According to reports, Amazon has terminated more than 13,000 Pakistani seller accounts over suspicions of fraud. Due to previous government backing through Pakistan Post’s many programmes to promote the thriving industry and boost the nation’s exports, the trend of small company owners choosing to become Amazon Sellers has been steadily increasing over the past few years.
Mian Chanuu and Sahiwal, two cities in Punjab, have apparently been designated as fraudulent red zones by Amazon because vendors based there have been discovered engaging in fraudulent activities. According to sources familiar with the situation, Amazon has also restricted IP addresses from Mian Channu, therefore users from these regions are now accessing their accounts from Dubai or through the computers of other clients.
As per reports, the sellers are engaging in various forms of fraud known locally as carding, filing, rickshaw trick, and kabootar (pigeon trick).
Kabootar Trick
The sellers are engaging in various forms of fraud known locally as carding, filing, rickshaw trick, and kabootar (pigeon trick).
When a buyer orders products from a phoney Amazon seller, seller accounts use the Kabootar technique, or false tracking. Two different websites offer phoney tracking services.
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However, such merchants notify the buyers that it will take 15 to 20 days to deliver their goods. Meanwhile, typically Amazon credits the amount to sellers within 14 days. Since the customer believes the sellers, there are no complaints made, and after 14 days, Amazon releases the money to the seller. Actual buyers never receive their goods, and the fraudulent sellers gains from it. According to reports, sellers profit significantly from this Kabootar scam.
Carding
The majority of users that register on a dark web website are engaged in carding. Such individuals purchase compromised cards from such websites for $100 to $200 with all pertinent information, such as the card number, expiration date, and Card Verification Value (CVV).
These cards are used by these vendors to purchase and resell prepaid gift cards. They can evade being apprehended by the police in this manner.
Filing
Another approach is filing, when vendors get the order on an Amazon account, purchase it from a different account, then delivery the item to the original purchaser. They set up such second accounts with Sam’s Club, Walmart, and other merchants, buy the goods that Amazon customers had bought, and use the delivery addresses of the customers.
As one buyer receives delivery from one seller, Sam’s Club workers helped reimburse all of the items that had been shipped to Amazon consumers. The buyer’s money and the second vendor’s refund are given to the fraudulent seller.
Sales Tax Fraud in the US
Additionally, some individuals are abusing information on publicly accessible US-registered companies. For instance, they just use the company’s information they find on Google to acquire Amazon Business Prime, where they buy the things for Amazon consumers.
However, this is limited to Amazon to Amazon drop shipping. In addition to registering Amazon Business Prime accounts, the seller chooses the name of the company director and establishes an email account. The seller then removes the purchase tax using the company’s EIN. The business pays all unpaid sales tax at the conclusion of the fiscal year.
Additionally, per Amazon policy, they provide their corporate customers a one-month free trial. The sellers only use these Amazon Prime accounts for 29 days before cancelling them and purchasing new ones on the day the payment is taken.
The fact that Pakistan has the second-highest number of Amazon Seller accounts—80,000—after China is noteworthy.
