which.co.uk/money/amazon-prime-brushing-scam-explained/

From what I understand: a seller (selling nasty, cheap products) wants to improve thier review ratings. So they get your name and address, send you something cheap, so the fact they have 'sold' you something can be verified. Then they can leave a review from "you" saying how wonderful the product is. If that makes sense.

Your details should be ok, but to be safe I would recommend changing your passwords etc on Amazon or other selling sites.

theoldtrout01876 · 17/02/2020 20:16

Happened to me. Got 2 flip phones delivered on a monday. We hadnt ordered then, never heard of the company. Checked our bank and there was hundreds of dollars missing. All kinds of stuff had been ordered on Friday night but didnt show up till Monday. Had a random bar stool show up too, again never ordered. Took 3 months to get the money back from the bank and we never got the bar stool money back as it was ordered in our name and shipped to our address. The company that sent it refused the banks request for the money back. I have no idea what the scam was as the crap was shipped to my house.

Housewife2010 · 17/02/2020 20:17

Have you ordered anything else? There's a scam where something cheap is sent instead, but they have proof that you have received your (albeit incorrect) parcel.

ILikTheBred · 17/02/2020 20:21

This happened my sister. Random parcel arrived with hideous plush tracksuit inside. She checked with her bank and her cards had been compromised.

I’d check your bank account ASAP OP.

Plastictattoo · 17/02/2020 20:47

Thank you. I had never heard of brushing. I'll keep an eye on my bank account and change passwords. I barely do any online shopping and this has put me right off.

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