According to reports, Amazon has terminated more than 13,000 seller accounts belonging to sellers in Pakistan because of allegations that they committed fraud. A trend that has been on a constant rise over the past few years due to government support under Pakistan Post’s different offerings to promote the cottage industry and increase the country’s exports is small business owners choosing to become Amazon Sellers. This trend began in Pakistan and has been on a constant rise in other countries as well.
However, according to ProPakistani, people who are familiar with the situation have stated that Amazon has closed the accounts of approximately 13,500 Pakistani sellers.
According to the information, the vendors are engaging in fraudulent activity through a variety of methods, which are known as kabootar (which literally translates to “pigeon trick”), rickshaw trick, carding, and filing.
Trick of the Kabootar
When a buyer orders products from a fraudulent Amazon seller, the seller may use a trick known as the Kabootar, which involves using fake tracking information. There are two separate websites that both provide phoney tracking services.
Amazon will typically credit the amount to the seller’s account within 14 days; however, such sellers are required to inform their customers that it will take between 15 and 20 days for their orders to be delivered. Because the customer has faith in the sellers, he or she does not raise any disputes, and Amazon transfers the amount to the seller after a period of 14 days. The legitimate buyers do not receive the products they have purchased, but the fraudulent vendors still make a profit. It has been reported that sellers can make thousands of dollars using this Kabootar technique
These types of dealers acquire prepaid gift cards using these cards and then resell those cards. They are able to evade capture by the relevant authorities by conducting their activities in this manner.
Another approach is called filing, and it involves sellers receiving the order on an Amazon account, then buying the product from another account and sending it to the original customer who paid for it honestly. They utilise the buyers’ delivery addresses to make purchases from Sam’s Club, Walmart, and other suppliers after creating secondary accounts on those websites. Amazon customers’ orders are then sent to the addresses of the buyers.
All of the purchases that were delivered to Amazon customers are eligible for a refund with the help of the employees at Sam’s Club. This is due to the fact that the same buyer receives delivery from just one vendor. The dishonest seller pocketed both the money paid by the customer as well as the refund that was given by the legitimate vendor.
In addition, some vendors are exploiting information that is publicly accessible about firms that are registered in the United States. For instance, they just choose the company’s information from Google and use it to purchase Amazon Business Prime, through which they buy things for Amazon consumers.
However, this only works for drop delivery inside Amazon rather than between Amazon stores. The seller is responsible for choosing a director’s name for the firm, setting up an email account, and registering Amazon Business Prime accounts. After completing these steps, the vendor will deduct sales tax from the purchase price by using the EIN of the firm. At the end of the year, the business is responsible for paying all of the sales tax that they were never issued. In addition, Amazon’s corporate clients are eligible for a free trial period of one month, as is required by company policy. These Amazon Prime accounts are only used by the sellers for a period of 29 days; on the day that the recurring payment is taken out of their account, they cancel that Prime membership and sign up for a new one.
