More and more Internet users are embarking on “refund”, a practice which consists of having their online purchases reimbursed and reselling them. A business that can bring big profits… but obviously illegal.
“I make around 2,000 euros per week.” “Profits of up to 1,000 euros per week.” “Astronomical sums.” There is no shortage of superlatives to describe “refund”, this new scam that is all the rage on social networks.
Concretely, it is a scam which consists of ordering items online under a false identity. Then simply confirm that you did not receive the item and get a refund. “My friends have been doing refunds for about a year. They are 16 years old, sometimes even 15 years old. They discovered this on Telegram“, points out Adam*, interviewed by Tech&Co.
Up to 30,000 euros in winnings
This is what 19-year-old Tom does. The young man, who wished to remain anonymous, has been doing “refunding” for over a year now.
“I heard about the refund on Tiktok, and at the beginning, I did that mainly on Zalando because that’s where it worked best,” he explains to Tech&Co.
“In my case, I especially wanted to be reimbursed for my orders. I would say that I saved around 500 euros,” specifies the young man. But some, like Théo*, go even further and do not hesitate to resell the products that they have received a refund for. Again, completely illegally.
The young man heard about the “refund” already a year and a half ago. Attracted by “the fairly substantial sums of money that it could bring in”, he therefore launched into the operation. “Now I refund my orders on several sites and platforms like Apple, Nike, Amazon and much more”, he explains to Tech&Co. “This activity brings me around 2,000 euros per week”, figures the young man.
My friends, they resell shoes and make profits of up to 1,000 euros per week,” observes Adam*. Other videographers claim to have earned no less than 30,000 euros in barely six months.
“It’s not a source of pride”
Impressive sums, therefore, which catch the eye of many Internet users. “I very rarely resell products, but I should do it more and I’m thinking of starting to do so,” observes Alex*, 20, interviewed by Tech&Co.
“The main problem is that you need starting capital and mine is not yet sufficient to multiply orders,” continues the man who launched into “refund” two years ago. “I don’t yet have enough knowledge to make a living from it, nor the capital. But I’m going to take out a loan to be able to reinvest this money,” he explains.
“It’s not a source of pride,” says Alex*. “Afterwards, scamming businesses is not like scamming individuals. 90% of the time, the people in the industry are intelligent people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and who had to find a way to make some money without taking too many risks.”
In general, the young man prefers to resell clothes. “It’s more convenient to get reimbursed and it can’t be detected like iPhones.” Because the practice is not without consequences.
“I’m not afraid of being caught”
Indeed, “refund” exploits the refund policies of sales platforms like Amazon, which seek to protect consumers in the event of an undelivered or defective product. Fans of “refund” therefore incur fines for breach of trust or even fraud. Such a practice is punishable by five years of imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros.
On social networks, many videographers explain that they have been fined several tens of thousands of euros. “Guys, my friend owes 30,000 euros to the State,” alerts Jude, a videographer on Tiktok. “When we tell you to stop refunding, it’s not a joke.”
And online commerce sites don’t intend to let this happen. In the United States, Amazon sued an international refund fraud network at the end of 2023. But nothing to worry the “refunders”.
“Orders are placed on false identities via well-known sites where order problems are less than 1%. So, if a ‘loyal’ account has a problem, it is not in their interest not to refund “, explains Alex.
An opinion shared by Théo. “I’m not afraid of being caught because I don’t live in France,” says the young man.
* first names have been changed
Salomé Ferraris with Pierre Berge-Cia
Related News :