Unauthorized Package Delivered To Your Home? It Could Be A Scam

Scammers are becoming more and more creative, and this newest scam involving Best Buy is no exception. It’s being reported that scammers have been ordering larger items from the retail giant Best Buy using your name, credit card information and address. That order then gets shipped to your house.

This is where the scam part comes in. Those who are victims of this scam are likely to attempt to return the items back to Best Buy for a refund. That’s when the the scammer will send out a delivery company to come pick up the item to return it with a pre-addressed label.

One man, who almost fell victim to this scam, became suspicious when a delivery person came to pick up a computer he had already returned to the store. He decided to google the address where the computer was to be sent for the “return.” He wasn’t surprised to find that the address was for a small house on a random street in Philadelphia.

Shannon Mortland, a spokeswoman from PNC Bank, confirmed that fraud investigators of the bank are aware of and familiar with this clever scheme. “The scammers have the merchandise shipped to the cardholder so as not to raise any red flags with the merchant,” says Mortland.

“The scammers count on the cardholder not paying attention to the return shipping address,” Mortland said. “Often the cardholder is so preoccupied with reversing the transaction that they fail to realize that they are, in fact, not returning the merchandise directly to the merchant.”

And if you were wondering why scammers would be so willing to expose their home address, there’s a good chance they haven’t.

Scammers will often recruit “reshipping mules,” people who have been recruited under the guise of “work-from-home” opportunities. Which is another scam entirely.

How Can You Protect Yourself From This Scam?

Sign up for text alerts for your bank account. Most banks have some sort of system in place so you can be alerted if any purchases are made over a set amount. If you receive a text about a suspicious purchase, call your bank (using the number listed on the back of your bank card), or report it online. By reporting the fraudulent charges, you’re not only alerting the banks of this scam, but you’re likely to not fall victim to it.

PNC bank also shared that you should make photocopies or take photos of return shipping information as proof of the scam for the merchant who is also impacted. Another suggestion is to report the scam to your local law enforcement.

All of this is also a good reminder to make sure that you’re constantly on alert when it comes to the activity on your credit card.