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Date Published: 08/02/2023

Spanish youngsters pull off biggest Amazon scam Europe has ever seen

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The youths scammed the online retailer out of 350,000 euros in Spain

Spanish youngsters pull off biggest Amazon scam Europe has ever seen

Three 22-year-olds from Mallorca have been sentenced to 12 months in jail and each fined 1,080 euros for committing the biggest scam against online giant Amazon in Europe and defrauding the company out of 350,000 euros.

The scam was genius in its simplicity. The fraudsters posted ads for high-end electronic products online for bargain prices. Once they had an interested customer, they would order the item from Amazon, asking for it to be shipped to the buyer’s address. Finally, the scammers would request a refund from Amazon, and send a package containing marbles or pens back to the online retailer.

The youngsters plead guilty at the Provincial Court of Palma on Tuesday February 7 and were charged with a crime of aggravated fraud. Luckily for Amazon, all of the money they defrauded was returned, most of it in bitcoins that the authorities exchanged for euros right before the cryptocurrency market crashed.

Amazon launched a private case against the youngsters but dropped it once the money was refunded in full. The Prosecutor’s Office continued with the legal action and initially accused the three young people of belonging to a criminal organisation, money laundering and aggravated fraud, which was eventually reduced.

The successful scam, carried out more than 200 times between 2017 and 2019, highlighted a very big flaw in Amazon’s returns policy. Once the product had been delivered, the fraudsters reported a problem with the item and requested a refund. Amazon then sent a code that would be scanned at the Post Office as the package was being returned but, of course, the young men were mailing boxes of junk rather than the expensive electronics.

Incredibly, one of the three convicted youths has offered to work with Amazon to help the company patch the breaches in its security systems.

In other news: Brits travelling to Spain and other EU countries will need an ETIAS permit this year

Image: Archive

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