To make it even stranger, I also received a call from someone claiming to be a customer service rep from the actual merchant (a legit, reputable company) checking on the delivery. So whoever's behind this clearly has my name, phone number, address, and credit card info. The company is based in a city we briefly passed through last month on a trip, but otherwise has no connection to us.

I called the merchant's official number from their website, and the representative immediately said, "That's fraud, call your credit card company," without asking for any details or verification. He also told me I could keep the equipment. The box looks sealed and genuine, but there's no receipt or order slip inside.

I've already filed a fraud report with Amex and frozen my card. But a few things are bugging me:

1. The representative was extremely brief with me and didn't ask for any of my information.

2. His telling me to keep $1,500 worth of gear without asking seems wrong.

3. Could this be some kind of brushing scam? But then again, why ask for ID verification and a signature if that was the goal?

Am I overlooking anything? Is there anything else I should do?

Turns out these guys had some inside help from a call center in Gurugram. They got access to customer data, pretended to be bank employees, and convinced people to hand over sensitive info like OTPs and CVVs. Once they had that, they went on a spree buying electronic gift cards through online travel platforms. Those gift cards were then sold to travel agents, and the money got laundered through cash and crypto, mostly Tether (USDT).

Just makes you think how risky it is when even insiders leak data like this. Anyone here ever had a close call with this kind of scam?