For a long time, a 28-year-old man from Hoogeveen managed to fool Amazon with a scam that is internationally known as a refund scam. The OM assumes that he is part of a network of scammers.
The damage as a result of the return fraud, in which this suspect is involved, runs into the millions for the Amazon webshop. The public prosecutor said this in court in Assen on Thursday. At the procedural hearing in the criminal case against the Hoogeveener, the man’s pre-trial detention was extended by three months. As it turns out, he was arrested last spring.
How did the suspected scammer proceed according to the Public Prosecution Service (OM)? Between April 18, 2021 and February 12, 2023, he ordered nearly 700,000 euros worth of luxury goods, including very expensive iPhones, from the Amazon webshop. He used 18 different mail accounts for this. The phones were paid for and delivered to his home in the Wolfsbos neighborhood of Hoogeveen by Amazon.
Returned worthless items
After each order, the company’s customer service was contacted to say that they wanted to return the products because they were not up to par. A refund of the purchase amount was requested. Then worthless items were placed in the return envelopes or boxes.
Amazon, which receives a huge amount of returns, uses an automatic system to process return packages. If the weight of a box matches that of the original product, a refund will be initiated immediately. Only random checks are carried out to determine whether the ordered goods had actually been returned. For example, it could happen that the webshop repeatedly refunded money to the suspect without the expensive products being returned.
The man then allegedly sold the items ordered from Amazon online. It concerns more than 1400 mobile phones or other expensive computer items. How the fraud eventually came to light was not disclosed at the procedural hearing in the court in Assen.
Right to remain silent
The suspect from Hoogeveen did not come to court for the pro forma hearing. He chose to remain in prison. His lawyer Rutger Veen was also not present. The lawyer stated by telephone that he did not wish to discuss the substance of the case or the role of his client at this time. The man invokes his right to remain silent, Veen only wants to say.
The prosecutor says the investigation is still ongoing. The Public Prosecution Service strongly suspects that more people are involved in the scam. “It is an extensive and complex investigation. We are looking for other suspects, but also where all the money we earned has gone.” Another hearing in this case will be held in the fall.
At least until then, the Hoogeveener will remain in custody. It is not yet known when the case will be heard substantively.