So yesterday I got our mail from the mailbox and there was a package from Amazon addressed to my wife. Inside was one side of a controller for a Nintendo handheld game and a package of temporary tattoos.

I verified with my wife and with my wife's Amazon account that this wasn't something ordered with her account. I got ahold of Amazon and they are going to have UPS pick the box up for a return.

Amazon verified that the item came from an account not at this address.

Today another package came addressed to my wife (a cheap webcam) from Amazon, and again it wasn't ordered by my wife so I talked to Amazon again.

The items we have received are mostly cheap junk.

I did have my wife verify that her bank account hasn't been compromised.

Amazon can't give me any account information of the purchaser, which I expected due to "privacy" issues.

Does anyone have any idea on this? My first thought was bank fraud with the Amazon purchases being tests to see if my wife's card would work for them to purchase larger items, but this doesn't seem to be the case. The bank verified there hasn't been any charges from Amazon since her last valid order.

I think this is very strange.

I'd pay close attention to whatever cards may be attached to your amazon account, because someone may be spending and ordering in your wife's name, via a hack.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
I'd pay close attention to whatever cards may be attached to your amazon account, because someone may be spending and ordering in your wife's name, via a hack.

I agree completely, and this is the first question I posed to Amazon, and also had my wife pose to her bank.

While her bank won't talk to me about her accounts until next week when my wife finally adds me to those accounts she was able to verify no charges to her debit card (the credit cards are mine, so I can look them up, and she doesn't use them usually, and I monitor those accounts daily).

I still think it is very weird.

Sometimes those are test transactions before they take off.

Maybe Jeff Bezos is her new boyfriend?
... at least that's what I always ask my wife...

Make sure the simple stuff is done. That includes a new password for the Amazon account. Delink any cards or bank accounts with Amazon, keep an eye on anything that was linked.

Set up alerts as able.

Let's focus on the observable facts rather than conjecture:
1. Someone keyed in YOUR wife's name on two orders
2. Someone keyed in YOUR address on two orders
3. The items are typically used by young people.
4. The person has a Nintendo game system
5. The person is not old enough to get real tattoos.
6. A webcam would allow a person to game and show off temporary tattoos.
7. The buyer does have access to a credit card not your own nor your wife's, with account, expiration, and validation number.

Now, let's think about who could know your wife and your address, be under 18, enjoy gaming, and probably within walking distance of your home.

They do not want their parents to see packages coming to their own home, as the materials within are forbidden (tattoos) or divulge that the expensive gaming system controller was broken and needed to be replaced. They are banking on the Amazon Prime account of their parents being so frequently used that no one will question the charges.

Now for the conjecture. Is your wife a school teacher, teacher's aide, Sunday school teacher, Big Sister, or in some way "famous" to kids?

Amazon could figure this out. All they need to do is cross-reference all Prime accounts that have your wife's name and address as a "ship to" address.

I had something like this happen a couple months back. Got a delivery from Amazon. Opened it up and it was a cookie plate, had a note in there said it was a gift from some person. The order was not from my account and there hasn't been any charges on my card.

I called Amazon, they looked at the order number and they said all they could tell was that it came from someone else as a gift but couldn't tell me who.

A little searching online and I found this happens because a seller sends out stuff randomly hoping to get reviews to help boost their products.

Could it be that your wife was somewhere else, and ordered off amazon using their computer and it stayed in her account because she forgot to sign out?

We at Sigforum just wanted to thank her for putting up with you. Seriously, I hope you get this sorted out.

Pull your credit report, make sure someone isn't opening accounts in your name/address i.e. identify theft. Next step would be to change this shipping address and start ordering expensive stuff.

Seems like most everyone above is not reading the facts of the situation completely. From what I read, Your wife's Amazon account is not being used nor is Your wife's credit card being used. There is no account hacking, no credit card fraud involved. Someone is simply ordering stuff and sending it to your wife.

So, I would ask your wife, who does she know that wants her to tat up and chat on web cam?

Thank you all..

No Jeff Bezos isn't her new boyfriend (even if they have put up or are putting up a few Amazon server farms here).

No she didn't order from someone else's computer.

My wife is the secretarial, admin, clerk for the local fire department.

Amazon knows who is sending the items, but won't disclose the information to us as the items don't come from our accounts (mine, my wife's, and my oldest son's).

I was thinking it could be someone trying to use our address in hopes of picking the items out of our mailbox. But with me working from home I have a clear view of the street and know when the mail arrives... these items have been delivered via USPS.

We are keeping an eye on accounts

I also am glad my wife has put up with me for 12 years this August.

Amazon confirmed the account used to pay for the items wasn't in her name.

But I will have her pull a credit report


Keep the ideas coming... oh and the first package has been picked up by UPS a few minutes ago

Yep, same thing here- all kind of stuff, dog collars, chef shoes, rave gloves , manicure kit, usb cords, shirt, etc - they expect reviews or our writing reviews under your name.

quote:

Now, let's think about who could know your wife and your address, be under 18, enjoy gaming, and probably within walking distance of your home.

They do not want their parents to see packages coming to their own home, as the materials within are forbidden (tattoos) or divulge that the expensive gaming system controller was broken and needed to be replaced. They are banking on the Amazon Prime account of their parents being so frequently used that no one will question the charges.

^^^^^^^^^^
It is probably the Beaver. Eddie Haskell gave him the idea.

Longshot but I occasionally order things from Amazon and ship to friends and relatives, those addresses stay in my account and I have to choose which address I want to ship to.

Maybe someone accidentally chose your address instead of theirs or someone elses?

Has a relative or friend ever sent you a package from Amazon as a gift, etc?

I ordered a 6 pack of Arm & Hammer unscented anti-perspirant sticks the other day. The order was delivered yesterday and inside was a package of Brach's candy corn.

There is no option to return the candy corn because anti-perspirant is "non returnable".

The marketplace vendor said they can't do anything because Amazon shipped the wrong thing and to talk to Amazon.

So I fired up a chat with the customer service bot (yes it's a bot) then got transferred to an actual person to get a refund.

But I can keep the candy corn, so I am minimally ready for halloween a few months early.

Checking my AmEx account online last month, there is a $13.xx Amazon charge that I don't recognize.
The description looks like I'm being charged for a Prime (monthly) subscription. My Prime wasn't due to renew until July 1st.

Resort to using the Amazon Chat. Ends up it was a Prime subscription to an AmEx that was hacked and closed last year. And it used a different Amazon account. Of course they wouldn't give me any account information, "Well why not, you say it is mine and you are billing me?"

Spent almost a hour on the chat to get a credit.

Called AmEx to have them block all charges to that old card. I guess they allow recurring charges, which a Prime membership might have been.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
Sometimes those are test transactions before they take off.

Yep. Sounds to me like a thief is testing out whether he/she can send items from a stolen card to your location.

There are a couple of variations on this.
1) Delivery scam. Someone buys an expensive item. The "seller" puts a cheap item in a package and sends it to an address in the same zip code to get a delivery confirmation. When the buyer says "not delivered" the seller can point to delivery confirmation.

2) A seller has bad reviews for service. They submit shill orders, then post good reviews for themselves.

I had that happen, got on the phone with Amazon each time and got them to accept the return. That gets the issue on their radar, and the "seller" vanished from Amazon.