How Scammers Get Free FedEx


Hopefully, you'e already read the Nigerian Scam Page - if not, please go follow that link and read it now - the rest of this page will make a lot more sense.
So, all along I was thinking that these Nigerian scammers would at least be losing money on all the Fed-Ex envelopes they were sending, but it turns out that I was wrong. I didn't mean to find out this information, but I innocently stumbled upon it this past week. Here's how it works - really, the better way to say it is, here's where FedEx fails.
I received an order for some TSN gear for Hong Kong. I conversed with the nice gentleman over email (he's a Saab fan, good guy, not trying to dupe anyone, so don't get the wrong idea) since the cost to send the stuff was going to be over $20 and I always contact folks when it's more than that. He asked me to use his Fed-Ex account which he gave to me. I took the box down to Fed-Ex and walked up to the counter where Jose and Cory (last names withheld) were working up a storm. They are very industrious, hard working Fed-Ex guys and were very helpful. I gave Cory a copy of the email that showed the Fed-Ex account number I was to use and asked him how I needed to proceed. He gave me two forms to fill out which I did. I checked the Fed-Ex International Economy box and he ran the forms under some scanners and said in a nice, coaxing voice, "You know, it's really not that much more to send it Priority Overnight" and quoted something that was like $10 more... I said it didn't need to be there until Monday so Economy was fine. He didn't ask for my identification or anything. He didn't verify that the sender information I had written down was really me or anything like that. I didn't think that was odd at the time because hey, I'm me and why would I put anything else down accept my own info. What would be the point of that?

Well, about four days go buy and I get a bill in the mail to me at my home address for the cost of shipping the package to Hong Kong. They never verified the account number before shipping the package and it turned out to be wrong, so because I was honest enough to put my real name and address, they sent the bill to me. When I went back to the my local Menlo Park Fed-Ex office, Jose and Cory both happened to be working so I asked Jose about this. When I asked him, "Well, what if I put your name and address on in the Sender field, who would've gotten the bill then?" Jose looked at my for about 4 seconds... I could see the pegs falling neatly into their proper holes as the same thing that dawned on me actually quite quickly dawned on him... "Uh (long pause).... (he then decided his best course of action - which, I have to say was really good quick thinking) Uh.... I'm not talking to you anymore." I chuckled and didn't want to cause Jose and Cory and mental anguish since I knew this really wasn't their fault, so I just asked them for their names so I could call Fed-Ex about the matter. I have a call into Fed-Ex but I have not yet hard back. They were very helpful in investigating the Poyle UK connection with the scammers, although I'm disappointed to find that the scammers can send International Fed-Ex envelopes without any cost simply by putting in a fake name in the sender field and a fake recipient billing account number. I guess anyone could do that if they were dishonest.

I still feel kind of a little bad about Fed-Ex. I was encouraged to use the most expensive delivery possible and given the false impression that during my visit, they would check the validity of the account. I think it is not an ethical practice to entice your customer to spend someone else's money in the first place... let alone have them be spending more of their own money really because you're going to get tagged with the bill unless you use Jose or Cory's address info...

I don't know if I have to divulge this information or not, but I've owned Fed-Ex stock for a long time and I sold it for a pretty good realized gain (250 shares at $73.58) on 5/28/04. I don't want any part of a company that is engaged in these kinds of things. 1. Allowing scammers to send free international Fed-Ex that have cost Americans more than a million dollars and 2. Coaxing their customers into spending more of the recipients money at the counter and, in some cases, by accepting packages without validating account numbers, making those same consumers foot the bill - It's an awful way to scam a profit.

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