Fake shipping label scam

You list an item; a buyer offers to send a pre-paid shipping label "to save you the trip to the post office" or "because their company has a bulk rate." The label was purchased with stolen credit-card credentials. When the cardholder disputes the charge, the carrier voids the label, often mid-route.

If the carrier voids before delivery, your package is "abandoned" — sometimes destroyed, sometimes auctioned, but always gone. If they void after delivery, the recipient receives the item; you receive a debit notice for the label cost from the carrier; and meanwhile the original "payment" you received from the buyer is also a fraud chargeback waiting to happen.

• Buyer insists on providing the shipping label rather than letting you ship.
• The label arrives by email from a free domain, not the carrier directly.
• Buyer's address is a freight forwarder, a US-to-international reshipping address, or a vacant property.
• Buyer wants you to ship the same day, before the carrier verifies the label.
• The buyer paid you via a method with a long chargeback window (PayPal F&F, gift card, fake Zelle).
• The label is for express service for a low-value item — a hallmark of card-test fraud.

1. Pay for and print your own shipping label through the marketplace's seller flow. Most platforms offer integrated shipping with seller protection.
2. If the buyer insists on their label, refuse or hold the package until you've confirmed both the payment AND the label remain valid for 24-48 hours.
3. Use marketplace-protected payment methods. eBay, Etsy, and Mercari include seller protection if you ship via their label.
4. Check the destination address. Freight-forwarder addresses and addresses near US ports (Doral, FL; Houston, TX) are common reshipping points for stolen-goods exports.

• Contact the carrier (UPS, USPS, FedEx) and request intercept if the package is still in transit.
• Contact the marketplace to report the buyer and request seller protection.
• File a chargeback dispute through your payment processor for the original payment.
• Save all evidence — listing screenshot, buyer messages, label email, carrier receipts.
• Report to the FTC and IC3.

• Do not accept buyer-provided shipping labels for high-value items.
• Do not ship to freight forwarders or reshipping addresses without extra verification.
• Do not assume "the label tracks normally for now" means it'll stay valid.
• Do not continue communicating with the buyer once the chargeback appears — engage the marketplace and carrier instead.

• FTC: reportfraud.ftc.gov — the broadest US fraud intake; reports flow to thousands of law-enforcement agencies.
• FBI IC3: ic3.gov — the right destination when the scam is internet-enabled (phishing, BEC, romance, crypto).
• CFPB: consumerfinance.gov/complaint — for complaints about banks, money transmitters, payment apps, credit cards, debt collection.
• IdentityTheft.gov — if any identity information (SSN, driver's license, account credentials) was shared.
• Your bank or payment platform. Call the number on the back of your card or use the app's in-product help. Time matters — wires can sometimes be recalled within hours; ACH and Zelle are harder but worth trying.