So, I received this PM a few minutes ago...

[armedmilitia]

Looks very fishy.
Probably illegal.

Hello!

Are you a frequent or casual Amazon customer? Have you been purchasing items at such high prices and ever though that you can get a better deal!?

well look no further! Before we proceed: This is my promise to you. I DO NOT TAKE MONEY UPFRONT, ONCE YOU GET YOUR 50% OFF , YOU CAN PAY ME THROUGH BTC.

Let me explain how this works.

You purchase an item from amazon.com/.co.uk  which must be Sold And Dispatched by Amazon (for example: http://goo.gl/KbYLqX , http://goo.gl/q645kp , http://goo.gl/d8UwkQ ) You can tell that these are sold and dispatched by Amazon. They must be sold by Amazon and also dispatched by Amazon for it to work.  You order the item as a genuine customer and also get the best possible delivery option such as next day or evening delivery if possible.  Once you get your item delivered you will need to provide the following details to me:  (Lets use a PS4 as an example)

Account Name:
Billing Address:
Order #ID:
Account Email:
Item Purchased:
Item Price:
Male or Female:
Signed for?:

I will process my service in which you will receive an email stating that a replacement of your order will be sent to you! So that means, you have got your item (Ps4) twice.  Once the second ps4 arrives, you will notify me and then i will process your full refund! Within 3-4 working days, the full money including your shipping cost will be refunded and sent back to your account. So you will have 2 Ps4's and Your full refund! you will then give me 50% of the cost of your full order after the whole process is complete .

------------------------

If you just want a refund then i will take 25%. With just a refund, all you need is an item that is dispatched/fulfilled by Amazon. It can be sold by any other company but MUST be dispatched/fulfilled by Amazon!  Once you get your first item, i will then process the refund for you and when you get the money into your account, i will then ask for the 25% of the money.

Policy:

1. For Replacement + Refund = Must be Sold and Dispatched/fulfilled by amazon
2. I will only deal with amazon.com and amazon.co.uk
3. Once you get confirmation of refund from Amazon you can send me my payment or you can wait until you get the money into your account so no escrow is required
4. You must have a aged account with purchases already made. I can do it on new accounts but Maximum amount i can do is $600-£400
5. Good standing accounts i can do $600-$1300 - £400-£800
6. I have never failed a refund or order... So please ensure your account is in good standing and have no issues or refunds done in the last 2 month
7. High value items can be subject to investigation by Amazon but do not PANIC! this is a normal procedure for Amazon customer service and after 2 days, i will chase it up again!
8. Investigations happen so do not panic as stated before! there is 30% it will happen but that does not affect your account or the service
9. ENSURE that there is enough in stock of the item you are purchasing in order for me to do a replacement!
10. You can purchase more than 1 item but it must come in one BOX in order for me to process this!
11. If by any chance i cannot process the replacement or refund then you can easily just send back the product to them and get your money back legit. so always a WIN WIN for you!

If you have any more questions than please PM ME! i will have a  jabber soon but since i am starting this in BCT than i would prefer PM's. I will always help you! and remember! This is not a SCAM! yes this is unethical but i will not scam you as the power is in your hands!

So get in touch!!! Lets make some money!!!

This PM came out of the blue. Looks like an invitation to commit fraud... why would someone take this guy up on this?

[philipma1957]

well I agree that it is a fraud. but I am looking at it from a USA law viewpoint.

Seems like some one could be setting you up.

AN example USA based.

 I am a drug addict compulsive gambler  and I have been busted I tell the police I know of fraudulent Amazon bitcoin deals.  I tell them I will help set up a sting. I out line the sting to them with a written pm like the one you got.
I then say I will send out pm's to hundreds on bitcointalk.org and reddit.

MY advice is do not do anything against the law certainly not on this website with pm evidence.

[Indamuck]

While I don't know for sure, it sounds like a refund/return scam targeting Amazon, and Amazon likely set themselves up for it.

When I was living 'overseas' my Amazon shipments would get tied up in customs. The country I was living in had laws on pornography, ideological tracts, pharmaceuticals, and would routinely open and search the contents of shipments to foreigners. Packages could get caught up in that process for several weeks. I would contact Amazon, tell them my shipment didn't arrive. They would send a 2nd shipment, and instruct me to keep the first shipment if it ever arrived, because it was too costly to return. About 3-4x I received 2x what I ordered. Now, I didn't do this to scam Amazon, but clearly someone could.

I would oftentimes receive the 2nd shipment before the first, because customs process was random and unpredictable.

[jeffthebaker]

It's pretty well known that the Amazon return policy can be exploited to earn extra/free goods. The most common one I have heard of is purchasing an item, complaining you never received it, and asking for a refund. In the end, you get your item and you keep your money. It's effective, but also illegal and scummy. The message sent is inquiring you to partake in a similar fraud.

[Uuno]

Yeah, I got that message too! 

[tiggytomb]

This is familiar, there was a thread a short while ago offering the same service.  Amazon do replace items that are lost in the post and so on but you can do this yourself if you are genuine and the item has been 'lost' or not delivered, I can't imagine Amazon allowing this to continue as is outlined in the PM, well dodgy, I would stay clear of that one

[ColderThanIce]

This is familiar, there was a thread a short while ago offering the same service.  Amazon do replace items that are lost in the post and so on but you can do this yourself if you are genuine and the item has been 'lost' or not delivered, I can't imagine Amazon allowing this to continue as is outlined in the PM, well dodgy, I would stay clear of that one

I'm quite sure that if a user claims that multiple items haven't arrived to them (especially higher value items like the PM is using as examples) Amazon will start using signature options for delivery, or do further investigations on the user. I don't suspect this scam would hold up for very long, plus there's always the chance that Amazon would decide to take legal action against whoever does this.