Archived: Another USPS/UPS/FedEx/whatever scam.

[Struwwelpeter]

This requires one accomplice. Essentially you find a defective flatscreen TV. You can find these in the dumpsters of electronics stores, or even on Craigslist if you are extremely lucky. Basically what you do is slam that bitch on the asphalt as hard as you can. Make that fucking screen bust! Then put in and the remains in a shipping box. Take that box and kick it around a little bit too. You want to make it look like a retard on meth tried to delivered it. Have a friend ship it to you insured and file a claim when you get the package. Like stealing candy from a baby.

[abusername]

Thats actually a pretty awesome idea.

I may use this in the future.

[Azure]

At the risk of sounding repetitive, have you/know someone who has done this? It sounds like it would work.

[Hunter66]

Yea.. I'm pretty sure they inspect your packaging job before they deliver it. They're not gonna deliver a box that already looks smashed to fuck and insure it.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Hunter66

Yea.. I'm pretty sure they inspect your packaging job before they deliver it. They're not gonna deliver a box that already looks smashed to fuck and insure it.

[Struwwelpeter]

Originally Posted by Hunter66

Yea.. I'm pretty sure they inspect your packaging job before they deliver it. They're not gonna deliver a box that already looks smashed to fuck and insure it.

Hunter I take it you've never shipped anything before? The majority of boxes out there are recycled USPS will ship anything so as long as it's got nothing leaking out of it. The point was not to smash the box "to fuck" but to rough it up a little bit and then take it to claims.

Azure, I have indeed known people who did this successfully multiple times.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Jim "fuck latinos" Carrey

Azure, I have indeed known people who did this successfully multiple times.

Interesting. Have there been any close encounters, or have they been caught ever?

[slickt0mmy]

Originally Posted by Azure

Interesting. Have there been any close encounters, or have they been caught ever?

How could you get caught? I mean, what idiot is going to ship a broken tv to someone else? Besides us, that is.

[bigfoot]

this sounds like a good idea. Just from what I have seen in mainstream media doing multiple insurance claims could be traceable especially if you use the phone for any of your claim.

I'm not saying it wont work, just be careful, the police work with "modus operandi" so keep working out ways of changing the claimant.

[Struwwelpeter]

We aren't scamming Geico or Blue Cross Blue Shied here. It's parcel insurance. No one I know has been caught or had any close encounters. There's no real way they can detect this is fraudulent so as long as neither you nor your accomplice tell anyone. At worst, your claim will be denied and you can file again or just try again with a different shipping provider.

[Azure]

Interesting. So I could use your other idea with the Nigerian money order, and theoretically use the M/O to buy a busted up flat screen, right?

[bigfoot]

I think its a good idea.

all I'm saying is dont claim multiple times from the same address or phone number, and be aware that your voice is being recorded whenever your involved on the phone with an insurance company.

I'm genuinly not being a nay-sayer on this. am I?

[Struwwelpeter]

Originally Posted by Azure

Interesting. So I could use your other idea with the Nigerian money order, and theoretically use the M/O to buy a busted up flat screen, right?

Azure you could. But it would be much cheaper and easier to just find one outside of an electronics store. Check frequently you will find one.

And that is good advice bigfoot.

[bigfoot]

look on freecycle for broken ones. or advertise that you are recycling them. or advertise that you do flat screen repairs and tell the clients it's fucked too expensive to fix and you'll take it to the recycling for free

[Struwwelpeter]

Good work Bigfoot.

[bigfoot]

laptops would work as well i guess?? trying to think of other expensive fragile objects.

hmm what about fake antiques? or fake pictures? like say a BANKSY which is the easiest to copy, and the picture getting punctured, with a big spike?

[Struwwelpeter]

Laptops would definitely work. Fake antiques and pictures I am not sure because I simply wouldn't want to get in to an argument with claims about what the true value is. Speakers, amps, guitars, musical keyboards, etc all work perfectly for this. Something that is of high value and high fragility. Something that can be found easily in the trash or on craigslist/the methods you referred earlier in this thread.

[nm43388]

Ok so how do they value these items? Lets say you got that bigass TV and did the scam. How does the company know how much to give you?

[bigfoot]

think in uk the sender would say when posting "the contents are worth £600 I'd like to insure them" then you claim the 600

[Struwwelpeter]

bigfoot summed it up.

[MunkeyQ]

I used to work for DHL as a driver.

Our policy was to attempt to deliver anything regardless how smashed up it was, and it was up to the receiver to accept it or not. If the person signed for it and the item was broken, the claiming process was made one hell of a lot more difficult.

It would work, but the person on the recieving end would have to refuse delivery on the grounds that it's smashed up. This means it goes through automatically as a non-delivery and goes straight to claims.

However, in this case the sender would have to make sure that it's very well packed as it's easy for the courier company to blame it on insufficient packaging and refuse the claim.

[Struwwelpeter]

MunkeyQ I guess DHL is nothing but a bunch of greedy ass motherfuckers since it'd be kind of hard to tell whether or not the item was smashed up inside the box. Perhaps this kind of policy explains why DHL is to shipping what Long John Silver's is to gourmet seafood. Thanks for the input man. Everyone take his advice seriously, pack the product professionally don't be conservative with the styrofoam peanuts.

[MrNatowski]

Can anyone outline the exact process involved in the claims process? Is it possible to provide a fake name or do you need an ID at some point? Do you have to go into the post office at any point? Does the claim work if you use general delivery? Just wondering about the smaller details, since of course it's the details the determine whether or not it will work, especially if someone were to attempt this multiple times.

