Amazon customers caught up in scarf scam

Random Amazon customers are being targeted by sellers successful what is known arsenic a "brushing" scam, according to Which?

The user organisation said "dodgy" retailers were sending retired "Suzhichou" branded scarves to boost income volumes and make fake reviews connected the website.

The "sales" past assistance their products fertile higher successful hunt results.

Amazon said "brushing" affects each online marketplaces and it had "robust processes" successful spot to woody with the problem.

Which? said portion worrying determination was nary origin for panic and customers should study the unwanted bundle to Amazon.

The user radical said aft an unscrupulous seller submits a fake bid it volition nonstop a cheap, low-quality merchandise - specified arsenic 1 of these scarves - to a random address.

The bid generates a tracking fig connected the marketplace and erstwhile the recipient receives the item, the scammer is capable to permission a fake five-star review, which successful crook bolsters figures.

This results successful much radical seeing and buying poor-quality products, due to the fact that they are nether the mistaken content they are highly rated, Which? said.

The user radical said fraudsters get names and addresses from "any 1 of a fig of places".

It said immoderate shoppers person reported receiving the scarves aft ordering a antithetic point from a Facebook marketplace store based successful China.

Details whitethorn person besides been taken from a publically disposable source, been compromised successful a information leak oregon accessed via an unsecure website, Which? said.

It added radical who person been targeted should study the bundle and alteration their password.

In a connection Amazon said: "We are relentless successful our efforts to observe and forestall maltreatment from impacting lawsuit experiences.

"Sellers are prohibited from sending unsolicited packages to customers and we volition proceed to amended the sophistication of maltreatment prevention successful our store and instrumentality the due actions similar suspending oregon removing selling privileges."

In 2021 Which? reported much than 1 cardinal households successful the UK could person been victims of "brushing".

It surveyed 1,839 radical and recovered 4% of respondents said they oregon idiosyncratic successful their household received a enigma Amazon bundle they did not order, was not sent by idiosyncratic they knew and was not taken successful for a neighbour.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is presently investigating Google and Amazon implicit fake and misleading reviews.