Seller Data Exposed by Purported Bribery Service

A seller told a reporter that Amazon rebuffed him when he tried to give the company evidence that allegedly proved Amazon personnel were "peddling inside information and influence" as part of a bribery scheme. An article in Bloomberg described a "black market" that had sellers on one side, looking to boost sales or get their accounts reinstated, and middlemen on the other side offering sellers access to Amazon insiders "who can get things done for a price."

The seller told Bloomberg that a man had reached out to him on LinkedIn offering to help him sell his products on Temu, which led to him being put in touch with a woman who communicated through a messaging app offering to bribe an Amazon employee to get his account reinstated or, alternatively, to help him retrieve his $90,000 in funds that Amazon had frozen after suspending his account.

The seller claimed Amazon never allowed him to submit his evidence, but an Amazon spokesperson told the news outlet that the employee who had leaked the seller's personal information "had already been fired for unrelated misconduct." (A rather stunning admission.)

The spokesperson said: "As one of the world's largest online marketplaces, there's always the risk of bad actors attempting to exploit, defraud or otherwise scam our business. On very rare occasions, an employee can be involved in such instances. We invest heavily in this area and have dedicated teams and systems in place to prevent all types of fraud, including by our own employees."

In this instance, the seller said the woman he spoke with provided him with information about his account that only an insider would be able to provide. 

But we've also heard in the past from people who claimed marketplace customer service reps violated their privacy in other ways. Recently, a buyer sent an email to EcommerceBytes stating that he reported a policy violation to eBay against a listing and was deeply disturbed when the seller of the item (with whom he had never purchased from or interacted with) messaged him a few hours later with unkind comments and included his full name and address in the message. He was completely baffled as to how the seller had obtained his information.

One thing that stood out in the Bloomberg story was the fact the Amazon seller felt comfortable responding to a stranger offering to help him sell on Temu - perhaps because it came through LinkedIn. It behooves sellers to research any individual or company that promises to help them sell online. 

Check out the Bloomberg story (available via Mercury News) and let us know if you've ever suspected marketplace insiders of violating your privacy, and what kinds of unsolicited offers you've receive from so-called experts.

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