Fradulent USPS Tracking numbers

[RO1858]

I have an issue with a fraudulent company. They are issuing valid USPS tracking numbers for shipments in my zip code but, they not associated with my order or my Paypal address. When I enter a claim that I never received the product, Paypal posts the bogus  tracking info supplied by the shipper and closes the dispute even though I never received the product.

[ScottPO123]

I have this very same issue.  they send you tracking information via PayPal and then updates via text but they are to packages sent to your zip code but not you.  I ordered a package from the same seller that my wife did within 10 minutes of each other.  she received shipping info and a tracking number and it showed delivered.  The oddities, showed shipped from an amazon business.  1 - amazon does not sell in any form what we bought, 2 - USPS doesn't ship alcohol, 3 - The weight on package was wrong, Shipped from area different from where the order said it was from, lastly two very different package descriptions (weight, origin, etc) for the identical product.  Our local town has less than 600 people in it.  our post office knows everything and you are not a number.  I found out where the packages went and they existed but they weren't addressed to me and they weren't my product.  In summary, somehow they are getting a hold of real post office numbers in your zip code and sending them to you as if they are your package.

[ldervin70]

Paypal is way over their head with online fraudulent sellers.

Many fake selling sites (many based in China) are using paypal as a money laundering platform. They even manage to create fake USPS shipments of empty boxes to a fake address in your ZIP cod area. That way if you use the tracking number on the USPS site it shows it has been delivered (but without showing the exact address it was shipped from and  delivered to). Even credit card companies are falling for it now. in such case you would have to go to the local post office to request copies of the scanned package label and exact delivery address to prove it was not delivered to your address. And it takes so much time to take care of this with long waiting time on the phone, just to be told you have to do a snail mail request to reopen your case, and then wait another couple of weeks for an answer... It is literally impossible to talk to a real human being at Paypal.

It has been going on for a long time and accelerated during COVID stay-at-home orders. The fact that companies like Paypal have not figured out a way to better protect their customers against such fraud is appalling. it is now very well documented on many blogs and this is blatant incompetency on their part. I hope this will end-up into a class action lawsuit as too many customer have been defrauded due to PayPal complacency  with their customers protection. They make it way too easy for the criminal sellers and way too hard for the buyers trying to defend themselves. Due to the high number of similar occurrences, Paypal is well aware of this issue and they are clearly not helping their customers as they should. they only come up with lousy excuses and put the blame back on the buyers.

[chrisjep65]

Sorry, but i dont understand why paypal takes the 'word' of the seller and i have to jump through so many hoops!  not cool!

[shardly]

I have this same problem but can

not contact the shipper to find where the item was delivered. PayPal and American Express have closed the case. 

[jeanarp]

Hi shardy,

I paid through PayPal and got no satisfaction from them. They closed out my case even though I provided documentation that no package was delivered to my address. There's a big scam going on for a long time now.

The scammers have access to USPS shipment info. The scammer writes to you (or PayPal) with a tracking number for a package (not yours - because yours was never shipped) that was delivered to your city shortly after you placed your order.

PayPal's computer program sees that a package with the tracking number supplied to them was delivered to your city. (The tracking number doesn't show a street address.) PayPal then closes the case.

If you dispute this with the shipper and PayPal, the shipper will just provide another tracking number for a package delivered to your city. Again PayPal says that adequate proof was provided and case closed.

I provided PayPal with an official Post Office printout that showed that the address of the package delivered was not even near my address. PayPal contacted the shipper. The shipper apologized to me for sending the package to the wrong address.

The shipper said another package was being sent to replace that one. And you can guess the rest. . . The shipper provides another tracking number for a another package delivered to someone in your city (of course, not you). And of course, PayPal writes to you that your package was delivered. CASE CLOSED. 

I've been too busy to pursue this further. I believe there is a class action suit in the process. I can send you more info about this next week - if you would like. Let me know,

Andrew

[MSW53]

I recently (6-8-2022) filed a dispute with a scammer using PayPal and experienced the same thing.  The "seller" provided a valid USPS tracking number that was delivered to a mailbox in my city.  PayPal is still not following up with USPS to verify if the package was delivered to the address in handling the claim.  PayPal was denying my claim based on the seller having a "valid" USPS tracking number until they read my follow up from the USPS office.  The postal agent verified the tracking number was delivered but not to my address.  I asked how the company handling disputes like this can get this information and he said they simply have to call the USPS for verification. 

Unfortunately with PayPal continuing the practice of taking the tracking number at face value in a dispute it just encourages the scammers.

[jeanarp]

I'm quite upset that there is no one to talk to resolve a relatively simple problem. It's as if PayPal is in league with the scammers. It seems as if they are just as happy making money with the scammers, as they are with their loyal customers. I, for one, avoid using PayPal unless it is absolutely necessary.