By Rita Deutschbein | Jul 27, 2023 at 5:48 p.m
A user defrauded Amazon of a whopping 330,000 euros by manipulating returns. Instead of iPhones and other ordered devices, he sent parcels of earth back to the mail order company. He kept the smartphones and still got the money back for the purchases. This rip-off was made possible by Amazon’s standardized returns process.
Millions of people order on Amazon every day. And many of them send their goods back for a variety of reasons. It is therefore not possible for the mail order company to open every returned package and check the goods. Instead, Amazon has introduced a standardized procedure that the retailer uses to process returns. And it is precisely this technique that is exploited from time to time, in one case to a considerable extent.
Amazon returns: weighing instead of checking
If a return is received by Amazon, the online retailer will check its weight. If this matches the specified content, the package ends up in a warehouse where it awaits resale or later destruction. Meanwhile, Amazon is starting to reverse the purchase. In most cases, this means that the money for the order is transferred back to the customer.
Due to the high number of returns, not all packages sent to Amazon can be checked manually by an employee. Such a test is usually only carried out in the event of abnormalities. A customer from Spain took advantage of this fact in 2019 and ripped off Amazon on a large scale.
The scam: keep the goods and still get your money back
Along with an accomplice, the 22-year-old Spaniard has repeatedly ordered iPhones and other electronic products on Amazon. He meticulously weighed the packages that arrived and made a note of the weight. After unpacking the packages and removing the equipment, he filled the boxes with an amount of soil equal to the weight of the original shipment. He sent the manipulated package back to Amazon as a return.
What followed was the standard procedure: Amazon registered the return, weighed it and transferred the money back to the customer for the returned goods. So not only did he get the money for the order, he also kept the goods. But that’s not all: the Spaniard founded a company through which he resold the products obtained in this way. He thus generated additional profit through his online shop.
Also Read: The Unknown Bargain Category on Amazon
Biggest Amazon scam in Europe
The scam apparently worked well for a long time – until Amazon became aware of the high number of returns. Due to the high return rate, the online retailer checked all further returns from the customer and his accomplice at its Barcelona location and became aware of the fraud. The two men were arrested.
The lost goods caused Amazon damage of 330,000 euros. According to the Tamebay website, which specializes in online trading, it was the largest Amazon scam in Europe to date. The accused themselves are likely to have made significantly more profit from the resale and the return transfer.