There are numerous people all over the world using Amazon either to purchase products or to make a living. Given the number of people using the site on a daily basis, fraudsters and scammers have become a regular phenomenal. The following are some of the scams that both buyers and sellers should be aware of in order to minimize the chances of becoming Amazon account scam victims.

Product listing changes

Amazon has the right to change the details on your listing without your knowledge or without and advance notification in the event that they have received several claims of inaccuracy in product description. Scammers have realized this and have devised a plan to change your listings through providing what is commonly referred to as false product claims. They will use different accounts to claim that your listings provide false information to Amazon. When Amazon receives enough complains about your listings, they will change it and once this is done, it becomes harder to change it back to the correct description. Meanwhile, real clients will also buy based on incorrect listings and will therefore have genuine complaints. The high number of complaints will negatively affect your account in the long run and it may even lead to account suspension.

Product return scam

In this case, the buyer places an order of the same item through different accounts that have different delivery addresses. Upon receipt, the buyer rejects all items and orders for their return. However, instead of returning all products, they will return a single unit and claim that they packed all the items in a single package. Amazon’s policy treats the client as being right at all times and will refund the client for all items purchased. The seller is therefore the overall loser; losing the products and the money.

Address forwarding rip off

Amazon allows its merchants to fulfill orders received directly. In such a case, the order must be delivered to the address provided on Amazon. Fraudulent individuals make an order and once it has been dispatched, they request for a change of address on Amazon. Once this is achieved, they may request for a redirection of the package to the new address. By redirecting the package, the seller essentially violates Amazon’s policy and therefore cannot get reprieve from them. Later on, the buyer will claim that they did not receive the package and request for a refund from Amazon. The seller therefore loses both the package and the money earned.

Fraudulent claims scam

Amazon assumes that their sellers are guilty until proven otherwise. As such, a fraudulent claim could lead to the suspension of the merchant’s account until they provide evidence to prove otherwise. The fraudulent individuals may claim that the products listed are radioactive, counterfeit, second hand, have harmful chemicals or other harmful substances. This is used to sabotage the accounts of genuine sellers and to eliminate competition. Amazon suspended accounts usually take a while to be reinstated and the competitor will have made substantial sales in your absence.

Inventory tie up scam

In this scam, a fraudulent individual will purchase all the stock from an Amazon seller just at the onset of a peak season. This could be done through stolen cards or through the sellers real cards. The buyer then goes on to list their products and accumulate sales. Meanwhile, you may not have any other stock to sell and will therefore miss out on the available opportunities. They may even list your products as their own, wait for the season to end and return all your products. Upon return, they will be refunded the full amount invested. They will have alienated your clients and benefited from the whole scenario while you lose clients and the opportunity to make sales. To avoid this kind of scam, you can predetermine an upper limit on all your listings although this may deny you genuine orders.

Amazon Ebay drop shipping scam

This is a situation where people sell Amazon products on Ebay, usually at highly inflated prices. When a client makes an order on Ebay, the seller purchases the product on Amazon but inputs the buyer’s address as the delivery address. Amazon therefore delivers directly to the buyer. The difference between the Amazon listed price and the Ebay price constitutes the seller’s profits. It is possible for a drop shipper to purchase the product, ship it to the buyer the claim a bogus A-Z claim where they get their money back. They therefore get to pocket both their money and that from the Ebay sale while the Amazon seller loses out. The drop shipper can also use a stolen card to make a purchase from Amazon and have the product shipped to the Ebay buyer. The Amazon merchant will lose out if the card owner reverses the transaction upon realization of the fraudulent purchase.

Knowledge of different scams ensures that you have the ability to recognize Amazon scams or fraudulent action. Although you may not always realize that you are being scammed, you have a higher chance of recognizing a scam when you have knowledge on how it is carried out.