4 ms·
This article is quite confusing in the way it explains the fraud technique. Here's my understanding (using a made-up example): In the UK, a full postcode e.g B
by vanilla-almond 7y ago
This article is quite confusing in the way it explains the fraud technique. Here's my understanding (using a made-up example):
In the UK, a full postcode e.g B40 4XJ (made up) can be shared by more one than home or building. So the homes numbered 1-20 Acacia Avenue all share the same full postcode: B40 4XJ
Janet lives at 7 Acacia Avenue. She sells her iPhone via eBay for £200 to Patrick living elsewhere. She posts a parcel containing the iPhone to Patrick.
Patrick, via eBay, contacts Janet and says the iPhone is faulty and wants a refund.
Through eBay, Patrick generates a return label (shipping label) which lists Janet's address: 7 Acacia Avenue, B40 4XJ. However, Patrick, alters the address on the label to state: 19 Acacia Avenue, B40 4XJ.
He can do this, of course, because the label is generated online, and using some graphics editing program, he can alter the label before he prints it.
Patrick posts an empty box to 19 Acacia Avenue and keeps the iPhone. Patrick now has the iPhone and a refund from eBay for the £200 he paid for the iPhone.
What of the empty parcel posted to 19 Acacia Avenue? Presumably, the parcel isn't signed for when it is delivered? Or is it? If the parcel requires a signature on delivery, surely the resident of 19 Acacia Avenue will immediately notice the parcel is addressed to someone else?
Please do correct the above if it's incorrect.
- chrisseaton 7y ago> In the UK, a full postcode e.g B40 4XJ (made up) can be shared by more one than home or building. It's not that they 'can' be shared, like it's some sort of bug or corner case - they're designed to be shared. A full address is a house number or name plus the postcode.
- mamon 7y agoMy understanding is that the empty box is posted to a different addres, because eBay only issues a refund when they get the confirmation that the parcel was delivered. I assume that the unsuspecting resident of 19 Acacia Avenue, B40 4XJ will sing off receipt for the parcel, then open it and find the box empty, but since they weren't expecting any delivery at all they will do nothing about it, maybe just tell the story as an anecdote next time they go to drinks with friends. Another thing that enables the fraud is that eBay only compares postal codes, so the delivery to 7 Acacia Avenue and 19 Acacia Avenue is all the same for them.
- lozenge 7y agoEbay checks the house number as well. The problem is the package is routed to the local post office using the machine readable barcode which contains the postcode, then somebody reads the house number when they deliver the package. By photoshopping the printed address, the parcel can be deliberately misrouted. That said, Royal Mail say anything over £100 should be Signed For so why did eBay let somebody return an iPhone without using Signed For?
- fencepost 7y agoI've seen stories about similar happenings in the US, and I'm not sure a return box is even a factor - even a letter/empty envelope with delivery confirmation may be adequate.
- peteretep 7y ago> What of the empty parcel posted to 19 Acacia Avenue? Presumably, the parcel isn't signed for when it is delivered? Or is it? If the parcel requires a signature on delivery, surely the resident of 19 Acacia Avenue will immediately notice the parcel is addressed to someone else? This is addressed in the article. They sign for it, see it’s empty, assume error on someone’s part, and dispose of it.
- benj111 7y ago"Acacia Avenue" Where does Banana Man fit into all this??? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bananaman https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bananaman