Retail Sales Scam Alert!
Over the past year we have received calls and emails from people who have clicked on an advertisement for discounted clothing from several reputable retailers such as JCPenney, Chicos, Macy’s, TJ Max etc. The scammers send victims to a very realistic website to complete their purchase where they get their credit card payment information. They also provide a sophisticated parcel tracking website that purports to show progress of the package all the way till it gets “delivered” to the city where the buyer shipped it. They are showing “International Logistics” as the courier so people seek us out online and call to get an update on their undelivered packages.
Unfortunately in every case the packages never arrive. We have requested copies of tracking emails and confirm that the tracking is fake.
This scam is ongoing and we continue to receive calls nearly every day. We only ship commercial cargo and generally in massive quantities like full container loads. We do not handle retail deliveries.
If you have been defrauded in this scam we recommend that you contact your credit card issuer and request a reversal of the fraudulent transaction and immediately cancel and reissue a new card to protect you from additional charges.
While it is unlikely that these foreign based criminals will be prosecuted by U.S. authorities we suggest that you report it. You can log reports at the Internet Crime Complaint Center Home Page – Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
With enough complaints, hopefully internet companies such as Google and Facebook (where these scam ads have been posted), will be prompted to better vet their advertisements making it harder for scammers to post ads in the first place.