[Struwwelpeter]

You will need to take the box up there for inspection. No ID. You will probably need to know the name on the package and pretend it is your own. General delivery won't work if you're looking to hide ID since you need ID to get in there anyway. But, you can use a fake one. And I don't recommend doing this multiple times, at least not with the same company. This is more of a one-hitter quitter.

[Flex Rigid]

If you live near a recycling place that accepts monitors, you could ask them to give you a few and say you're fixing them up or scavenging for parts.

[MunkeyQ]

Originally Posted by Jim "fuck latinos" Carrey

MunkeyQ I guess DHL is nothing but a bunch of greedy ass motherfuckers since it'd be kind of hard to tell whether or not the item was smashed up inside the box. Perhaps this kind of policy explains why DHL is to shipping what Long John Silver's is to gourmet seafood. Thanks for the input man. Everyone take his advice seriously, pack the product professionally don't be conservative with the styrofoam peanuts.

Yeah - it's still possible to claim but it's more difficult as they as for photos and you have to jump through all sorts of silly hoops.

On a sidenote, don't use peanuts to pack heavy things. The item settles in the peanuts and it ends up resting directly on the bottom of the box. I used to recieve and ship a lot of heavy audio gear and the stuff packed in peanuts alone rarely survived. Putting peanuts in freezer bags is much better as it stops them shifting.

Even better, double box it so they have no grounds at all to say it's badly packed. Also, don't make it obvious that it was broken outside the box...don't smash the centre of the screen or something. Wrap it loosely in a towel and drop it so the panel smashes whilst preventing the base from cracking. Seriously, don't go to town on the thing or they'll think something's fishy.

Conveyor jams are fairly common, where a big box jams the system and a parcel will fall off the edge onto concrete. Also, a lot of drivers throw the box out the back of the truck. Make it look like either of these have happened by smashing in two corners of the box and grazing the cardboard.

And if possible, ask for an unattended pickup. Pay by card (might be dodgy...don't know) and leave the package outside for the courier to pick up.

[BadShovelhead]

The problem is getting a shipper to pay out an insurance claim is a cast-iron BITCH.

Seriously. Even when it's 100% legit. It's HARD.

[MunkeyQ]

Originally Posted by BadShovelhead

The problem is getting a shipper to pay out an insurance claim is a cast-iron BITCH.

Seriously. Even when it's 100% legit. It's HARD.

I've claimed with UPS, DHL and the UK Post Office for legit items quite a few times and they've paid up without a problem. Things get tricky when the sender made a shit job of packing it and they shift the blame onto them...

[ShadyLady]

Has anyone had trouble with getting shipping carriers to pay out on legit insurance claims? This is a clever idea but if they won't pay out you loose the money you spent to ship the item.

[TCO420]

Originally Posted by Hunter66

Yea.. I'm pretty sure they inspect your packaging job before they deliver it. They're not gonna deliver a box that already looks smashed to fuck and insure it.

...

Brb, destroying the packaging for effect, derp.

[Sandy106]

Which companies are best to do this with? I'm guessing USPS is probably easier since its the government and they dont really give 2 fucks about cost over runs. If DHL is a bitch, how are FedEx/UPS?

[the young one]

even with only doing this one it could be more than worth it. With some thing even easier that that Flat screens. Get a laptop, through craigs list or dumpster. The nice/newer the laptop the better. Open it up take out any thing you think you could sell. Then leave something unplugged or loose so it rattles when shaken. Wrap in around a few times in bubble wrap. the fill the box with packing nuts. The idea is to wrap it good enough that the rattle is not heard from the out side. Ship and insure for like 2000 or 3000. With most laptops you cant tell a $500 from $3000 from the outside. But dont claim more then the most expensive laptop of that kind. Like say you found a alienware m14x. The most high end model of that laptop cost like $2750 so only claim $2250 for insurance. This is just in case they ask for a recite or something. UPS/Fedex is not going to take the laptop apart to look at the insides. Now when it reaches the recievers door, open the box and look at the laptop BEFORE you sign. It pisses the UPS man off but it is your right to open before signing. Then refuse. make claim and then get your money.

[Larva]

Originally Posted by ShadyLady

Has anyone had trouble with getting shipping carriers to pay out on legit insurance claims? This is a clever idea but if they won't pay out you loose the money you spent to ship the item.

Not recently. I had a problem with UPS years ago, but they've since changed insurance companies. Their old one was a massive cunt that wouldn't pay out for anything, no matter how legit.

The new guys are reasonable, as long as the packaging is proper. Something to note, however... retail packaging for most products is NOT considered "sufficiently packaged" for claims. You'll be denied instantly.

The boxes you see in retail stores usually consist of little more than a few blocks of foam in the corners are intended for freight shipments where they're loaded on solid, wrapped pallet, and shipped by truck. I've not seen a single retail box that would pass UPS or FedEx guidelines for 'minimal packaging.' (Check their website.) You'd need to use your own packaging, or ship the retail box is some sort of outer box to have any chance of an insurance claim working.

And I don't think "smashing the fuck out of it" is necessary. They do usually look at the returns. A reasonable amount of damage from a single drop (such as a cracked LCD) would be far less likely to draw additional scrutiny; Items fall off the ends of conveyor belts or get dropped out of the back of the semis all the time. They don't typically get mauled by a pack of meth addicts.

The UPS district rep told me that $500 is the "magic number" on claims. Amounts below that are pretty much pushed through. Amounts over that received additional scrutiny by default. I'm not sure if that line has since changed, however, as this was again a couple of years ago...

[elf omg]

Seinfeld, The Package - YouTube

Seinfeld, The Package - YouTube
Video: click to display

[jd421]

lol was just gonna bring that up ^^

[Cory]

Would it be advisable to not molest the package itself until after it's been delivered?

That way they couldn't say it was fucked up when they got it.